into significance
Prestige California event celebrates ninth year
The Quail Motorcycle Gathering is quickly establishing itself as the premier static motorcycle event in the US. For nine years the Quail Lodge and Golf Club, nestled in Carmel Valley in Northern California – that bastion of old-money retirement and the finer things in life – has served as the perfect stage to host the level of machines selected to participate.
Each May the perfectly manicured grass of the Quail Lodge welcomes a carefully hand-picked array of some 400 machines to represent the evolution of the motorcycle, which has been the core theme of The Quail since its inception in 2009. The result is a captivating walk through motorcycle history for enthusiasts and casual observers alike.
The real magic of The Quail is the organisers’ ability to blend a wide range of machines and disciplines, from past to present. A wide breadth of manufacturers are represented, with beautifully restored production models, one-off race machines, a legion of wonderfully odd contraptions and a host of customs. They all serve to remind attendees of the impassioned pursuits of designers and engineers throughout the years. From significant machines to whimsical inventions, the Quail always manages to find an enthralling line-up.
This year, with grey skies promising a rain that never came, The Quail’s featured marquee was Norton, specifically the Commando, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Showcasing the revered brand, several rows of immaculate Nortons commanded a wide
‘SOME BIKES PROUDLY BOAST THEIR ACQUIRED YEARS IN LAYERS OF RUST’
swath of lawn, with virtually every model and colour of the British manufacturer’s iconic machine on display.
In addition to Norton, British metal had an impressive presence this year with a wide selection of machines from the stables of Triumph, BSA, Vincent, Ariel, and one particularly beautiful 1939 Brough Superior SS100. The illustrious Italians were out in force with a number of Ducatis, Mondials, Benellis, Moto Guzzis and a few Moto Parillas. Legendary American brands Indian and Harley-davidson were well represented with a slew of vintage flat-trackers, a ’30s-era hill-climber and a handful of board-trackers from the early 1900s.
There were several contemporary American cruisers personalised with a good deal of chrome, as well as a strange custom concept off-road H-D. A well-preserved 1937 Indian Chief took First Place American and a brilliantly restored 1914 Jefferson board track racer earned the second place American trophy. Also among the Americans was a customised 2015 Motus, serving notice that there is still room for the motivated to enter the fray of motorcycle manufacturing.
BMW, a staple of any motorcycling event, was well covered with a lineage of the famous brand, in particular models covering the evolving boxer engine, from the early ’30s to several current day water-cooled boxers. Among the more rare machines was a V1000 Britten; number 10 of the original 10 Brittens ever built. The legendary racing motorcycle, designed and hand-built by New Zealander John Britten in the early ’90s, was a visionary precursor to many of today’s racing machines, implementing copious carbon-fibre and a truly integrated engine/frame design. Sadly, John Britten died of cancer in 1995, leaving his bike as a symbol of individual drive and ingenuity, reinforcing the ongoing invention of motorcycle design and innovation as being as much an everyman’s endeavour as that of a major manufacturer. Appropriately, the Britten won the Significance in Racing Award.
The big four Japanese were everywhere, with everything from Mini Trails to CB750S, Mach IIIS to 175 enduros, step-thrus to motocross racing machines. Other off-road machines included a pristine 1973 Penton Hare Scrambler 250 (signed by Mr Penton), a near perfect Bultaco Matador, an Ossa Pioneer, a Ducati Scrambler and a CZ twin-pipe owned by 1982 500cc Motocross World Champion Brad Lackey (the only American to ever win the title). Lackey eagerly entertained all questions and admirations aimed at his pride and joy, and happily engaged fans with stories from his vast history in racing. Nearby, sharing the grass, was a custom twin-engine Triumph drag bike from the ’60s along with a cadre of custom rides, including an elegantly and tastefully designed BSA bobber and a very strange concept BMW.
This year saw a respectable number of vintage flattrackers. One machine of provenance was one of Gary Nixon’s Triumphs, appropriately splattered with dirt from a half-mile track and sporting the racer’s legendary number 9 on its plates. One of Bubba Shobert’s National Championship-winning Honda 750s was on display (Shobert won the title in three consecutive years from 1985-1987, breaking the stranglehold Harley-davidson had maintained on the series since its inception. Michael Taggart, an avid collector who always manages to find machines with true racing heritage, was showing his 1957 Springfield Mile-winning BSA flat-tracker.
Personally, my motocross background (specifically with Maico, serving as a team race mechanic on the 1982 AMA Motocross Championship) had me partial to a nicely preserved 1975 Maico. Another Maico I wasn’t aware of until I saw it, was an appropriately weathered 1955 Typhoon with a tiny metal Maico zeppelin icon adorning its front mudguard. Stumbling onto these various machines serves as a reminder of the many motorcycles that have been dreamed up and built over the years, some going on to notoriety and immortality,
others fading away like an old Edsel. The Quail gives these oft-forgotten machines a chance to shine once more.
The general rule of thumb among the collectors and restorers I spoke to at The Quail is that they all feel the machines, regardless of age, should be ridden. It’s a healthy attitude amidst the field of vintage collecting that has been infiltrated over the years by increasing numbers of wealthy individuals who merely snatch up classics and enter them in contests, often with no genuine history or love for the machines. A good example of the experiential nature and devoted love of motorcycles inherent in The Quail is Trevor Franklin, who rode his personal 1980 Suzuki GS1000S the 1200 miles from his home in British Columbia to collect the Cycle World Tour Award – and choosing to leave the road grime of the trip on his bike instead of washing it off.
In this realm of rideable classics, there are the collectors who have intentionally not touched their machines. The result is display bikes that proudly boast their acquired years in layers of rust and peeling paint. One 1936 Moto Guzzi in particular was garnering a good amount of attention, with tastefully rusting frame and engine, the original paint of the fuel tank severely flaked, and the brittle leather seat split open with age, but the bike is fully operable. There is respect and an element of art to the accrued rust of a vintage motorcycle. It helps authenticate the age of said machine and remind us of the number years they’ve been with us. One bike in particular that walked the line between unrestored and original was a pristine 1973 Indian ME 100 Enduro, which the owner claims has never had oil or fuel in it and has never been started.
Another welcome aspect of The Quail is the catered lunch to be enjoyed by all attendees. Unlike most
‘THE MONDIAL’S FAIRING HARKENS BACK TO EARLY EXPERIMENTATION WITH WIND RESISTANCE’
events where spectators are left out in the elements all day, The Quail brings in large tents and provides a quality meal, with plates, linen napkins and real silverware. A nice touch that adds to the upscale atmosphere of the event, granting the attendees a sense of belonging and giving them an environment to sit down and chat with other enthusiasts. Each year The Quail honours an individual who has had a major influence on the sport. This year’s Legend of the Sport was three-time 500 Grand Prix World Champion ‘King’ Kenny Roberts. Roberts was joined on-stage by another three-time 500GP World Champion (and Carmel Valley resident) Wayne Rainey, along with legendary flat-tracker Mert Lawwill (of On Any Sunday fame). The three reminisced about their racing days and the support each granted the other in a lineage of racing greatness; Lawwill helped to develop Roberts into a national champion after discovering the young Californian’s skill, and then Roberts took Wayne Rainey under his wing after The King retired from racing, imparting wisdom that took Rainey to his world titles.
The three legends were seated in front of a display of two famous motorcycles. One was Roberts’ championship-winning 500cc Yamaha, the other was perhaps the most infamous racing motorcycle ever built – the 1975 TZ750 flat-tracker. The bike was built by Kel Carruthers who squeezed an irascible two-stroke, fourcylinder 750cc road race engine into the flat tracker with the intent of providing Yamaha and Roberts with a tool to dethrone the almighty Harley-davidsons. The bike, with a notorious light-switch powerband, was ridden to victory and a famous racing upset at the 1975 Indy Mile, with Roberts putting on a display of riding that has gone down in history as the one of the – if not the – greatest race performances of all time.
Roberts was struggling to master the over-powered machine but, coming from dead last, he systematically picked off riders one by one, passing the final two riders on the finish-line straight to win. When he came into the pits after the harrowing ride, Roberts was famously quoted as saying: “Yamaha doesn’t pay me enough to ride that thing”. The bike was banned after just three races, declared as too dangerous to be on the track.
Best of Show for the 2017 Quail Motorcycle Gathering went to John Goldman of California, who brought out his rare, perfectly restored 1957 Mondial 250cc Grand Prix racer. The Mondial’s bulbous full fairing harkens back to the early days of experimentation with wind resistance, as machines were gaining performance and speed. It reminds us just how far technology has progressed in the intervening years with regard to design. Goldman had a vintage poster of the machine on the grid back in the day that served as reminder of the golden years of early racing.
Situated in beautiful Carmel Valley, with Monterey’s Cannery Row and Carmel Village nearby, grants The Quail Motorcycle Gathering the unique aspect of being a genuine destination event for motorcycle enthusiasts. Next year will mark The Quail’s 10th Anniversary, with the event scheduled for May 4 – well worth a visit.