You guys gave me a great load of ideas about a year ago when 4 of us from Australia started planning a month long ride from NYC to LA in July 2010.

This is pretty much the finished route.

Be keen to get feedback from you guys.

Cheers

Greg

http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.c...r/share/265555

 

At your number 30 marker i would take 12 at Torrey south thru Bolder, Escalante and towards Bryce Canyon...Do Bryce Canyon and continue on 12 to 89....head south and pick up 9 west thru Zion National Forest and then into Vegas.....

Most everyone that have riden this area will back me up on this modification to your route...this mod. was one of my favourite rides in touring all over North America.....

 

Ditto that. I'm planning a ride for next year and this is the route we'll be taking.
Have been thru ZION in a car on the way to lake powel many years ago.


Also, What is your reason to head down to Needles, CA from Vegas?
Reason I ask is because your route by-passes Laughlin and doesn't quite make it to Lake Havasu, which are the two main attractions in this area.
IMO, there's nothing in Needles. Though I have not been on that hwy from Vegas to Needles, I imagine it's adding about 2+ hours to your ride for a lot of desert secenary. Not that I don't like desert views, but if heading to this area, I'd suggest the following.

My choice would be to hit the 163 East to Laughlin for a vegas type town on the river, or stay on the 40 thru Needles and hit AZ-95 South to Lake Havasu for some bikini and boat views.
Otherwise, it'd be better to stay on the 15 from Vegas to Barstow, CA.

If you do make it to Needles or Laughlin area.
Another option besides 40 and 15 to get to Ontario, CA... If you prefer to by-pass some of the super-slab hwys.... Get off the 40 at Mountain Springs Road, head South on the National Trails Hwy (route66) Hit Essex, Amboy, (SR-62) Twentynine Palms, Joshua Tree, and (I-10) Banning. This takes you thru parts of route 66 and old 66 towns.
And you can even head into Palm Springs if time allows.

If you make it to Lake Havasu, I'd probably head south on AZ SR-95 to Parker then West on SR-62 thru Vidal Junction, then down SR-177 to I-10 West, thru Desert Center and on thru Palm Springs.

From Southern California, I go to Laughlin area often and these are my prefered routes. But you would avg maybe 10 to 20 mph slower than you would on the hwy.

 

Personally I'd change from NYC to Raleigh NC or some place in the south as a start point.
There is Not as much traffic to put up with and the ride IMO is more pleasant and pace of life is more easier going.(except for bigger cities)

 

Also i would stay 2 days in Cody and for a day trip do Chief Josph hiway and 212 Beartooth Pass into Redlodge then head back to Cody.......this is a must do if you are out in that area...this is another mod to your course most here would agree with.
I'll keep looking at your route and try to give you a few more suggestions....

 

Wow, I saw your thread and it got the blood flowing......been talking about a ride like that for a while now and was thinking about asking about hooking up along the way, but.....you are riding much further north than I would care to .

One word of advice-riding through Detroit and up 75 to the bridge is not fun, not at all. It is long, tedious and very congested for the first half at the least. As beautiful as Northern Michigan is, the heartland of Ohio and Southern Indiana, Illinois and Missouri has it beat all tohell. I know, I lived in Michigan and have been all over the UP of Michigan, lived in Detroit, and have put too many miles on 75. Rt 50 out of DC on through Missouri is outstanding but is a far cry from the badlands Your problem is you have this one shot being from down under. Make it count. Our country is beautiful all over. I prefer 2 lane riding. More time to see the beauty, less traffic. I had a ride planned, going 2 lanes, which took 4-5 days to Salt Lake City, going through Denver and Rocky Mountain National Park. Looks like you are taking 35 days, so you should have great fun.

Good luck!

 

Also at Fort Collins and Loveland head west thru Estees Park and Rocky Mountain National Park to Granby and continue on 40 to I70. Head west, jump off and head south into Leadville on 24 then west on 82 towards Aspen and do Independance Pass. Take 133 at Carbondale and head south, at Hotchkiss take 92 down towards Gunnison. Go west on 50 and pick 550 at Montrose and head south....this ride thru Ouray down to Durango is one of the top 3 roads in North America in my opinion.

I think these few modifications will be well worth the time....

Have a great ride and i hope to see you out west or Austraila....i will be in Sydney and Melbourne in March and will be heading to New Zealand to get married.....

put a shrimp on the Bar-B for me will ya.......

 

X3 on this. Did it this year and it's one of my favorite riding sections anywhere. You can still cut over and go through Zion after that.

 

That app on HD site is pretty cool for planning a road trip. and it is great to get the input from riders across the states. sometimes when looking at a map the quickest path is not always that best path.

Have fun on the ride. How long to you have to complete the ride?

 

If you delay 2-3 weeks you could hit Sturgis at rally time. If you go 2-3 weeks earlier you could hit Laconia.

Agree with a more southern start point. Even a more northern start point and hit NH,VT, upstate NY.

Looks like an epic trip. Enjoy.