No one agrees on which motorcycle is the best street motorcycle in America, which is half the fun of arguing about it. The country has 3.9 million miles of pavement and much of it exists to carry grain trucks and passengers. What’s left, the roads that feel like they were built for riders even though there weren’t any, is what this list is about. Twelve routes, grouped by region. Something you already know. A couple who might not be with you, and they might be the ones worth planning a trip with.
West Coast and Pacific Northwest
Pacific Coast Highway, California
This is where everyone starts, so let’s get this out of the way. Route 1 is 656 miles long and most of it is a general coastal highway. There are 90 or more miles through Big Sur. The road between Carmel and San Simeon hangs over cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, crosses the Bixby Bridge and drops in and out of redwood canyons, and on a clear weekday morning there’s nothing else like it in this country. The problem lies in everything that surrounds it: the summer fog, the closure of the slides that can stretch on for months and the heavy traffic on weekends that turns the ride into a pretty idle state. Check with Caltrans before you commit. Go on Tuesday.
