For the 14th edition of The Quail Motorcycle Gathering earlier this month, sunshine was in short supply, but the spirits of the 1,000 or so attendees slogging through the manicured grasses of the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California, were unflagging. It was, in the words of returning master of ceremonies and two-wheel culture expert Paul d’Orleans, more like a “Watersports Gathering,” with dark skies dumping buckets of precipitation on the event, but the QMG still brought out the heavy-duty hardware, with more than 200 vintage and modern motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles on display.
The premier two-wheel concours d’elegance carried on with its usual format, showcasing four featured motorcycle classes alongside 10 returning traditional classes. The anniversaries and marques highlighted this year included the 25th anniversary of Suzuki Hayabusa, the 30th anniversary of the Ducati 916, the 100th anniversary of the American Motorcyclist Association, and a celebration of the Vespa, dubbed “Decades of Scooter Fun!”
A 1968 Honda CB750 Factory Prototype scooped up the “Best of Show” award, and attendees also got to witness a Fireside Chat between AMA Hall of Famer, Supercross champ, and 2024 Legend of the Sport Honoree Ricky Johnson, and AMA Hall of Famer and three-time MotoGP world champion Wayne Rainey.
Related: The Quail Motorcycle Gathering