THE BEST MOTORCYCLE ROADS IN SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA

South Australia has a huge amount to offer for motorcyclists. From ocean hugging roads to mountain twisties, there’s pretty much anything for any style and level of riding within a short distance of SA’s major cities. 

Here’s some advice on where to thrash your engine and warm up your wheels in the giant catchall area that is South Australia. 

Echunga to Strathalbyn

Echunga is located around 34km south-east of Adelaide; a small town with a distinct old-style architectural feel. If you start out early morning to avoid traffic and police, it’s a 21km twisting path through to the town of Strathalbyn.

This route is popular with riders because the road quality is superior – a boon for a road where you’ll expect to be holding tight turns with an average speed of around 50kph. A great characteristic of this ride is that it’s consistent; the turns don’t tighten up dramatically from one bend to the next. A smooth challenge suitable for a bike of any size.

With this under your belt, you’ll be ideally placed for some of our next suggestions.

Adelaide Hills

It’s a safe bet in South Australia that any road which moves inland from the coast will be a great ride and the Adelaide Hills are no exception. If you’re the type of rider who prefers a road less-travelled, you’ll be well catered for here.

Truth be told, there are so many great riding experiences in this area that I’d never have the time to try them all, let alone blog about them! If you’re in the region and want to stay roughly on the same stretch and still enjoy a diverse set of roads, Adelaide has you covered.

The Australian Motorcyclist Magazine’s Adelaide Hills ride article has awesome detail on the whole riding experience of this trip, including important tips on rest breaks interesting stops along the way.

With that said, I specifically recommend two areas in the Adelaide Hills. First, rip through the roads going through Strathalbyn and Macclesfield. Finishing in Macclesfield, you will find yourself in a quaint town of little more than 800 people, where the upper reaches of the River Angas have resulted in a beautiful and relaxing landscape.

From here, you’ll have to check out the Strathalbyn Road. A long straight connected from Macclesfield to Aldgate, and more on the B33 State Route, it’s a prime opportunity to open up and hit the limits of your ride.

Sedan Hill Road

Don’t you love speed limits? Cough.

Starting off near the small town of 82km north-east of Adelaide, the Sedan Hill Road is about as quintessential a riding road as it gets. If you’ve got a beast of an engine underneath you, you need to hit this one.

Coming in at the shorter end of the spectrum at only 18kms, the hilly corners in the first half open up to a set of two straights that encourage nothing more than a wild and serious adherence to the local speed limit.

A benefit of the Sedan Hill stretch is that it’s easily accessed from a variety of different directions. No problems getting to this one, wherever your road trip has taken you thus far.

Epicurean Way

I mentioned wine and I mention it again. The Epicurean Way is a road trip offering that acts as a connection to the four main wine regions in South Australia: McLaren Vale, Barossa, Clare Valley and the Adelaide Hills. This is a big stretch of road – it’s hard to pin down just what’s best in terms of turns. Irecommend the Epicurean Way towards the end of your trip, although it’s certainly large enough to be a week’s worth of riding by itself. The scenery, as is common in all of Australia, is jaw-dropping. Areas like the Barossa Valley are stunning to ride through and you have a guarantee of perfect weather. It’s the reason there are so many lovely wineries around, many of which offer tasting experiences and planned tours of their grounds. A close to my suggestions, then, on a more relaxed note. Now you’re done caning your ride on the aforementioned bends, this diverse area offers a way to bring it down a notch and have more than a few drinks along the way – just mind your levels if you’ve got a ride back to your hotel.