Route 66 trip

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kiwi46

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Hi can anyone give advice on For or Against riding a Commando the length of the MOTHER ROAD Route 66. Myself and three other Kiwis are riding her beginning in August for approximately 16 days. Thanks.
 
You could do it on a unicycle as long as the tyre/tire was pumped up.

Plenty of Norton / Route 66 posts...

http://www.nortonownersclub.org/noc-cha ... /328155423

http://www.ntnoa.org/route66.htm


Route 66 trip
 
It gets dangerously hot crossing the California desert between Needles and Barstow.....I hit Needles at high noon...temp was 114 F. I quit riding and holed up in the shade for 5 hours. Take plenty of water!

Slick
 
texasSlick said:
It gets dangerously hot crossing the California desert between Needles and Barstow.....I hit Needles at high noon...temp was 114 F. I quit riding and holed up in the shade for 5 hours. Take plenty of water!

Slick
Click to expand...
Amen. Mesh jacket, mesh pants with shorts under. Hydrate.
 
My wife & I did part of it last year as part of a bigger trip, as the guys say it was damned hot, we headed North then through Monument valley and up into Colorado, much nicer roads.
I know its meant to be the "mother" road but my feeling was the USA has so many great roads to offer, much more interesting than Route 66 but then again you need you kicks I suppose :D
 
+1 - pretty boring most of the way :shock:

Gino Rondelli said:
My wife & I did part of it last year as part of a bigger trip, as the guys say it was damned hot, we headed North then through Monument valley and up into Colorado, much nicer roads.
I know its meant to be the "mother" road but my feeling was the USA has so many great roads to offer, much more interesting than Route 66 but then again you need you kicks I suppose :D
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How determined are you to follow Route 66? As an example I would be tempted to drop down to Interstate 10 instead of 40 when leaving Arizona and pick up Highway 74 (Ortega Highway) to the California Coast. But I do everything possible to stay off of interstates. That and I have lived in Alaska so long that I melt above 80 degrees F. So the segments of that route that are now busy Interstates with very few interesting turns in the road I would be looking for alternate routes that paralleled it.

Russ
 
Ditto on what some of the others are saying. Most of the original 66 has been replaced by generic US interstate. Occasionally you will see short sections of the original road paralleling it in the distance. It's going to be at best a pretty boring ride fighting the tractor trailer trucks and most of the eating places and motels will be chains. A few of the original motels and eating places exist but they are pretty scattered and most have been abandoned. If you really want to see America I would recommend mapping a route on the blue highways or two lane roads. Old Brit bikes are much happier on them. Most of the interstates in the western part of the US have traffic that is traveling 75-80 mph trucks included. I refuse to ride them on my old bikes unless absolutely unavoidable.
 
Hey Russ, we stopped in Juneau last year on the same trip taking the ferry up the inner sound to Haines, wish I'd realised you lived there we had time to get off the boat whie we waited on tides! Most spectacular ferry ride ever, and the roads weren't bad either, cooler than Route 66 but brilliant. :D
 
Gino Rondelli said:
Hey Russ, we stopped in Juneau last year on the same trip taking the ferry up the inner sound to Haines, wish I'd realised you lived there we had time to get off the boat whie we waited on tides! Most spectacular ferry ride ever, and the roads weren't bad either, cooler than Route 66 but brilliant. :D
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I wish you would have known I was here too! From Haines did you go up to Whitehorse? Head for the interior? We had a spectacular summer last year. The loop up to Dawson, Top of the World Highway and back to Haines would be a great Commando trip. I live about 5 miles north of the Juneau ferry terminal.

Russ
 
You have lots of time to plan and research. I have not done a trip like you are embarking on....yet.

Another route to look into is the Lincoln Highway. It cuts right across the heartland of the US from New Jersey to California.

http://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/

Also as you travel, use my favorite button in Google maps. 'Avoid Highways'. It is an option when putting in destinations.

When you do come up with general itinerary and want to share it, maybe some of us could meet up with you for a beer. :lol:
 
rvich said:
Gino Rondelli said:
Hey Russ, we stopped in Juneau last year on the same trip taking the ferry up the inner sound to Haines, wish I'd realised you lived there we had time to get off the boat whie we waited on tides! Most spectacular ferry ride ever, and the roads weren't bad either, cooler than Route 66 but brilliant. :D
Click to expand...

I wish you would have known I was here too! From Haines did you go up to Whitehorse? Head for the interior? We had a spectacular summer last year. The loop up to Dawson, Top of the World Highway and back to Haines would be a great Commando trip. I live about 5 miles north of the Juneau ferry terminal.

Russ
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Haines - Haines junction, Anchorage then broke down for 2 weeks (damned BMW's should have had the Commando!) so took a hire car to Fairbanks and did the loop, then back on the bikes, Whitehorse then the Stewart Casier Highway, some great riding unfortunatley too far North of Route 66 to do in 3 weeks!
One of the stunning roads we found was In the North of Washington state, Highway 20 I think it was.

As we've said, some great roads in North America, Route 66 if its a bucket list thing is OK but you miss so much
 
If I was going to spend 16 days in the States, I would ride from San francisco to San Diego , spending 95% of my time in the mountains and desert. Take tents and camp where you can.

28 days would be better!
 
Cassiar Highway! Brilliant!

I have to admit that I would probably rather ride the Lewis and Clark trail than route 66. Check out the avatar photo for concours (above). That sign for 99 miles of winding road is Lolo Pass on route 12 through Idaho.

Are you planning to travel east to west or west to east? Or both? Just ask us, we will plan your trip for you!

Russ
 
Just did a little bit of old 66 in October. Stayed in Needles (also 114 degrees F) and headed for the Grand Canyon. Watch the weather. Out West if it rains hard the road will be flooded and closed, possibly for days. The stretch from Oatman, AZ (burros in the street) east was pretty scary in a Mustang convertible. I would be very reluctant to do it on a bike and I'm a pretty experienced rider. There is a good museum in Kingman where you'll be able to see pictures of cars that went down off the edge. Seligman has a great crazy old-fashioned diner. The owner is a real jokester. Gotta stop there for sure.

There are some good reasons why they abandoned Route 66!

Russ
 
I think you would be better off riding the Lewis and Clark Trail over LOLO pass. It's a beautiful ride, good camping sites and I am about 20 miles away so you would have a place to stay here in Montana, another wonderful place to ride as we have more cows than people plus beautiful mountains and windy roads. Also Glacier and Yellowstone national parks.
 
I have got to admit in my earlier post that I have never been west of Albuquerque on the 66 alignment, so most of my comments are for the Chicago to Albuquerque portion. But as I was saying most of that portion is now modern interstate with very little character.
 
Route 66 was made famous by the parents of baby boomers here in the US. In the late 50's it was a very popular route. Times have changed. When you travel the route today you'll find that there is very little to see and trying to relive that 1950's atmosphere just isn't going to happen. Most of the small towns have grown significantly and everything has been modernized for the most part. You can come to the US and drive it, but in my opinion there are much better places to see. I would highly recommend the US National Parks, or things like the Barber Motorsports Museum, and maybe work part of route 66 in there along the way.
 
Yes, Interstates (Norton - tank recommended) and tolls, bad news for old bikes. Besides you follow history and better people off ..(of Them thingys) to follow original route. Americans in such a hurry to go where they are already anyways.. It's America so always there is help available and start a new family on the way should you breakdown too. :D Carry parts and service list. Change mind to rock-n' roll mode, and listen to movie soundtrack during trip. America is movie culture you know.. :)
 
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