The Best Motorcycle Roads Around Melbourne

Melbourne is one of Australia's best bases for motorcycle riding. Within a couple of hours of the city, you can go from urban roads to mountain ranges, dense forests, winding country roads and spectacular coastline.

Some routes are famous for good reason. Others are much less well known — and sometimes those are the roads that make the best rides.

If you're hiring a motorcycle in Melbourne, here are some of the roads and areas worth putting on your list.

Black Spur

The Black Spur is probably Melbourne's most famous motorcycle road.

Running between Healesville and Narbethong through the Yarra Ranges, the road winds through towering mountain ash forest and lush fern-filled scenery. The main section is around 28 km long. �

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It's not difficult to understand why riders keep coming back. The combination of tight corners, forest and elevation makes it an excellent introduction to Victoria's mountain roads.

Best for: A short mountain ride, scenery and combining with other Yarra Ranges roads.

Tip: The Black Spur is popular, particularly on weekends. An early start can make a big difference to the experience.

Reefton Spur

If you've ridden the Black Spur, don't stop there.

The Reefton Spur takes you further into the mountains and is commonly combined with the Black Spur to create a much longer loop through the area. It offers a different character to the famous tourist route, with more remote mountain riding and plenty of corners.

It's one of those roads where the scenery can be spectacular, but you'll want to concentrate on the road in front of you.

Best for: Riders looking for a longer mountain ride with fewer distractions.

Great Ocean Road

You can't write about motorcycle riding around Melbourne without mentioning the Great Ocean Road.

The famous coastal route stretches 243 km along Victoria's south-west coast, with the section around Lorne and Apollo Bay particularly well known for its scenery. �

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It's a fantastic road trip, but there's an important distinction between seeing the Great Ocean Road and riding it for the corners.

Traffic, coaches, caravans and sightseeing stops can make the main coastal road busy, particularly at popular times.

That's where exploring the roads away from the coastline becomes interesting.

The Otways

Head inland from the Great Ocean Road and you'll find the Otways — an area packed with winding roads through forest and countryside.

Roads around places such as Forrest, Beech Forest and Lavers Hill offer a completely different riding experience from the coastal route.

For a rider, the attraction isn't necessarily getting from A to B as quickly as possible. It's the journey through the forest, the changing scenery and the succession of corners.

The Otways are also an excellent option if you've already done the Great Ocean Road and want to explore beyond the obvious tourist route.

Yarra Valley & Kinglake

You don't always need to travel hundreds of kilometres to find a great ride.

The roads around Healesville, Yarra Glen, Kinglake, Flowerdale and St Andrews provide a huge amount of riding within relatively easy reach of Melbourne. Visit Melbourne specifically highlights this area alongside the Black Spur as a popular motorcycle-riding region. �

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The best part is the variety.

You can build anything from a short morning ride to a full-day loop, combining flowing country roads with tighter mountain sections.

Great Alpine Road

If you've got more than a day, head further east.

The Great Alpine Road runs 339 km from Wangaratta through Victoria's high country to Metung. The section between Bright and Omeo is particularly popular with motorcyclists. �

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This is a completely different experience from the roads close to Melbourne. You're trading the busy city fringe for open mountain scenery, elevation and long stretches of winding road.

It's better suited to a full-day or multi-day trip rather than a quick afternoon ride.

Don't Just Ride the Roads Everyone Knows

One of the best things about riding around Melbourne is that some of the best roads aren't necessarily the famous ones.

There are countless smaller roads running through the ranges and rural areas that don't appear on the usual "top 10 motorcycle roads" lists.

And that's where local riding experience becomes valuable.

At Drifter Motorcycle Tours, we've spent time riding these areas and building our own knowledge of the roads around Melbourne. We know that the most famous road isn't always the most enjoyable road on a particular day.

Every Drifter rental includes route and road recommendations, so you don't just pick up a motorcycle and get pointed towards the nearest highway.

Tell us what kind of ride you're looking for — short and twisty, scenic, a full-day loop, coastal riding or something a little less obvious — and we'll point you towards roads worth exploring.

Which Melbourne Motorcycle Road Should You Ride?

It depends on what you're looking for.

Want a short ride from Melbourne?

Try the Yarra Valley, Kinglake or Black Spur.

Want mountain roads?

Combine the Black Spur and Reefton Spur.

Want spectacular scenery?

Head for the Great Ocean Road.

Want something beyond the tourist route?

Explore the Otways.

Got a full day or more?

Head towards Victoria's High Country and the Great Alpine Road.

And if you're not sure where to go, ask us. One of the advantages of renting from a local motorcycle company is getting more than just the keys.

Hire a Motorcycle in Melbourne

Whether you're looking for a lightweight bike for exploring the Yarra Valley, a four-cylinder road bike for a weekend ride, or something more performance-focused, Drifter Motorcycle Tours has a growing range of motorcycles available for hire in Melbourne