The Quail Motorcycle Gathering

A new concours and classic-bike auction.

By David Edwards | Photo by Marc Urbano

April 2009

Classic-bike fans let out a groan when it was announced that the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours d'Elegance had been canceled for 2009, yet another victim of the economy's downward spiral. In its short three-year history, LotM had ascended to the top spot of American bike shows, and here's hoping that the event is back in 2010 as promised.

Luckily, we won't have to wait that long to see shiny machines lined up on manicured grass. Stepping up to fill the early May time slot usually occupied by the Legend is a brand-new event, the Quail Motorcycle Gathering, put on in conjunction with the Bonhams & Butterfields auction house.

The Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club in Carmel, California, is no stranger to classic machinery. Each August it hosts its Motorsports Gathering, part of the hoopla surrounding the running of the Monterey Historics classic-car races.

Cycle World will be there for the inaugural Motorcycle Gathering, this May 8–9. We'll be on Friday's Quail Motorcycle Tour, a 100-mile day trip around the backroads of the Monterey Peninsula. Limited to 50 participants on pre-1974 models, the tour has a $250 entry fee inclusive of breakfast, lunch and dinner—and, naturally, CW's good company. Saturday's concours opens at 10 a.m. and runs to 3 p.m. Tickets are $65 per person (kids under 12 free) but also include munchables, or as the PR staff would have us say, "to enhance your experience, the Quail Lodge Culinary Team will serve an irresistible BBQ lunch prepared with the most fresh and savorful ingredients from our local farms and purveyors"—which beats a greasy gut bomb any day. Show-goers also gain admittance to the Bonhams auction, starting at 3 p.m. in the Quail Lodge Clubhouse. For more info or to purchase advance tickets, call 831/620-8887 or (toll-free) 877/734-4628, or log on to www.quaillodgeevents.com.

Got a bike to show? A few concours spots are still available; the above website has downloadable entry forms. Your $95 entry fee includes two show tickets, the barbeque lunch, an event program, a special gift bag and, of course, entry to the auction so that you might add to your collection. Among the awards given out on Saturday will be the "Cycle World Cup," presented to our favorite bike that completes the Friday tour and is shown on Saturday.