10 Best Roads in America

[Chuck in Indiana]

Northeast Oregon gets my vote! No traffic, great roads, great scenery, high speed sweepers to tight and twisty, elevation changes, canyons, following rivers, forests, mountains, panoramas... hard to beat. In fact, most of the Pacific NW is great riding.

Yeah, Oregon rocks.. 

[Triple Jim]

Virginia's State Route 16

Yes, that should probably be on the list.  I rode it on the Mille this fall and had a blast.  Those who don't like the Dragon would probably not like 16 though.

[Wayne Orwig]

Yes, that should probably be on the list.  I rode it on the Mille this fall and had a blast.  Those who don't like the Dragon would probably not like 16 though.

I like the Dragon, well, I liked it when it was called Deals Gap. Now that it is called 'The Tail Of The Dragon', it is a carnival. It is hard to enjoy it when it is so crowded. Thus the reason I do not recommend it.

[Triple Jim]

I like the Dragon, well, I liked it when it was called Deals Gap. Now that it is called 'The Tail Of The Dragon', it is a carnival. It is hard to enjoy it when it is so crowded. Thus the reason I do not recommend it.

I go only on spring weekdays, and I haven't found it to be anything but extremely fun.  A few years ago I tried it on a Saturday morning, and decided that wasn't worth the gasoline it took.

[Chuck in Indiana]

I go only on spring weekdays, so I haven't found it to be anything but extremely fun.

Same thing with The Snake out in SoCal. During the week, I normally have it all to myself. It's a zoo on the weekends.

[Triple Jim]

Same thing with The Snake out in SoCal. During the week, I normally have it all to myself. It's a zoo on the weekends.

Really, it's true for a lot of activities.  Water skiing and snow skiing are another two that I avoid doing on weekends.

[JohninVT]

The Blue Ridge Parkway has nice views but the last time I rode there it was a goat path.  The broken pavement, potholes and 40mph speed limit don't make it a top ten motorcycle road, imho.  It's a top ten road for scenery...but not a great motorcycle road.

Deal's Gap is vastly over-rated.  Blood Mountain in Georgia is just as good and doesn't have a thousand morons crashing on it every weekend.  The last time I was on Deal's Gap at least a dozen motorcyclists and several cars crossed over the yellow line into my lane from the opposite direction.  I rode it once.  That was enough.

The Maine coastal route being on this list makes me laugh out loud.  You're lucky to average 20mph in the summer with all the traffic.  From Kittery to Bar Harbor it is a nightmare.  Want a nice motorcycle road in Maine?  Ride 16 in NH past Mt. Washington, across the border and the top of Rangely Lake.  Then take 17 down to Rumford.  Hell, ride along the Appalachian Trail and look out over  Mooselookmeguntic Lake or hit Screw Augur Falls in the Grafton Notch.  THOSE are good motorcycle roads in Maine.     

[Wayne Orwig]

The Blue Ridge Parkway has nice views but the last time I rode there it was a goat path.  The broken pavement, potholes and 40mph speed limit don't make it a top ten motorcycle road, imho.  It's a top ten road for scenery...but not a great motorcycle road.

Most of the BRP is 45 MPH. You can usually push that a bit without raising any eyebrows. I did the entire length a couple of months back and the pavement is in great shape.

Now Skyline Drive, on the north end. That is a different story. 35 MPH, enforced, and bad pavement.

[Sheepdog]

I�ve ridden half of them. They are beautiful, but I know plenty that are better. My number one is NM15 in the Gila Nat�l Forest/Wilderness. No traffic, no LEOs, beautiful vistas, and a challenging and curvy route. It ends at the Gila Cliff Dwellings...an adventure all it�s own!

[mjptexas]

I have ridden all but 9 and 10, so can't say about them..........

Here's one of my favorite shots on River Road (#10).  That's the Rio Grande in the valley. 





Big Bend is an amazing area.  Everyone should experience it.

[mjptexas]

Hush Paul , don't be telling them about the Talimena Scenic Byway . No cops , very little traffic , let's keep it that way 

 Dusty

Too late Dusty.  The word's out.  Here's a shot from this Labor Day:

[Adan]

Pacific Coast 1 between Bay Area and Santa Barbara is amazing, but often ruined by traffic.  Going north to Oregon border much better, especially on a weekday, but often obscured in fog during the months most people would think of riding it.  But on a sunny weekday in October, when big waves are pounding the coast creating one mesmerizing scene after another, there's nothing better. 

[oldbike54]

Too late Dusty.  The word's out.  Here's a shot from this Labor Day:

 Dangit , now we need to find a different location for the Okie 

 Dusty

 

[Perazzimx14]

The Dragon is 11 miles of fun WV/VA SR-16 is 335 miles of heaven.









 

 

[LowRyter]

Here's one of my favorite shots on River Road (#10).  That's the Rio Grande in the valley. 





Big Bend is an amazing area.  Everyone should experience it.

that's one I am going to have to try.  They say Feb or March is the time to go?

[ohiorider]

Virginia's State Route 16

Dean

I've ridden 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8.  But glad Dean brought up VA SR16 (and WV16 by another member)  Three of us rode from Cleveland OH to Marion VA where we stayed at Hungry Mother State Park.  Circa 2006 - 2007.  The ride back north put us on VA16, then WV16.  As I recall, we worked our way over to the the ferry boat which crosses the Ohio River into the little town of Fly, OH.  A zig and a zag put us on OH 800.  Made for a good ride back home.  W650 did fine on this ride.

Here's a few pics taken from the deck of the ferry.  Crossing from Sistersville WV to Fly, Ohio.  These were taken in August 2010, on my ride home from my 50th high school graduation weekend.  Took I79N from Chareleston WV until I picked up WV16, and headed north.

[rdbandkab]

Add me and my co-pilot to the list of rt16 riders.   We also did the Hungry Mothers State Park to St. Marys, WV ride...  Aside from trying to find our way through Beckley, WV,  all in all a great route.

[Gliderjohn]

The roads are also in the eye of the beholder. Mood also plays a significant role. Being a life long Kansan one has learned to appreciate the more subtle things that still leave a grin on the face. Riding a southern KS road at dawn on an early summer morning. All kind of smells hanging in the air.
Riding a mildly winding road in the flint hills in the middle of nowhere, meeting another vehicle maybe once every 20 miles or so.
Riding a rural blacktop with little towns every 10-30 miles that you ride through at 20-30mph with locals waving at you.
Riding through ghost towns, seeing abandoned farmsteads and always wandering what life was like there.
Riding by miles of wind farms making use of nature's powers and producing income for extremely rural areas.





















GliderJohn

[twowheeladdict]

A list of the 100 from you spread sheet?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I got them from here http://www.motorcycleroads.com/best/?s=75 and put them in a spreadsheet for my own personal tracking.

When I travel to a specific state, I also use online resources to find the good roads. 

I also stop in at rider hangouts and ask about roads I should ride while there.

[Guzzi Gal]

Pacific Coast 1 between Bay Area and Santa Barbara is amazing, but often ruined by traffic.  Going north to Oregon border much better, especially on a weekday, but often obscured in fog during the months most people would think of riding it.  But on a sunny weekday in October, when big waves are pounding the coast creating one mesmerizing scene after another, there's nothing better.

 :1: Marin, Sonoma, Lake, and Humboldt Counties get my vote, as long as you stay off (and mostly west of) the 101.  Views abound, good eats can always be found, in the land of my youth.   

[zebraranger]

Remove #4, Tail of the Dragon. Replace it with the Cherohala Skyway.

I agree. The Dragon is good for testing your twisty skills, but its definitely not in the 10 best roads in America. Best roads for me would mean nice twisties, beautiful scenery, well paved and a lack of traffic. Another beautiful ride in that region is Wayah Rd, in North Carolina.

[Arizona Wayne]

I was just going to post  hwy 36.  It's the best of the bunch and very little traffic.  I'd give 70 second spot due to the tunnels and the booming Guzzi exhaust note makes it sound like you are being shot out of a cannon! 

I'd remove highway 1 unless you like being stuck behind an RV doing 10 mph.

The thing about Hwy 36 on the section I posted is going east or west on it is like riding 2 different roads.    Going west towards the ocean you get a lot of curves that change direction in the middle (crest) of the curve  with no warning.  Going east you don't see that at all.

[mjptexas]

that's one I am going to have to try.  They say Feb or March is the time to go?

John,

I’d ride it late March, early April, or October. 

You could time the ride so you could catch the MotoGP race in Austin. 

[Sheepdog]

US89A from Flagstaff to Sedona was really nice the last time I rode it.

[LowRyter]

John,

I�d ride it late March, early April, or October. 

You could time the ride so you could catch the MotoGP race in Austin. 

really?

[Socalrob]

I like the road about 2,000 feet from my front door - Angeles Crest Highway.

[Arizona Wayne]

I like the road about 2,000 feet from my front door - Angeles Crest Highway.

ACH is a nice ride/drive too.  Used to ride it from Orange  county to Willow Springs raceway (before I raced there) in the `60s.    It was my favorite road when I first started riding.   But when I moved up to norCal that changed.     

Lived in the Portland/Vancouver, Wa. area for 11 years and there are some nice roads in Oregon/Washington too.......but they don't match norCal, IMHO.

[wymple]

Route 19 going North out of Eminence in Southern Missouri. Marvelous secret.

[John A]

Around the river bluffs in western Wisconsin are some of my favorite roads, we look for back roads that are first or second gear roads. In WI most of them are tar roads in good condition with plenty of hairpins and hills. Any where around a  river seems to be good that way.

[giusto]

M22 Northwest lower Michigan's west coast serpentining, lakeshore following, somewhat desolate at times, jaw droopingly gorgeous two lane  gets my vote...and we try to ride it every year during the Michigan Guzzi rally.