Thank you everyone for the warm welcome.
My plan is still in the planning stages, but my initial idea is to airfreight my bike into Dulles sometime around the end of May 2018 giving myself around 4-6 weeks to go across country towards LA where the bike will be sea freighted back to the UK. From Dulles I am looking at visiting:
(not in any order)
The shenandoah parkway
The Blue ridge Parkway
Deals Gap
Pikes Peak
Million Dollar highway
Monument Valley
Glen Canyon
Bryce Canyon
Zion National Park
Hoover Dam
Yosemite National Park
Ride parts of the Pacific coast highway
+ any sensible suggestions of places to visit within the area between I-10 in the south, and I-40 keeping off the interstate as much as possible, I figure riding 200 - 300 mile days, possibly less to make it more enjoyable.
Due to the dates I`m considering travelling I`m aware the weather window along the way won`t be perfect, with potential wet, extreme heat, and cooler temps at higher elevations. I have considered the idea of camping along the way, but the possibility of high temperatures would make it uncomfortable, and the time required to setup camp at the end of each day would eat into the time available. Also the option of sleeping in an air conditioned hotel room after a long day on the road seems a good idea