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Roads in AZ

21K views 77 replies 34 participants last post by  rgbeard 
#1 ·
This info is courtesy of Philbie... :beer

There are a several decent roads in AZ. Most require a bit of a drive to get to however.

1. Hwy 89 from Yarnell to Prescott.
2. Alt 89 from Prescott to Jerome.
3. Parts of Hwy 87 from Mesa to Payson.
4. Hwy 60 from Globe to Show Low.
5. Tortilla Flatts hwy 88 east of Apache Junction.
6. Mount Lemon in Tucson.
7. Kitt Peak Observatory east of Tucson.
8. Mount Graham south of Safford.
9. Hwy 191 from Clifton to Alpine
10. Hwy 180 in New Mexico and Hwy 78, completes the 230+mile loop from Clifton.

1-6 are normally patrolled with very little chance of getting out of a ticket.
7-10 are very seldom patrolled with 9 being the best road and 10 the second.

Hangouts? Mill Ave in Tempe, ASU is right next to it. The Pavillions in Scottsdale on Saturday nights. I can't remember the cross streets.

TeamAZ is the better of the two trackday outfits here locally. www.asmaracing.com is most technical track and cheapest to run.

Philbie is always looking for new riders to go to Arroyo Seco with him.
 
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#3 ·
Philbie said:
Lets make the entire first page of the AZ forum a sticky.
:eek:nfloor :lao :eek:nfloor
you really wanna keep digging up the roads post everytime......:bitchslap
 
#5 ·
Here's some more:

1. Lake Mary road from Flagstaff to Payson (can't remember the HWY #).
2. 89A from Flagstaff to Sedona (its hard to not get stuck in traffic, Patrolled).
3. Arizona Snowbowl Road (rarely patrolled, just watch out for the cinders on the road!)
 
#6 ·
:dblthumb muchas gracias tdog
 
#7 · (Edited)
kz2zx said:
Canyon de Chelly? Page? Bagdad?
+1 on Bagdad. Saw a cop once out of who knows how many times I have been there. When I was living in Kingman, I would come south on 93 to wherever it was to break off towards Bagdad. Bagdad to Prescott via Skull Valley is fun. Now that I am in Phoeninx, it's Wickenburg to Bagdad then Bagdad back to 89 and up to Prescott is fun too.

Just sucks because it takes an hour and a half just to get to the starting point.
 
#8 ·
badgixxer said:
This info is courtesy of Philbie... :beer

There are a several decent roads in AZ. Most require a bit of a drive to get to however.

1. Hwy 89 from Yarnell to Prescott.
2. Alt 89 from Prescott to Jerome.
3. Parts of Hwy 87 from Mesa to Payson.
4. Hwy 60 from Globe to Show Low.
5. Tortilla Flatts hwy 88 east of Apache Junction.
6. Mount Lemon in Tucson.
7. Kitt Peak Observatory east of Tucson.
8. Mount Graham south of Safford.
9. Hwy 191 from Clifton to Alpine
10. Hwy 180 in New Mexico and Hwy 78, completes the 230+mile loop from Clifton.
191 and CLIR (Tortilla Flat) are twisty heaven.

261 a little west of Eager off the 260 is another good road. It's patroled, but they don't seem to care what you do as long as you don't crash. :)

TeamAZ is the better of the two trackday outfits here locally. www.asmaracing.com is most technical track and cheapest to run.
And Arroyo puts any of the tracks (namely Firebird) Team AZ runs events at to shame.

Philbie is always looking for new riders to go to Arroyo Seco with him.
That's just scary. LOL!
 
#9 ·
tweakerazWickenburg to Bagdad then Bagdad back to 89 and up to Prescott is fun too. Just sucks because it takes an hour and a half just to get to the starting point.[/QUOTE said:
A fun one that's not too far out of PHX is Bartlett Lake Road. Take Carefree Road out to the east of Carefree about 3-4 miles turn south on Bartlett Lake Rd... Enjoy the twisties.
 
#15 ·
A few of us are talking about taking the bikes out and doing the 191 route. This should be good. 4 race bikes hauling ass on a 45 mile run in the mountains. Hopefully Justin has that crashing thing out of his system.
 
#21 ·
Can anyone give me some route advice? Planning on taking a long ride on Sunday. Just moved here from Northern VA and I am going through twisty withdrawls! I am living in Ahwatukee.....and was thinking about something like this:

Start on 87 (North of Mesa) -> Payson
then take 260 East all the way to Show Low
then take 77/60 West to Globe
then 60 all the way back into town
and maybe a quick tortilla flats run if I have any energy left

Will any part of this ride suck?
Is there a better way to make this loop?
Are there any good side roads off of these roads that are worth taking (with good pavement)...

Thanks!
Chris
 
#22 ·
That's a pretty ambitious ride at about 330miles. I rode 305 today and it wore me out.

Not a whole lot of twisties though, but enough curves to keep your interest up. That is the thing about the desert, you have to cross great expanses of flat to get to the good stuff! A very scenic ride! Enjoy.
 
#23 ·
60 through Salt River Canyon is racetrack-like.

Tortilla flats is dangerous, but a good test of skill.

be careful. Don't do either when tired. Do SRC on a weekday if you can.
 
#24 ·
Thanks for the info/advice....
Not used to the twisties being so far away...sucks you have to ride forever just to get to the good stuff!
Not sure if I am going to head out that way or take a more northerly route....
Like 87 N to 260....out to Prescott.....parts of 89 look really sweet (on the map that is)....plus the temps should be nicer.
Don't really mind long rides......I have been know to go on 10 hour rides before....
Anyway....thanks again for the advice!
 
#25 ·
If you go to wickenburg then take the 89 to Prescott it is pretty sweet!! Going up the mountain before Yarnell there are some monster sweepers that you can really get going around. Then its a little ways of straights then some good twisties for a while before you get into Precott. That would be a perfect ride for this weekend. Get out of the heat thats coming. Just be careful in the twisties before Prescott after Yarnell. Last time we were out there we saw a motorcycle cop.
 
#26 ·
exmarinegrunt said:
If you go to wickenburg then take the 89 to Prescott it is pretty sweet!! Going up the mountain before Yarnell there are some monster sweepers that you can really get going around. Then its a little ways of straights then some good twisties for a while before you get into Precott. That would be a perfect ride for this weekend. Get out of the heat thats coming. Just be careful in the twisties before Prescott after Yarnell. Last time we were out there we saw a motorcycle cop.
Yup! That's where I did my 300 miles yesterday! Rode the twisties between Wilcoit & Prescott 3 times, then went to the stretch between Congress & Yarnell (My favorite part) and did about 4 laps there and went home.
 
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