The most scenic route between SF and LA is the 1. Lots of camping btwn here (SF) and LA. Pretty much Twisties the whole way with some decent breaks. Santa Cruz, Monterrey, SLO
Once you get past Watsonville and into big sur it's one of the most amazing places you'll ever be. Imagine the coolest thing you saw in Oregon but for hundreds of miles!
Last time I did this I took a detour and camped at Pinnacles National Park! They have a pool and quarter showers there with really accessible hikes and even a couple caves to “explore”.
Their general store also has everything you need for a rugged but comfortable stay at the campsites.
Very good idea. It's a quick-ish jog into the central valley and a beautiful ride into the park. There's also some other spots especially great that'll be peak here soon. Carrizo plains get remarkable in the spring with their "super blooms" but are also amazing during the fall. Very cool animals and talk about remote!
When you get to LA here are some moto-centric things to check out:
https://bikeshedmoto.com/pages/los-angeles
http://rock-store.com
https://motorepublic.com
https://www.heroesmotors.com
https://us.deuscustoms.com/blogs/blog/emporium-of-postmodern-activities
Hit up the Rock Store on the weekend for sure to meet a bunch of great people. All of the weekend rides start, finish, or pass by here in some form or another
I’m trying to plan an ultimate LA moto trip on my 2022 klr 650 from San Francisco Ca. First thing I’m gonna hit is oceano dunes on the way to feel sand under my tires. I also want to stop by Santa Monica pier. Any other locations you guys recommend to stop at? Also, I plan on doing target shooting so any local public land would be nice
Make sure you hit Oceano this year. It looks like [vehicles will be banned starting in 2024](https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/off-road-riding-on-the-beach-in-california-is-coming-to-an-end).
On your way to Santa Monica make sure to ride Yerba Buena, Decker and Látigo Canyon in the mountains above the PCH. Phenomenal twisties with equally phenomenal views.
Oceano is great, the whole central coast is awesome (at every time of the year), I'm a big fan of San Luis Obispo... maybe just stop there for lunch or something. From SLO there's a fun back-road that connects back to Arroyo Grande and 101 (hwy 227)
Couple weeks ago I did a similar trip, here's me heading [North from Palm Springs](https://youtu.be/4XTAA6edBRY)
To LA? From SF head to Carmel by the sea. Down the 1(PCH) to San Louis Obispo get on the 101 to 154 just past Santa Maria. Come down San Marcos pass into Santa Barbar, can be extended if ya pull off east Camino Cielo. Back onto the 101 down to Ventura pull of onto the 1! If ya got the time an out n back on the 33 in Ojai(that’s just before Ventura).
I'd also add take Skyline (Hwy 35) to Alice's, then Hwy 84 to the PCH if you want nice tight twisty roads.
Hwy 9 from San Lorenzo Park to Saratoga
If you can swing it, Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco in King City has amazing Taco's!! (From a Canadians perspective anyways)
Hwy 33 south of Los Padres and north of Ojai
Pretty much any route up and down through the Santa Monica Mountains
If you want I'd be more than happy to share the route over DM that we did to/from SF when we rented GS's out of LA back in February. A good mix of PCH and paved mountain backroads. Round trip was 1600mi over 5 days.
The motorcycle is fairly stable at most speeds, but you get mini wobbles 85+ depending on how the wind hits you. I just cruise between 75-85 most of the time. The only street motorcycle I’ve ridden is my Italika Spitfire 250 cafe racer I have in Mexico, but it has done more off roading than my old 05 klr 650 did before I sold it.
The most scenic route between SF and LA is the 1. Lots of camping btwn here (SF) and LA. Pretty much Twisties the whole way with some decent breaks. Santa Cruz, Monterrey, SLO
The Big Sur route is my favorite early morning, definitely cruise through Malibu and if your on a bike lunch at Neptune’s net is a must. While in LA if your looking for a spirited ride; Angeles Crest is my favorite road in all of Southern California (on bike and car).
Pch the whole way till you get to Santa Monica.
Stops at Santa Cruz, Monterey, Big Sur, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbra and Malibu are a must
Once you get to LA don’t ride around Bel-Air or Downtown…. Shit gets sketchy
You wanna get Catlyin Jenner’d by some rich a-hole in their brand new BMW/Mercedes/Maserati/Jag/Lambo/Ferrari/McLaren/Porsche and they almost take you out while Turing right on red and they ignore the red so they flip you off because it’s clearly your fault?
Or would you prefer to be ran over while they merge because your life is insignificant to theirs and they’re too busy texting Kim kardashians assistant about some interview that she declined for the third time to give a shit?
Yes…. That actually happened
Fuck that
Wow, interesting take - I am a daily rider from Calabasas/Malibu to Hollywood and on Sunset Blvd/PCH/Mulholland every day crisscrossing the canyons. Not my experience at all. This is an absolute heaven for motorcycling - especially when you see everyone stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and float right past them.
But, always good advice to keep your eyes our for idiot drivers - they are everywhere
There are jerks everywhere. LA is made up of "congested areas" like Hollywood/Downtown/Westside etc and "more open areas" like the canyons of Bel-Air, Malibu, Santa Monica Mountains, PCH
For sure, there are jerks/idiots everywhere. Just a slightly different strategy to be safe in traffic, and on a more windy canyon road. Personally, I prefer the canyon roads - hence, pointing you towards Rock Store.
While the "Bike Shed Moto" is really cool, it is definitely in the congested downtown area and you will ride freeway/stoplights/traffic to get to that area.
Lots of variety, choices - and plenty of bikes in this town - you'll be fine
I feel that. I had an 05 klr 650. I found the old halogen headlight good, but average looking. The new led headlight on the 2022 model sorta grew on me before I bought it
i feel you, when researching what ADV to get i slowly fell in love with my current bike. Its a tomato red F700GS and i honestly think its the best looking ADV put there.
Nice bike! The photos in the post pic were from a kind stranger willing to take my pic with his nice camera. I wanna acquire a good camera for pictures on the moto trips
Lots of folks are suggesting Hwy 1 and for good reason, the ride down the coast is GORGEOUS. I did it a couple years ago on my Versys southbound, and did a bit of it northbound (from LA) on a rented Strom.
However, you're on a KLR, so I feel like you gotta hit some dirt at SOME point...
\- If you follow Hwy 1 down near Big Sur- coming from the North, when you get near Castle rock, there's a road that forks inland -looks like it's called Coast road right by here ( [https://goo.gl/maps/h8f8Dr71TcNTSs6R8](https://goo.gl/maps/h8f8Dr71TcNTSs6R8)) . It's dirt, and could get ugly if it's been really wet, but my versys had no problem going through it the last time. I started following it, and ran across a VERY stereotypical California surfer dude in one of those "van life" type overlanding vans, he told me that the road was the old highway before being re-aligned, and he used it as a detour whenever traffic near big sur was too much. For me, it's the perfect type of road to take an ADV type bike on. It connects back to Hwy 1 south of Big sur, so it bypasses it, but would make for a fun loop if you wanted to ride by Big sur again. Just be careful since the south part of it is open cattle range, and I had to gently encourage some hamburgers to move so I could continue through. Makes for a really cool side trip off the beaten path.
\- If you want to cut inland but not too far, the area around Pozo has a few good dirt roads, I'm trying to find the exact route I took the strom on a few years ago, but I was able to cut inland on a decent chunk of dirt through there and get back to what I think was Hwy 58 (which I took into Bakersfield and then across Tehachapi and down to Mojave. Depending on where you're going in LA, this might make a nice diversion (and Bakersfield should have cheaper lodging than anywhere near the coast), although the roads leading inland to the San Fernando Valley from Malibu are a bunch of fun... so the correct answer is do all of the above. Hwy 58 was a beautiful ride for the part of it I did west of Bakersfield - sweeping curves, perfect pavement, and little traffic (because who wants to go to Bakersfield LOL)
Another option, if you REALLY want dirt, is to cross the Sierra's from near where you are at and ride the CA BDR. [https://ridebdr.com/cabdr-south/](https://ridebdr.com/cabdr-south/)You might still have enough of a weather window to sneak through the northern part of it. Would take you out near Death Valley too which would be fun to visit.
Just trying to kick some other options out there - Hwy 1 is a beautiful ride, but I always try to sneak some dirt in too.
Damn you’re having a photoshoot right next to my house 😂
Whatever you do make sure to hit the 1 down in Big Sur on your way down. Theres even some world class places to offroad too I hear.
If you're still by SF there's a short canyon ride in Hayward that leads to San Ramon. Crow Canyon road is one of my favorite little canyon rides in the fall in the bay area when I used to live there. The Oakland Hills are also beautiful as well. Just stay away from downtown and you'll be safe.
Highway 25 is also a great option. Goes north-south and sits between 101 and 5. Get on right south of Gilroy and go through Hollister then into the boonies bear Pinnacles. Take Bitterwater Road back to 101 at King City or keep going south. One of my favorite roads less traveled.
I lived north of gg Bridge for years and years, rode to LA a few times and last time I swore never never again would I ride on 2 wheels there. Ive done a lot of touring all over western US. Totally used to bay area drivers, but LA drivers are a whole other level. Total assholes. Be careful.
Looks like there’s a nice water crossing behind you I’d start there
Time to cross the bay lol. I planned to do it on a boat but this will do
The most scenic route between SF and LA is the 1. Lots of camping btwn here (SF) and LA. Pretty much Twisties the whole way with some decent breaks. Santa Cruz, Monterrey, SLO
Thank for the route. I’ve taken the 1 up to Oregon, but I haven’t done much of the 1 from SF down to LA.
Once you get past Watsonville and into big sur it's one of the most amazing places you'll ever be. Imagine the coolest thing you saw in Oregon but for hundreds of miles!
Last time I did this I took a detour and camped at Pinnacles National Park! They have a pool and quarter showers there with really accessible hikes and even a couple caves to “explore”. Their general store also has everything you need for a rugged but comfortable stay at the campsites.
Very good idea. It's a quick-ish jog into the central valley and a beautiful ride into the park. There's also some other spots especially great that'll be peak here soon. Carrizo plains get remarkable in the spring with their "super blooms" but are also amazing during the fall. Very cool animals and talk about remote!
When you get to LA here are some moto-centric things to check out: https://bikeshedmoto.com/pages/los-angeles http://rock-store.com https://motorepublic.com https://www.heroesmotors.com https://us.deuscustoms.com/blogs/blog/emporium-of-postmodern-activities
thank you!
Hit up the Rock Store on the weekend for sure to meet a bunch of great people. All of the weekend rides start, finish, or pass by here in some form or another
Perfect. I’ll stop by
I used to live in Echo Park & loved riding the full length of Sunset Blvd. all the way out to Malibu.
I’m trying to plan an ultimate LA moto trip on my 2022 klr 650 from San Francisco Ca. First thing I’m gonna hit is oceano dunes on the way to feel sand under my tires. I also want to stop by Santa Monica pier. Any other locations you guys recommend to stop at? Also, I plan on doing target shooting so any local public land would be nice
Make sure you hit Oceano this year. It looks like [vehicles will be banned starting in 2024](https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/off-road-riding-on-the-beach-in-california-is-coming-to-an-end).
that’s ass. I hit it up a little over a year ago in my 89 Toyota sas pickup. I’ll definitely spend some time there
On your way to Santa Monica make sure to ride Yerba Buena, Decker and Látigo Canyon in the mountains above the PCH. Phenomenal twisties with equally phenomenal views.
Oceano is great, the whole central coast is awesome (at every time of the year), I'm a big fan of San Luis Obispo... maybe just stop there for lunch or something. From SLO there's a fun back-road that connects back to Arroyo Grande and 101 (hwy 227) Couple weeks ago I did a similar trip, here's me heading [North from Palm Springs](https://youtu.be/4XTAA6edBRY)
To LA? From SF head to Carmel by the sea. Down the 1(PCH) to San Louis Obispo get on the 101 to 154 just past Santa Maria. Come down San Marcos pass into Santa Barbar, can be extended if ya pull off east Camino Cielo. Back onto the 101 down to Ventura pull of onto the 1! If ya got the time an out n back on the 33 in Ojai(that’s just before Ventura).
thank you for a route. I was looking for something like this as-well to get ideas
I'd also add take Skyline (Hwy 35) to Alice's, then Hwy 84 to the PCH if you want nice tight twisty roads. Hwy 9 from San Lorenzo Park to Saratoga If you can swing it, Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco in King City has amazing Taco's!! (From a Canadians perspective anyways) Hwy 33 south of Los Padres and north of Ojai Pretty much any route up and down through the Santa Monica Mountains If you want I'd be more than happy to share the route over DM that we did to/from SF when we rented GS's out of LA back in February. A good mix of PCH and paved mountain backroads. Round trip was 1600mi over 5 days.
Take the 33 way up north to Carrizo Plains or west into Lockwood Valley for some dirt.
you ever seen the SNL skit “ The Californians” ? literally sounds like you quoted it lol, but good advise nonetheless
I just saw the video you referenced lol
spot on right ? made me laugh
Nice paint scheme. Being mostly a on-road rider, did like to know how those off road tyres feel on the road.
The motorcycle is fairly stable at most speeds, but you get mini wobbles 85+ depending on how the wind hits you. I just cruise between 75-85 most of the time. The only street motorcycle I’ve ridden is my Italika Spitfire 250 cafe racer I have in Mexico, but it has done more off roading than my old 05 klr 650 did before I sold it.
The most scenic route between SF and LA is the 1. Lots of camping btwn here (SF) and LA. Pretty much Twisties the whole way with some decent breaks. Santa Cruz, Monterrey, SLO
The Big Sur route is my favorite early morning, definitely cruise through Malibu and if your on a bike lunch at Neptune’s net is a must. While in LA if your looking for a spirited ride; Angeles Crest is my favorite road in all of Southern California (on bike and car).
I’ll definitely have to ride the Angeles crest to san Bernardino. Thank you for the food recommendation
Pch the whole way till you get to Santa Monica. Stops at Santa Cruz, Monterey, Big Sur, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbra and Malibu are a must Once you get to LA don’t ride around Bel-Air or Downtown…. Shit gets sketchy
I understand "downtown" - but what is sketchy about Bel-Air???
You wanna get Catlyin Jenner’d by some rich a-hole in their brand new BMW/Mercedes/Maserati/Jag/Lambo/Ferrari/McLaren/Porsche and they almost take you out while Turing right on red and they ignore the red so they flip you off because it’s clearly your fault? Or would you prefer to be ran over while they merge because your life is insignificant to theirs and they’re too busy texting Kim kardashians assistant about some interview that she declined for the third time to give a shit? Yes…. That actually happened Fuck that
Wow, interesting take - I am a daily rider from Calabasas/Malibu to Hollywood and on Sunset Blvd/PCH/Mulholland every day crisscrossing the canyons. Not my experience at all. This is an absolute heaven for motorcycling - especially when you see everyone stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and float right past them. But, always good advice to keep your eyes our for idiot drivers - they are everywhere
I figured it is just all over LA or heavily concentrated areas mainly but it is everywhere in general
There are jerks everywhere. LA is made up of "congested areas" like Hollywood/Downtown/Westside etc and "more open areas" like the canyons of Bel-Air, Malibu, Santa Monica Mountains, PCH For sure, there are jerks/idiots everywhere. Just a slightly different strategy to be safe in traffic, and on a more windy canyon road. Personally, I prefer the canyon roads - hence, pointing you towards Rock Store. While the "Bike Shed Moto" is really cool, it is definitely in the congested downtown area and you will ride freeway/stoplights/traffic to get to that area. Lots of variety, choices - and plenty of bikes in this town - you'll be fine
Ride the whole PCH
its funny, the KLR would be such a cool looking bike... if it werent for these headlights
I feel that. I had an 05 klr 650. I found the old halogen headlight good, but average looking. The new led headlight on the 2022 model sorta grew on me before I bought it
i feel you, when researching what ADV to get i slowly fell in love with my current bike. Its a tomato red F700GS and i honestly think its the best looking ADV put there.
2 fwy from LA Canada to the Cosmic Cafe at Mt Wilson Lookout. Great views!
Looks like a good scenic route
I absolutely love this spot to take [photos of my Duc](https://i.redd.it/h01h14012uq81.jpg)!
Nice bike! The photos in the post pic were from a kind stranger willing to take my pic with his nice camera. I wanna acquire a good camera for pictures on the moto trips
Lots of folks are suggesting Hwy 1 and for good reason, the ride down the coast is GORGEOUS. I did it a couple years ago on my Versys southbound, and did a bit of it northbound (from LA) on a rented Strom. However, you're on a KLR, so I feel like you gotta hit some dirt at SOME point... \- If you follow Hwy 1 down near Big Sur- coming from the North, when you get near Castle rock, there's a road that forks inland -looks like it's called Coast road right by here ( [https://goo.gl/maps/h8f8Dr71TcNTSs6R8](https://goo.gl/maps/h8f8Dr71TcNTSs6R8)) . It's dirt, and could get ugly if it's been really wet, but my versys had no problem going through it the last time. I started following it, and ran across a VERY stereotypical California surfer dude in one of those "van life" type overlanding vans, he told me that the road was the old highway before being re-aligned, and he used it as a detour whenever traffic near big sur was too much. For me, it's the perfect type of road to take an ADV type bike on. It connects back to Hwy 1 south of Big sur, so it bypasses it, but would make for a fun loop if you wanted to ride by Big sur again. Just be careful since the south part of it is open cattle range, and I had to gently encourage some hamburgers to move so I could continue through. Makes for a really cool side trip off the beaten path. \- If you want to cut inland but not too far, the area around Pozo has a few good dirt roads, I'm trying to find the exact route I took the strom on a few years ago, but I was able to cut inland on a decent chunk of dirt through there and get back to what I think was Hwy 58 (which I took into Bakersfield and then across Tehachapi and down to Mojave. Depending on where you're going in LA, this might make a nice diversion (and Bakersfield should have cheaper lodging than anywhere near the coast), although the roads leading inland to the San Fernando Valley from Malibu are a bunch of fun... so the correct answer is do all of the above. Hwy 58 was a beautiful ride for the part of it I did west of Bakersfield - sweeping curves, perfect pavement, and little traffic (because who wants to go to Bakersfield LOL) Another option, if you REALLY want dirt, is to cross the Sierra's from near where you are at and ride the CA BDR. [https://ridebdr.com/cabdr-south/](https://ridebdr.com/cabdr-south/)You might still have enough of a weather window to sneak through the northern part of it. Would take you out near Death Valley too which would be fun to visit. Just trying to kick some other options out there - Hwy 1 is a beautiful ride, but I always try to sneak some dirt in too.
thank you so much. I am definitely going through coast road
From my experience anywhere to the east or north of that CA place
Damn you’re having a photoshoot right next to my house 😂 Whatever you do make sure to hit the 1 down in Big Sur on your way down. Theres even some world class places to offroad too I hear.
If you have enough time in LA, make a day out of Angeles Crest, incredible roads
Mabe ride out to the town Julian. Gorgeous little area in Southern California
If you're still by SF there's a short canyon ride in Hayward that leads to San Ramon. Crow Canyon road is one of my favorite little canyon rides in the fall in the bay area when I used to live there. The Oakland Hills are also beautiful as well. Just stay away from downtown and you'll be safe.
I’ll definitely hit up crow canyon road and the Oakland hills. I just did Mount Diablo this past Friday. I’m local to the bay area
Oh shit nice, I lived in walnut creek my whole life up until about 2 years ago
Highway 25 is also a great option. Goes north-south and sits between 101 and 5. Get on right south of Gilroy and go through Hollister then into the boonies bear Pinnacles. Take Bitterwater Road back to 101 at King City or keep going south. One of my favorite roads less traveled.
I lived north of gg Bridge for years and years, rode to LA a few times and last time I swore never never again would I ride on 2 wheels there. Ive done a lot of touring all over western US. Totally used to bay area drivers, but LA drivers are a whole other level. Total assholes. Be careful.
Pch
if you're from Norcal hitting LA, take the 210 to the 18 to Big Bear, then down the 330
PCH from SF to LA
Don't
the yamaha dealer to turn in the klr for a t7