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Best Bikes Of The 2019 Quail Motorcycle Gathering

Some of our favorite motorcycles from Carmel Valley

May 10, 2019

This 1977 Bultaco 350 Pursang was part of the Off-Road Wonders display, and really caught our eye.Julia LaPalme

Each year around the first weekend in May, the Quail Lodge & Golf Club hosts the Quail Motorcycle Gathering, featuring unique vintage, antique, and custom motorcycles. In the same spirit as their Quail Motorsports gathering, a car show that takes place during Monterey Car Week, the Motorcycle Gathering feels like a higher-end setting, with mostly pristine examples of classic motorcycles displayed on the golf greens. The show hosted more than 3,000 attendees throughout the day, who enjoyed over 350 bikes on display as well as a catered lunch featuring some of the local area's best-tasting fare.

The highly polished tank on this 1930 Dunelt 500 SD reflected the field of bikes beautifully. This rare low-mileage example of the Birmingham, England, bike features a 496cc Sturmey-Archer air-cooled single, with dual exhaust and the original speedometer.Julia LaPalme

Aside from their traditional classes, the Quail had four featured classes: the 50th Anniversary of the Honda CB750, Off-Road Wonders Through the ’90s, the 100th Anniversary of the Brough Superior, and the Spirit of the Scrambler Presented by Ducati. In addition to classic and custom bikes, a handful of current motorcycles were available to view and try out, including Ducati Scrambler test rides, a variety of Harley-Davidson test rides, as well as an augmented reality display with the new LiveWire. Here we feature a few of our favorite bikes and people from the show.

This beautifully restored 1922 Douglas 4-hp B/22 turned a lot of heads, with its 596cc air-cooled horizontal-twin engine, early English flat tank, and acetylene lights.Julia LaPalme

Peter Egan was one of the notable attendees of this year’s Quail Motorcycle Gathering. Cycle World hosted a dinner honoring him after the show.Julia LaPalme

In recognition of International Female Ride Day (isn’t that every day?), this year’s Quail Motorcycle Gathering featured an all-female fireside chat. Ginger Damon (center), of Gigi Montrose Moto Couture, moderated the chat with “Harley Women Magazine” co-founder, motojournalist, and author, Christine Sommer Simmons (left), and 11-year-old motorcycle champion Kayla Yaakov (right), who has 185 wins and 25 championships.Julia LaPalme

A 1969 Honda CB750 turbo with a sidecar will catch anyone’s attention, but with two wings and a retro paint scheme? Consider us smitten.Julia LaPalme

A 1934 Cotton 25J was one of the oldest bikes in the Competition on Road class.Julia LaPalme

Malcolm Smith was presented with the 2019 Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award by his friend Mert Lawwill and AMA CEO Rob Dingman.Julia LaPalme

Alp Racing & Design’s Asymmetric Arrow is an El Mirage land-speed record holder, reaching more than 175 mph. This beautiful un-faired racing bike features a 650cc pre-unit Triumph engine, and an Alp R/D “Class A” special construction rigid frame.Julia LaPalme

Nothing else on the field looked anything like this 2012 Rohorn Racer, built by Robert Horn. The two-wheel-drive racing bike is a design he has been working on since as far back as 2006, with his earliest prototypes being an electric model to test the two-wheel steering. The home-built bike is based off of an EX500 engine and a Ducati 999 transmission and clutch, and cost about $1,500 to make.Julia LaPalme

An unrestored Czechoslovakian-made 1960 Čezeta scooter was certainly one of the oddest-looking scooters parked on the Quail green.Julia LaPalme

E-bikes are all the rage these days, and Frank Tatum took a swing at converting an old R32 into an electric bike, dubbing it a 2019 DIY R32E, featured in the Custom/Modified class.Julia LaPalme

The Castle Family private collection featured a variety of military transportation, both two-wheeled and four-wheeled.Julia LaPalme

A special class honoring the 100th anniversary of the Brough Superior featured a wide array of bikes. This 1929 original condition Brough Superior 680 OHV, owned by Bryan L. Bossier Sr., garnered a lot of attention.Julia LaPalme

The Innovation Award, presented by Heath Cofran of Alpinestars (right), was given to this 1989 Norton F1 preproduction prototype, owned by Stephen Haddad (left).Julia LaPalme

Another win for Revival Cycles, its 2019 BMW prototype BMW boxer, dubbed the “Birdcage,” won this year’s Industry Award, accepted by (left to right) Chris Auerbach, Chris Davis, and Ty Burham.Julia LaPalme