Stretching roughly 20 kilometres between Healesville and Narbethong on Victoria’s Maroondah Highway, the Black Spur is one of those rare stretches of tarmac that justifies owning a motorcycle. Not because it’s extreme, or technical to the point of anxiety. It gets everything right at once: the corners, the surface, the scenery, the atmosphere. It all lands together in a way that most roads never manage.
If it’s not on your list yet, it should be.
Start in Healesville
Healesville is your base. Get there early. The main street has good coffee, and arriving before 8am means you’ll hit the Spur with minimal traffic.
There’s a reason riders have been making this pilgrimage for decades: mornings on the Black Spur are something else entirely.
From Healesville, the road climbs immediately. The suburban edge of town drops away, the temperature falls a few degrees, and the trees close in overhead. You’re in the Yarra Ranges now, and the road makes that clear fast.
The Road
What sets the Black Spur apart is how the elements combine. The corners are tight without being punishing. The elevation changes are constant without becoming tedious. And the surface, while it demands respect in the shade where moisture lingers, is generally in good shape.
The mountain ash trees that line the route are among the tallest flowering plants on earth. They form a canopy so dense in places that mid-morning feels like dusk underneath them. Ferns fill the gullies below the road.
The whole place has a quality that makes riding feel strangely right. Like two wheels belong here more than anything else.
The 80km/h speed limit through the Spur is sensible, and more than enough. The reward here isn’t covering the distance quickly. It’s reading each corner cleanly, staying smooth, staying present. Riders who chase speed on the Black Spur are missing the point.
What to Watch For
Shade from the canopy means certain sections hold moisture long after rain, and wet leaf matter collects in corners, particularly in autumn. Wildlife is real: wallabies and lyrebirds are active near the road edges in the early morning and at dusk, and they don’t always give you much warning.
On weekends, you’ll share the road with touring drivers, cyclists, and occasionally a logging truck that fills the lane. Give everything room. The Spur rewards patience.
Some corners also tighten mid-arc. Don’t commit early. Read the road as it unfolds.
After the Spur
Narbethong sits at the far end: small, quiet, worth a stop. Most riders turn around here and run it back the other direction. The return reveals an entirely different set of corners and sightlines. Worth the extra 20 minutes.
If you want more road, continue north to Marysville. Good town for a second coffee and a stretch, and the roads around it extend the day nicely if you’re not in a hurry to get back.
The Other Perspective
The Black Spur draws its share of four-wheeled traffic too: sports cars, hot hatches, the occasional Porsche out for a Sunday morning. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like from a car, the team at TorquePress covered it from the driver’s seat, though we’d argue the Spur was built for two wheels.
The Basics
Route: Healesville to Narbethong via Maroondah Highway (B360)
Distance: ~20km one way
Best time: Early weekday morning, or weekends before 9am
Watch for: Damp surface under canopy, wildlife at dawn/dusk, logging trucks
Fuel: Fill up in Healesville before you go
