Best Motorcycle Rides Around the Grand Canyon

Welcome to "Ride & Rally" with Fix My Hog, brought to you by Gatorz Eyewear, fit, form, function, proudly made in the USA. Footwear provided by Harley-Davidson Footwear. What's up, everybody, I'm Nate Beck and you're watching "Fix My Hog Ride & Rally 2019." I'm here in Phoenix, Arizona. I've been on a rock and roll tour, managing it, and we have a couple days off, so what we're gonna do, you guessed it. We're gonna pick up a Harley-Davidson, we're gonna head to the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and then on to Vegas. So I'm gonna get off this bus, go over to Eagle Rider and grab a bike, and we'll see you on the other side. 115 degrees, the Grand Canyon, and a new brand new Harley-Davidson Road King. I was recently taking a rock and roll band around the Southwest, and we had a few days off between our Phoenix and our Las Vegas dates, and I thought what a better chance than to get off the comfy, air-conditioned bus into the 115-degree heat and hop onto a Harley-Davidson Road King. What I did was I took Interstate 17 up north out of Phoenix, and I noticed that as I was going that you can take a side road and actually go through Sedona. I love getting off the interstate and really seeing the sights, and Sedona is such an amazing place, and I've seen so many photos, but I had never been. I got off off the 17 onto the 179 and headed up into Sedona, but what I never heard was that the traffic on the weekends in Sedona was absolutely ridiculous. I sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic in first gear, clutching it all the way through Sedona, past Sedona. It was so busy in Sedona that I couldn't even stop to get a bite to eat or really cool off because there are lines out the door everywhere, and I was trying to make it to the Grand Canyon by dusk. Eventually, I got through Sedona, and I hooked up with the 89A, which is a switchback road that goes through the mountains, and really it's on par with Loveland Pass or Independence Pass. The switchbacks are super tight, there's a cliff on one side, a drop-off on the other, 15 miles an hour signs, and they mean 15 miles an hour. But what I found is that you wanna go 15 miles an hour through it because it is so gorgeous. You're finally out of traffic, the sights are amazing, to really take it slow and enjoy it. After going through Sedona, I took 89A up into Flagstaff, and what really surprised me there was the amount of green. There's tons of pine trees, and I'd expected desert for pretty much the whole way. Now after you get through Flagstaff, you have a choice. You can either take Interstate 40 West to 64 up to Tusayan and the Grand Canyon, or, what I did 'cause I love to get off the interstate, is to take 180. 180 goes out of Flagstaff and actually hooks up with 64 about halfway up on the way to Tusayan. Now, if you're gonna take 180, I would absolutely suggest you get everything you need in Flagstaff. Fill up your gas tank, get bottles of water, maybe grab a few snacks at a gas station, because once you hop on the 180, it's about an hour of absolutely nothing besides just vast expanse of land. It's absolutely gorgeous and I would definitely suggest it, but fill up your bike and get ready for that part of the trip. Once you get into Tusayan and you get up into the Grand Canyon, they charge you 30 bucks to get a bike into the Grand Canyon, and again, it's absolutely, it was a Saturday, super crowded at the Visitor's Center in Mathers Point. So I actually took Desert View Drive east a little bit, and there's another little lookout point right there that is much less crowded and much more enjoyable. You can park the bike right there and really take it all in. If you wanna continue, you can take Desert View Drive about 25 miles further east. However, I was looking at the sky and there was a storm coming in, so I actually ended up heading back to the hotel that night and staying the night in Tusayan. If you've been to Tusayan, you'll know that they have probably the most dangerous drivers there ever. I have never been almost hit more times on a motorcycle than I did in Tusayan. So if you're gonna do this trip and head through there, absolutely pay attention in that area, 'cause drivers love to pull out in front of you there. I don't know what it is, but it happens. So I spent the night there, woke up the next day, headed out of Tusayan back down Interstate 40, headed west towards Las Vegas. That part of the trip right there was the most desolate road I have ever been on on a motorcycle. Very few gas stations, all desert, very few even pull-offs. Luckily, I had kinda looked at, you know, planned out my gas stops a little bit, and I loaded up my saddlebags with water on the way out, knowing that there would be very few stops. There's a town in Arizona called Kingman, Arizona, right in the middle. I have some friends that live there, so I stopped there for lunch and a quick cool-off before heading into Vegas. Obviously, when you get into Vegas, it's all the lights and glam and the greatness, and pulling in on a Road King was even cooler. Now, for this trip, I took the Road King because I've been riding the Heritage Classic so much. And I wanted a bike that was kind of in the same realm as the Heritage Classic to really kinda put 'em one versus the other. They have a very similar wheel base, very similar torque specs, very similar gear ratios. The one difference is the weight, and a little bit of the riding position. The riding position on a Road King, I'm 6'2" and about 200 pounds, and I found that, on the Road King, it's a little tighter, and on the Heritage, I'm a little more stretched out. The Heritage is about 100 pounds less in running weight than the Road King, and that really showed its colors when you're doing switchbacks and during acceleration, cornering, that kinda stuff. The Road King didn't seem to wanna do it with as much agility as the Heritage does. However, I will say the Road King is named the Road King for a reason. I've never ridden more miles on a motorcycle and felt more comfortable getting off a motorcycle with a stock seat than I had with the Road King. So for me, I lean more towards the Heritage because I get the thrill out of a little bit faster acceleration. It wants to sit in the corners a little bit more naturally, I felt, than the Road King. But if I was doing long-distance miles, like if I was gonna head to Sturgis, then I would absolutely get a Road King, because the comfort is unparalleled. If you're thinking about doing this trip, and you can't do it in the fall or the spring and you have to do it in the summer when it's this hot, two things: Number one, every single gas station you stop at, think ahead. I had both of my saddlebags just filled with bottles of water. The second thing that really helped out were the Harley-Davidson Footwear Benteen Boots. They got the TFL COOL SYSTEM, which actually radiates the sun off the boot than it sinking into the leather and making your feet hotter. Your feet are already next to a super hot V Twin, so you don't need to make 'em any hotter. So if you're looking to get a boot that helps keep your feet cool, Harley-Davidson Footwear Benteen Boot was absolutely the way to go. So if you're gonna do this trip, do it, try not to do it in the summer, and if you can avoid Sedona on the weekends, definitely do that. Enjoy the switchbacks, enjoy the desert, and really take it in, and then party in Vegas, and that's what it's all about. So until next time, ride safe, wrench safe, and we'll see you on the road.