Anyone interested in a James Bay Road trip?

[GreyGhost]

My kit for travel and camping in the wild this year:

Tools: (all fit under seat)
3/8 Metric sockets
Allen key tool
test lamp
wire cutters
vice grips
zip ties
gorilla clear tape

Safety and comfort:
mini 12v compressor/inflator/deflator
12v solar charger
first aid kit with tourniquet and clotting sponge
Glock 30 brand bear spray
thermocell + 5 days of suppliers

I travel with the all tools under the seat as well. I also carry a 1/2" ratchet and socket for the rear axle. Add chain lube (small can should do most trips). I rarely carry sockets (sometimes a couple with a 3/8 to 1/2 adaptor). Instead of an air compressor I travel with a CO2 inflator with a few cartridges (and normally a small bike pump). The CO2 gives you a fighting chance to reseat a bead if things have gone wrong. I never carry a solar charger. The bike has more than enough power when running and if it's dead I have way bigger problems that likely wont be solved with an incredibly slow solar charge.

In my pocket are emergency supplies (solar blanket, gauze, rope, cell phone, red flashing light and tp). I always wear a camelbak on long trips so hopefully that stays with me in a crash so I have water and a bit of food. I don't have a good solution for bear spray. I don't want a small bomb filled with chemical agent in my jacket if I crash, but obviously it needs to be easily accessible. Probably attach it to the top of a saddlebag or ziptied to the passenger foot peg.

 

[Mad Mike]

I travel with the all tools under the seat as well. I also carry a 1/2" ratchet and socket for the rear axle. Add chain lube (small can should do most trips). I rarely carry sockets (sometimes a couple with a 3/8 to 1/2 adaptor). Instead of an air compressor I travel with a CO2 inflator with a few cartridges (and normally a small bike pump). The CO2 gives you a fighting chance to reseat a bead if things have gone wrong. I never carry a solar charger. The bike has more than enough power when running and if it's dead I have way bigger problems that likely wont be solved with an incredibly slow solar charge.

In my pocket are emergency supplies (solar blanket, gauze, rope, cell phone, red flashing light and tp). I always wear a camelbak on long trips so hopefully that stays with me in a crash so I have water and a bit of food. I don't have a good solution for bear spray. I don't want a small bomb filled with chemical agent in my jacket if I crash, but obviously it needs to be easily accessible. Probably attach it to the top of a saddlebag or ziptied to the passenger foot peg.

I don't think bear spray is an issue in Ontario, my fear is wolves. Black bears have a natural fear of humans, its extremely rare for them to approach, their instinct is to flee. I worry about wolves -- they are smarter and their fear of people disappears if they are hungry OR figure out you are injured or distressed. Bear spray might work on one wolf, I doubt it will work on 3 or 4. I feel safer with my Glock 30 repellent, gives me a fighting chance.

 

[J_F]

an old black bear that's having trouble feeding itself will dine on garbage
and foodstuffs left around by people, once they get a few meals from that
they loose the fear of people and can get very aggressive

if you get up around say, Cochrane, serious bear country, they can be a real problem
we had problems with old black bears at one of the mining projects I was at
completely destroyed the BBQ we had outside, ate all the garbage, and one was
standing up pounding on the door trying to get into the boys lunch trailer

one dude emptied an entire can of bear spray into it's face, just made it angry
security came and shot it....once they get a taste of human food, it can be very bad

 

[sburns]

Thanks for the input and list items. Any suggestions on a travel tool kit? Saw a couple on FortNine which might do the trick.
I have a HD so it might have unusual or need specialize tools.

 

[jc100]

Thanks for the input and list items. Any suggestions on a travel tool kit? Saw a couple on FortNine which might do the trick.
I have a HD so it might have unusual or need specialize tools.

Much better to make one up yourself....get a kit/tool roll online for it. You’ll get just the tools you want/like/need this way and probably better quality. Look for mastercraft maximum tool deals for instance (better than the normal Crappy Tire stuff). My tip would be don’t skimp out on hex/Allenkeys as nasty quality ones can strip your bolts pretty quickly.

 

[Roadghost]

Thanks for the input and list items. Any suggestions on a travel tool kit? Saw a couple on FortNine which might do the trick.
I have a HD so it might have unusual or need specialize tools.

I have a CruzTools tool roll for my Harley. I also carry a tire pump and a small bottle of Slime with my tire plugging kit on long trips into nowhere.

 

[timtune]

James Bay has been on my radar for a long time...though the desolation and the owning of an 18 year old bike has me hesitant...even if it is a reliable bike. :happy4: I have heard a mechanical issue up and around there can be a huge issue.

Also I hear the flies up there in July will be rough.

However, I have a Sportier bike, I'm under 40 and have never been camping before :razz:

Either way keep us posted, I'm excited to hear about the trip.

I hear the road itself is pretty rough.

I've done this trip twice. First time we had to leave my buddy's old ninja at the gas station (midway on JBR) after it blew up. It was just too far to go back for.

The road has frost heaves that get annoying on a sport bike but are no problem with long travel suspension. First time I had my FZ6 second time I was on my KLR.

For the really adventurous take the TransTaiga side trip and be able to say you rode as far from a town as you can, by road in North America. About 700kms of gravel, one way, if you go past the dam at the end and ride the extra 80kms to the very end. (did this on the second trip up)

 

[timtune]

I'm planning on going July 20th by way of Chibougamau, the North Road and Nemiscau

Sent from my MIX Lite using Tapatalk

id this route on our second trip on the way to the trans Taiga - the North Road (Rue Nord) was a great bit of gravel.
D

 

[timtune]

That James Bay Highway looks like a blast. I wish I had that time off. It's definitely on my to-do list. My Softail gets close to 400km on one tank including the reserve. I typically fuel at 300km but I can go 370 to reserve in warm weather. You would really need to load the bike down with essentials. Best to pool your items. Looks like a great ride, especially if the weather is good.

don't know why but gas mileage seems to be poorer when doing the JBR. Old gas, greater speed, who knows but none of us got our usual range.
I

 

[timtune]

I don't think bear spray is an issue in Ontario, my fear is wolves. Black bears have a natural fear of humans, its extremely rare for them to approach, their instinct is to flee. I worry about wolves -- they are smarter and their fear of people disappears if they are hungry OR figure out you are injured or distressed. Bear spray might work on one wolf, I doubt it will work on 3 or 4. I feel safer with my Glock 30 repellent, gives me a fighting chance.

lthough a friend travels with bear spray we have never had a problem in the north even though we are very bad with food (it's in camp & never hung up)
A

 

[jc100]

I've done this trip twice. First time we had to leave my buddy's old ninja at the gas station (midway on JBR) after it blew up. It was just too far to go back for.

The road has frost heaves that get annoying on a sport bike but are no problem with long travel suspension. First time I had my FZ6 second time I was on my KLR.

For the really adventurous take the TransTaiga side trip and be able to say you rode as far from a town as you can, by road in North America. About 700kms of gravel, one way, if you go past the dam at the end and ride the extra 80kms to the very end. (did this on the second trip up)

what did you do for gas on the trans taiga?

 

[MacDoc]

I worry about wolves --

Maybe fear the glock more....

pretty thin pickings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks_in_North_America

and some were tame.

There are a pair of timberwolves ( I've seen them ) near Milton...should I go armed?
They were NOT coywolves ....too big and one white and one black or dark grey

http://www.discover-southern-ontario.com/two-wolves-in-milton.html

 

[timtune]

what did you do for gas on the trans taiga?

There are some outfitters along the route and at the very end we bought gas from a float plane outfitters place. Gas was 10$/gallon, but we were on klrs so we didn,t need much

 

[MacDoc]

Yeah - even on the TransCanada on the north side of Quebec gas can be scarce. We filled up at a marina.

 

[jc100]

There are some outfitters along the route and at the very end we bought gas from a float plane outfitters place. Gas was 10$/gallon, but we were on klrs so we didn,t need much

Did you have a list of these places before you went? Opening hours etc? Do you just camp on the roadside?

Also curious as to how much traffic you saw?

 

[MacDoc]

This was on 2015 but I think we could have parked in the middle of the road and had lunch for all the traffic there was.

I doubt they have open and close hours...nobody in their right mind would ride there are night ...caribou are big chunky and fast.

I almost lost the bike hitting the binders down from 150 when I saw the caribou running in the bush beside me....just startled me ...don't think I'd ever seen a wild caribou ( I have since ).

The check in station ( mandatory ) at the beginning of the road might have a list of outfitters etc.

 

[Mad Mike]

Maybe fear the glock more....

pretty thin pickings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks_in_North_America

and some were tame.

There are a pair of timberwolves ( I've seen them ) near Milton...should I go armed?
They were NOT coywolves ....too big and one white and one black or dark grey

http://www.discover-southern-ontario.com/two-wolves-in-milton.html

I know it's a low probability for bears, wolves and cougars in Ontario. I've spent plenty of solo time in the wild -- I have crossed paths with big predators by never threatened by one (except a scary cougar that woke up in my tent near Sudbury). Can't say why, but the the sound of wolves drives me crazy - when I hear one, sleep is over for the night.

 

[timtune]

Did you have a list of these places before you went? Opening hours etc? Do you just camp on the roadside?

Also curious as to how much traffic you saw?

Yes we knew where we could get gas before we left. Finding a camping spot is tough. There are no roads that lead off. Trees are too small to log. We camped at an unused native hunt camp. Look like they are only in use in winter maybe.

Traffic is sparse. Closer to the end you'll see hydro workers zipping between sites. Be careful they seem to assume there is no one around and sometimes take their half from the middle.

 

[MacDoc]

There are a few phone booths and maybe comm towers with access roads that might provide a rough camp spot.

Here is a list but from 2004

http://jamesbayroad.com/jbr/jbrcampgrounds.html

Do pay attention - it can get boring and there things to getcha

 

[jeff96]

I'm camping at the edge of James Bay. It's a long haul, but I think it's worth it. The bugs are insane though

Sent from my Redmi 4A using Tapatalk