| Author | Message | ||
     Supertoon |
Hey Guys, Flying into San Diego on December 5th for 4 days. We will be renting Electraglides and would like to do a 3 day loop ride. We will probably go east, perhaps Death Valley. We have already done the coastline up to LA, and would like to stick to rural roads if possible. Would appreciate any road recommendations and "must-do" rides, places to stay and good places to eat. Also, what would be your gear suggestions for this time of year?? Thanks | ||
| Court |
If you head East out of San Diego . . . well, the good news is . . there are very FEW "bad" roads. Wait right here. . . I'll go get the Southern Cal contingent and they'll give you some specifics. . . . you're going to have a ball! | ||
| Mike_dinger |
Supertoon, check out www.pashnit.com He has just about all of the west coast mapped out for moto rides. | ||
| Mike_dinger |
Actually, I forgot that pashnit is now requiring membership fees, but this one is available for free... http://www.pashnit.com/roads/cal/LittleTujungaRd.h tm | ||
| Diablobrian |
the 94 down near the border either out of Chula vista (otay lakes rd)or spring valley is a nice ride with a bunch of sweepers that should be very enjoyable on an electraglide. From there take Buckman springs rd north to the "old hwy 80" west back to sunrise highway (s1) north to the 79 towards Julian. Julian is a nice town to stop in and a popular stop for weekend rides. Fill up with gas here. From Julian take the 78/79 towards Santa Ysabel to the 79 again. take that to the S7 The S7 is the Famous Palomar East grade road. on a cruiser it won't be the same as on your Buell, but it is still not to be missed. At the top of the hill is a rest stop/resteraunt called "Mother's" A popular hangout among the sport bike crowd. Mothers sits right where the East and south grade roads. You can choose to either loop back down the east grade and up again before taking the south grade down or just run the tighter south grade down the hill. At the bottom of the grade lies the 76/Pala rd. take it to the right (west) to head towards HWY 15. Depending on how many loops of palomar you ran you may need gas again before hopping on the super slab to make the connection to the next spectacular road. Take the 15 north to central ave/74 in Lake Elsinore. You will want to get gas again in Lake Elsinore. Turn left and then right on Collier and left again on Riverside Drive. Riverside changes to Ash and then curves to the left and becomes Grand Ave. Stay on this for a few blocks after the curve and turn right on Ortega Hwy. The Ortega is one of the greatest motorcycling roads in the US. Take the Ortega all the way across to the I5 south back down to San Diego. or loop back through to Lake Elsinore and figure out where you'd like to go from there. I spent a great many weekends riding this route when I lived in San Diego. | ||
| Xbimmer |
+1 Diablo! Mike_dinger's suggestion good too but it's in my back yard and quite a ways from San Diego. The San Gabriel Mountains around here are awesome rides. Weather around here right now is pleasant but varied. If you're planning on Death Valley make sure you bring cold weather gear because it can get COLD without warning in winter. Make sure about your gas stops in Death Valley also. We have a local run in January through Death Valley that runs through Scotty's Castle which usually had been a gas stop. Last Jan I couldn't make that leg on my Uly and had to divert since they don't sell gas at Scotty's Castle anymore, good thing I asked in Stovepipe Wells... Hwy 190 through Death Valley beginning/ending at Olancha on Hwy 395 is one of the most awesome rides in CA IMHO. (Message edited by xbimmer on November 13, 2007) | ||
| Supertoon |
Thanks so much for the great suggestions! Diablobrian, your the man! You just settled a good part of my itinerary. Pashnit is a great resource which I have used several times in past trips to CA. Man, listening to you guys and I almost feel like going for a v-rod instead of the "glide". But I don't think they are very comfortable nor handle much baggage, also if the weather turns cold probably will be happy to have the barndoor out front! | ||
| Greenagain |
http://www.redhotriders.com/main/links.htm Check the bottom right corner of the page for some route maps.} | ||
| Unibear12r |
Yes, do watch your gas stops as unless it's changed, the only place with premium gas in DV is at Furnas Creek. Stovepipe Wells had only regular unleaded! | ||
| Supertoon |
Finally opted for a street-glide as opposed to the ultra. Less "bulky" and plenty of storage for a one-up three day trip! While I am on the subject, anybody have any suggestions for hot-wiring my zumo easily into the Harleys 12v system. The guy at SDHD seemed a little nervous about giving me suggestions. I'm thinking about hooking my widder elec. vest as well. I am tempted to run them both directly off the battery (fused of course) | ||
| Xbimmer |
Yes, do watch your gas stops as unless it's changed, the only place with premium gas in DV is at Furnas Creek. Stovepipe Wells had only regular unleaded! Correct, and the only time my Uly ever got fed the stuff (87 octane). Even though my Uly pings regularly the DV regular didn't seem to affect it, maybe because it was January and friggin' cold that week. Topped off in Beatty NV with the better stuff though... Street Glide good choice Supertoon, only HD that I'd be tempted to buy, personally. | ||
| Supertoon |
You know Xbimmer, your right, the more I look at this bike the more it appeals to me. Good weather protection and simple massive looks. I was always partial to the Fatboy as it was the first Harley I ever rode, and I always liked the look of the solid wheels and the fat looking forks. Every garage needs at least 3 bikes   |
