The Quail Motorcycle Gathering 2024

Story and photos by Brandes Elitch

The tagline from The Quail Motorcycle Gathering is “the world’s preeminent motorcycling celebration.” This is not an exaggeration. This is due to the hard work, dedication, vision, and contacts from two individuals that are responsible for this show.

Gordon McCall

First is Gordon McCall, whom we have written about numerous times previously via my coverage of Monterey Car Week. Gordon is most well-known for starting the Quail Motorsports Gathering, one of the most famous car shows in the world, that takes place in Monterey Car Week in August. This show is so unique that I do not believe anyone has tried to duplicate it yet. Along with that he created a separate event at the Monterey Jet Center airport, called the McCall Motorworks Revival, which showcases specific cars and…airplanes! As if these two events were not enough, Gordon then successfully implemented the idea of a motorcycle concours d’elegance at Quail Lodge, taking over from Jared Zaugg and Brooke Roner, who started the precursor way back in 2006 at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay. (I attended that both years: great show but not the right location, and it was freezing cold, being quite literally next to the ocean). There are certainly many concours for automobiles, but to my knowledge, the Quail Lodge motorcycle show is the only motorcycle concours d’elegance, with 300 entrants and special classes and famous guests every year. There is an accompanying event the day before (Friday) which is called The Quail Ride, where lucky participants get to ride around the Monterey Peninsula with a California Highway Patrol escort, ending up at the racetrack at Laguna Seca, where they can lap the track. This must be close to heaven as such events go.

Gordon’s blueprint for the event includes guests who are famous riders, and this year the Legend of the Sport was four-time AMA National Champion Ricky Johnson, whom he interviewed along with World Champion Wayne Rainey.

Paul d’Orleans

Second is Paul d’Orleans. Right after reading this column, you should log on to Paul’s website, which is called The Vintagent (https://thevintagent.com). I am not exaggerating when I say that Paul is the most knowledgeable person in the country about motorcycle design history. He is an author, filmmaker, event organizer, and museum curator, definitely one of a kind (although I must say I am a Big Fan of Peter Egan too).

I met Paul many years ago after he bought my Velocette MAC when it emerged from a ten-year restoration by Fred Twigg and I realized I could never ride it. Paul is a mainstay (Chairman)of the Velocette Owners Club of North America (www.velocette.org) and is indeed a Mellow Velo Fellow. He is an organizer of the Melo Velo Ride, which this year will take place in October, the 41st year, in Paso Robles, CA, so put that on your calendar.

This year, there was a surprise: rain! Paul suggested that the name be changed to “The Quail Watersports Gathering.” I got there at 9 am and was able to take photos and talk to the exhibitors, but around noon something happened that I have never experienced in my 40+ years of attending car events on the Monterey Peninsula – getting wet! As usual, I was totally unprepared, with no umbrella, no raincoat, and no hat. As you can see, I was able to see and photograph the bikes that called out to me, but by noon the rain started in earnest. In addition to the featured classes, there are ten traditional classes. I also must give a shout-out to the excellent live band, called The Rudians.

Motorcycle Arts Foundation

In speaking with Paul at the show, he told me about a project he has been working on for some time, called the Motorcycle Arts Foundation (www.motorcycleartsfoundation.org). I think this is something important, and I want to share a bit about this here. It is the largest non-profit (501 (c) (3) dedicated to the creation, preservation, and distribution of motorcycle arts and the cultural importance of motorcycles and the impact that they have had on different art-forms. Since 2016, their programs, exhibitions, and events have been visited in person by over a million people. If you think that is impressive, the virtual programs, online exhibitions, and social platforms have had over 760 million likes, views and more. There is a charitable aspect to this foundation as well.

I always look forward to this show, for a number of reasons, and one is that is it really the first big show of the year. I am sure it takes a whole year to plan and organize, and I suspect that the weather was a big disappointment. Nevertheless, about a thousand people and two hundred bikes showed up anyway to display their bikes and talk to onlookers and that is indeed something special. I have said this before, but it is worth repeating: when you go to a big show such as Pebble Beach the owners are so focused on winning an award that they cannot really think about anything else, and certainly not talking to you, but at the Legend of the Motorcycle the owners just want to talk about their bike to anyone who is interested because judging is not important. They are enthusiasts first and foremost. This is a wonderful atmosphere, and you notice it immediately as you walk around. I am looking forward to next year, and I am pretty sure that it will not rain then.

Best of Show and My Best of Show

The Best of Show was a 1968 Honda CB750 factory prototype owned by Vic World. There is a long list of class winners (about 25), which you can find at www.peninsula.com/en/signature-events.

Choosing a favorite bike at a show like this is highly personal and no two people will likely agree on this, which is just fine. Here my favorite bike was owned and showed by Keith Dunlop and his wife. It received an award, the “Spirit of the Quail” honorable mention as runner-up. Keith wanted to keep the spirit of an original race bike from the 1970s and he certainly succeeded.

It is a 1971 Norton Commando Typhoon Special. It is an ex-race bike from the seventies. Keith performed the restoration himself. This entailed strengthening and gusseting the early frame. He raked the steering to 25 degrees on an 18-inch Borrani GP rim on the back and an Akront rim on the front.

The bike originally had Ceriani GP 38 forks and a quick-change hub. Keith rebuilt the motor with a MAP long rod and slipper piston kit, with a 10:1 compression ratio. He used a Megacycle cam, with a lightened and balanced crank. It has twin Amal Concentric carburetors that are jetted to the motor, and he added an electronic ignition and solid-state regulator/rectifier and an Alton electric starter. I think it would be hard to kick-start a bike with a 10:1 compression ratio!

The instrumentation is very attractive: a GPS speedometer, and gauges for oil pressure, crankcase temperature, fuel level, and most impressive a suite he added of what he calls “cockpit design” gauges. This was a tribute to his father, who was a fighter pilot in WW II and who would have been familiar with this layout.

To state the obvious, it takes a tremendous amount of dedication, perseverance, knowledge, and just plain hard work to restore a bike like this. There were about 180 bikes displayed and all of them showed a similar level of dedication and enthusiasm.

Below, a few of our favorites, caught before the rains came.