Roads and Restaurants
Come through NM so that you wind up on 180 out of Silver City. Take 78 west into Three Way AZ. It's an okay ride initially, and much more technical and scenic from the middle to the end. You will go through some low spots on the road, especially near Mule Creek, I think there are three crossings in total. If it has been raining hard north of you, be very careful crossing the water and look upstream before crossing to ensure a flood isn't coming your way. I can cross them on a Wing so you'll be fine.
Three Way is just south of Morenci so you're good for the ride up 191 at that point. If you didn't already do so, stop at the Mine observation point on your right as you leave Morenci. This is the second largest Open Pit Copper Mine in the world. 3/4 of the way up 191 you'll see Hannagan Meadow Lodge on your left hand side. They are motorcycle friendly and host our annual BMW gathering every year. Stop and get a root beer and sit on the front porch for a bit.
As you reach Alpine, the Bait shop on the left side has 191 / 666 "I rode the Devil" type souvenirs. Turn right at that same intersection and the Bear Wallow Cafe is on your right side about 100 yards up the street. I always have a good meal there, but leave room for a slice of pie.
Show Low to Payson on the 260 is typical 2-lane. Nothing special. Watch for Elk everywhere but especially in the heavily wooded areas. A general caution... more trophy elk are taken in Arizona than in any other state, so ride with caution. Once you reach Payson and come to the main intersection in town, turn right to stay onto 260. If you go left you'll be on 87 going to Phoenix.
Once you're on 260 north of Payson, perhaps a mile ahead on the left is the road to the airport. They have a good cafe there called the Crosswinds. Sit by the large picture windows so you have a good view of the aviation traffic.
Payson to Pine to Strawberry can be very technical at times, and is another hot bed of elk. A ways past Strawberry, 260 will break off to the left and 87 will continue ahead to the north. Continue west on 260 to Camp Verde and I-17. Camp Verde is a good historical site if you want to stop and look around for a little while.
Jump on I-17 south for 3 miles and take 169 west. You may see a lot of burned out sections from this years fires. 169 will run into 69 north. You can take 69 to Prescott if you're interested in seeing the town, or you can take Fain Rd north to to 89A. Continue north on 89A to Jerome. This is some of the best riding in the state. There are a lot of eating spots in Jerome so I don't have any specific recommendations.
Continue on 89A to Clarkdale and then on to Cottonwood, and then north again to Sedona. Continue through Sedona and then up the cliff to Flagstaff.
From Flagstaff take 89 north (89A "to" Flagstaff. 89 "from" Flagstaff) past Cameron (east entrance to the G.C.) up to 160.
160 east to Tuba City. 264 south out of Tuba City to Burnside. Keep in mind that once you're on the Rez, time zones change. Navajo changes with the rest of the country, but Arizona doesn't. Hopi does not change and sticks with Arizona, but there is another smaller Hopi Nation "inside" the Navajo Nation so you could literally have 4 time zone changes in a matter of miles. This really threw me off one night when I was starting a SaddleSore from Kayenta.
Once you reach Burnside, take 191 north to Chinle, and Canyon de Chelly (canyon duh shay pronunciation) which is my most favorite place in Arizona. You can only ride the rim unless you take a Navajo guided tour into the canyon. There are many stops/lookouts along the rim, but if you have the time, I recommend a tour. Do your research before you leave home on which tour to book.
Continue north on 191 to 160. Go east on 160 about a mile and pick up 191 north again. Or you can continue east on 160 to Teec Nos *** (the forum software flagged P O S) and then take
a left and continue on 160 to Four Corners for a photo opportunity. Continue north on 160 into NM and then take 41/162 NW into Utah. This will bring you through Bluff and then onto 163 which will take you down to Mexican Hat and then further down into Monument Valley, my second favorite place in Arizona.
Continuing south on 163 brings you into Kayenta. Stop at the Burger King and see the memorial for the Code Talkers. It's not much, but it's something.
If you want to see a GREAT memorial to the Code Talkers, when you are on 264 going to Burnside, continue on through Ganado to Window Rock, which is the location of the governing bodies of the Navajo Nation. Just past McDonald's on 264 you will turn left onto 12. About a half mile up the road you'll take Window Rock Blvd on the right. When the road forks, bear to the left. You'll ride past a lot of administrative offices and the road (lane?) will curve to the right with a LARGE parking area on your left hand side (north side). If you can see the hole in rock you'll know you're at the right spot.
If you carry, it would be advisable to have your firearm tucked away in your luggage any time you are on Native land. I also don't suggest riding any more than 5 over when you're on the Rez. You will ride through some desolate areas where you think you can see for miles and miles, but you never know when a Tribal cop will be sitting behind something just waiting for an out of state tourist to come blasting by. Also, much of the Native land is Open Range, so now you not only have to worry about the elk, you have to worry about horses and cattle on the road.
For a nice day ride out of Phoenix, take 60 east to Superior (breakfast or lunch at Los Hermanos just as you enter Superior from the west), then 177 south from Superior. At 33.165822, -111.005159 you'll have a turn-off to the Ray Mine lookout point. It's a little rough but I can make it on the Wing so you'll be fine. Back to the road and continue on south to Winkelman. As you get to Kearny, there is a cafe called the West End Cafe. It's decent for breakfast or lunch but nothing to rave about. I've always had a good meal there.
At Winkelman you'll go left onto 77 and head to Globe. 77 will intersect with 70 which takes you into Globe. We call this running the Winkelman Loop.
As you reach Globe you'll take 60 west. As you're leaving Globe you'll see 188 going north. Take this to Roosevelt Lake. Just before you reach the bridge, take the road to the left. This will take you to a viewing spot behind the dam itself. This is also highway 88 and you have the perfect bike for the next part. The next 15-20 miles is graded, not paved. I have not ridden it, but others on Wings have. Sports cars have made the trip. This will take you on the Apache Trail to Tortilla Flat. Once you reach the paved portion you will probably find a lot of riders if you're up there on a weekend day as it's a very popular road with some, but not a lot of law enforcement activity.
If you choose not to ride the dirt, you can leave from the back of the dam and continue north of 188 past the edge of the lake until the road intersects 87 south from Payson. You'll then take this road south (usually called the Beeline) back into Phoenix. Look for a road called Bush Highway and take that south past Saguaro Lake. It's been recently paved and is a good roller coaster ride. This will drop you into Power Road and then to the north side of the 202 Loop.
A ride to the NW of town will involve some time on I-17. Take I-17 north out of Phoenix to 74 west. 74 will take you to 60 north into Wickenburg. You then want 93 north out of Wickenburg. You'll need to deal with 2-3 roundabouts on the way. Take 89 north at the split. This will take you through Congress and then up the Yarnell Hill (lots of YouTube videos of Yarnell Hill including one of mine on the Wing). The Ranch House restaurant at the top of the hill is usually packed with riders on the weekends and it's a good place to eat. Bring cash.
Continue on through the Spars into Prescott (more YouTube videos on the Spars). Breakfast or lunch at the Hassayampa Inn is the thing to do when you're in Prescott.
89 becomes Montezuma St. Continue north. This becomes Whipple St going west. This becomes Iron Springs Rd going NW. This becomes 10. Stay on this into Skull Valley. South of that you'll hit an intersection at the Kirkland Bar and Steakhouse, turn right onto Yava Rd which becomes Bagdad Rd which becomes 96. You can take this all the way into Bagdad (Bagdad Mine) or you take take a left at 97 and go back out to 93. Both 96 and 97 are roller coasters and curves and sweepers with minimal traffic.
From there you have to slog back down 93 and 60 to get back into town. Now obviously, if you're meeting your friend somewhere outside of the PHX area I can find some other roads but this will get you started. I'm waiting to hear back from a friend who has ridden into AZ from the Shiprock area and raves about a road, but I can't remember the name of it.
Let me know what questions you might have.