What if a motorcycle show broke out in a five-star restaurant?
Concours d’elegance sounds posh, so best make it properly posh. California’s Quail Motorcycle Gathering on May 6 puts amazing bikes onto the immaculate lawns of an upmarket hotel. It’s the one you really need to attend, reckons Paul d’orleans
FULL DISCLOSURE: I’ve MC’D the Quail since their second event in 2010, so mine is an insider’s perspective. But I will pull no punches. What has become a dreamy weekend in the most storied locale in the old-vehicle world (Pebble Beach is mere miles away), began as a dot on the calendar formerly occupied by the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours (2006-8, RIP).
Those were big shoes to fill, but founder Gordon Mccall followed a strategy of patience, allowing the Quail to grow organically from a wobbly club-feel start into a flourishing calendar fixture. That low-key approach is a vibe; it’s the chilliest place to see world champions mingling with customisers, movie stars and ordinary bike nuts.
No velvet ropes – for the Saturday gathering the $60 ticket is all-access. But you might want to get there early and pay more; despite the $575 fee for Friday’s Quail Ride, it’s an instant sell-out. That’s because you get hustled through the sinuous canyons of Arroyo Seco by hotshot California Highway Patrol escort riders, running all the reds, on the way to laps of Laguna Seca race track in the company of 100 amazing bikes from Brough to Vyrus. Catered lunch after, and prizes, although one year my Vintagent team-mate Kim Young won a trophy for her ’30 Velo KSS, but had snuck into the ride, so guess who ponied up her entry fee? But the laughs – priceless.
Quail Lodge – which seems a pet project of Sir Michael Kadoorie, a vintage vehicle nut – is owned by The Peninsula Hotels. That means six-star hotel competence at the humble Quail, so the staff and especially the catering are impeccable. The motto should be: ‘Come for the bikes, stay for the food’. And drink – it’s all included: champagne, margaritas and
coffee to keep you upright. I don’t recommend a tipsy spin through Carmel Valley Road, tho’ – takes days to find bodies in them ravines. Oh, and the bikes; what appears on the grass is simply superb, and a wonderfully eclectic mix of the best from every category – from desert sleds to pioneers to world’s-best customs to GP bikes. There’s even a chopper class this year. 100% worth attending. • The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, May 6, 2023 • It’s 125 miles south of San Francisco • peninsula.com/en/signature-events/events/ motorcycle