Ducati is once again doing one of the many things it does best—giving people what they want. You want a stunning, fast, capable supernaked with that V4 (THAT V4) as its beating heart? You got it. You want Carlin Dunne showing you exactly what it can do on a fantastic Washington road ahead of Pikes Peak on June 30? Absolutely.
More Ducati Hadouken:
Once you’ve wiped the drool off your chin and you’ve watched this video a few more times, let’s talk about that road. Pikes Peak is internationally famous, so it makes complete sense to show off the Streetfighter V4’s slick moves on another road that should arguably be somewhere up there on the fame list.
Maryhill Loops Road came about because of Sam Hill, who also founded the Maryhill Museum of Art. Before US 97 was constructed, this beautiful road was the only way to get between Goldendale, Washington and the Columbia River. If you aren’t familiar with Hill, you probably should be if you’re a motorcyclist. The man’s personal motto, according to the museum, was “good roads are more than my hobby; they are my religion.”
Even more impressive is the fact that these weren’t just words. Hill put his money where his mouth was, and personally spent that money to build 10 miles of demonstration roads — including this one—to experiment with modernizing road construction techniques and materials. Then, in 1913, he invited the Oregon governor and state legislature over to see exactly what he’d done with those roads and go “hey, here’s what we should be doing.”
If a road’s description could make your mouth water, this would be it: “It rises 850 feet in a series of 25 curves, eight of them hairpin turns, at a grade of 5%,” according to the Maryhill Museum. Unsurprisingly, this road just off Washington SR 14 is a beloved road in the area—but it is closed to vehicular traffic unless it is rented out for special events, like the annual Sportbike Northwest rally that regularly incorporates it into its route. Pedestrians and skateboarders are welcome to use it any time year round at no charge. For more info on this beautiful stretch of road for your trip-planning purposes, check out the Eat Sleep RIDE entry about it.
Sources: YouTube, Maryhill Museum