8 of the world’s iconic motorcycling roads

1. Stelvio Pass
With its 48 switchbacks, the Stelvio Pass rising from Italy’s Lake Como is probably one of the most recognisable pieces of road among motorcyclists. At 2757m in altitude, it's the second highest sealed mountain pass in the Alps by just 45m. Though sealed, twisty and suited to a sportsbike, Italian firm Moto Guzzi related an adventure bike name after the hugely popular section road in 2008.

2. Road of Bones
Famous for all the wrong reasons, the Kolyma Highway, otherwise known as the Road of Bones, runs from Magadan to Yakutsk in Russia’s Far East. Built by political prisoners in the 1930s, the road earned its name after thousands died in the extreme working and weather conditions and were buried in the road’s foundations. Regarded by many as one of the most challenging unsealed routes in Europe, not only because of the treacherous condition of the road itself and its dangerous and debilitated bridges, the but also because of the area’s extreme weather conditions.

3. Route 66
It’s the quintessential American road trip. One of America’s first transcontinental highways, the 3945km route stretches across eight states from Chicago to Los Angeles. Though once used by thousands of people fleeing the dust bowl of the west during the great depression, the construction go higher-speed interstate highways saw the original Route 66 highway officially decommissioned during the late 1980s. Songs and TV shows cemented the road as an important piece of popular culture and by 1990 Missouri had declared its original section a State Historic Route. Many associations have formed to revive the route, and the towns and businesses which rely on its popular for survival, to its former glory.  

4. Khardung La Pass
Located in the Himalayas and at 5602m, the Khardung La Pass can lay claim to being the highest rideable road in the world. Accessible via a reasonably maintained narrow dirt road which was built in 1976, the road was built to get supplies to the Siachen Glacier during military conflict between India and Pakistan. While spectacularly beautiful, it’s considered equally as dangerous because of various reasons: clueless tourists, icy and unpredictable road conditions as well as the extreme and dangerous altitude.

5. Isle of Man
No list of iconic motorcycle roads would be complete without what is possibly the most iconic of them all — the 60.7km road circuit which forms the Isle of Man TT. Though speed limited and policed during 50 weeks of the year, the stretch of road which forms the Mountain Course takes in small sleepy villages as well as fast open mountain sections and is transformed into the Greatest Show on Earth for two weeks every year. The circuit is open during the morning of practice and race weeks before the raids are closed for racing, though road rules and speed limits are heavily policed ion a bid to curb crashes from over-zealous fans.   

6. Nurburgring
A public road with ripple strips is a road one must ride. While the original Nürburgring was a Formula One circuit, the 20.8km Nordschleife is a public — albeit tolled — road in Germany which is only now occasionally closed for racing and testing events. A lap of the ’Ring will cost you around $40, but we’re pretty sure it’ll be among the best $40 you’ll ever spend. It boasts 73 corners, 33 of the left and 40 of them right, and the fastest lap around the The Green Hell, as it’s sometimes called, is just over seven minutes.     

7. Cat and Fiddle Road
Possibly Britain’s most famous (and popular) motorcycling road, the Cat and Fiddle run is an 19km stretch between Buxton in Derbyshire and Macclesfield in Cheshire. Named after a pub located along the route, its Peak District location makes it spectacularly scenic but has seen spectacular crashes due to its reputation. As a result, its speed limit has been reduced to 50mph (80km/h) and is heavily policed.

8. Ticlio Pass, Peru
Another spectacular mountain pass, this time in the Peruvian Andes, the Ticlo Pass reaches an elevation of 4818m. Its mix of long wide sweeping corners and tight and twisting hairpins has earned the 130km stretch of road running between Lima and La Oroya its iconic status.