Gallery: The Quail Motorcycle Gathering 2024 Photos

The Quail Motorcycle Gathering is usually an inspiring event, filled with great classic bikes of yesteryear restored to their former glory and celebrated by the moto-cognescenti every May in Carmel. This year it rained and corporate sponsorship dried up so it wasn't as great as usual. But it was still worth the 350-mile ride up from LA.

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Phil Vincent built some of the world's fastest motorcycles.

Indian started building motorcycles in 1901.

HRD stands for Howard Raymond Davies, who got the idea to build a motorcycle while sitting in a POW camp in WWI. When HRD went out of business in the '30s, the tooling was bought by Phil Vincent, who made the fabulous Vincent Black Shadow, among other bikes.

There wasn't a separate class for Vincents, but they seemed to populate the entire "British" class of the show. Good for them!

Custom bikes like this ironhead Sportster abounded on the field.

You can see the similarities between the HRD bikes and the Vincents that followed them.

With 1,000ccs, these were almost unbeatable on the street.

It was the Vincent Series C Black Shadows that were the most well-known.

Frederick Meyer's 1952 Black Shadow.

Francisco Recoder's 1952 Black Shadow.

Michael Cayen's 1961 Norton Manx.

1955 Velocette 500cc McSquid's Red Special owned by Donald Evan McGreevy.

1969 BSA Victor 441 Special owned by Robert Simeral.

A late arrival scoots through the rain.

Michael and Shelly Shepard's 1952 Vincent Rapide.

Geofferey Ashton's 1952 Velocette Viper. It was found in North Wales and restored to this glory.

Mitch Talcove's 1947 Vincent Series B Rapide.

1979 Moto Guzzi V50 MkII owned by Nathan Rechenmacher.

You can follow artist Keith Young on Instagram at @brookdalebadboy.

This custom 2005 Tamarit Thruxton 900 took a year and 600 hours of work to build.

Michael Beazley's 1979 Moto Guzzi 1000 SP was in the Custom/Modified class.

Craig Swayne chose this 1981 Yamaha SR250 to customize because of its spartan design and simple geometry.

Keith Dunlop's 1971 Norton Commando Typhoon Special raced on tracks around San Francisco and NoCal in the early '70s.

Richard Best's 1980 Harley-Davidson Sportster "King Tut" is an Arlen Ness restoration.

Chris Ranuio's 1970 Electric Start Sportster "Exercise in Creativity" is a tribute to board track racing.

At first glance you may think this was a BMW, but it's a 1955 Zundapp KS 601 Sport. Ace Robey said he has been after this motorcycle for six years, "...and I finally got it!"

A clutch of BMWs. Kenneth Morris' 1973 BMW R75/5 SWB was a Quail winner last year. It represents 400 hours of work, Morris says.

This 1973 EGLI-Honda EVH-750 was built in 1973. It came from the Egli Museum collection and was restored by Larry Cargill in Sacramento.

The Hercules W2000 was produced from 1974 to 1976. It's powered by a 297cc Wankel rotary engine. Only 1784 were ever built. Original price was $1900. This one belongs to Jeff Janosik.

Another angle of Jeff Janosik's Hercules W2000.

This 1936 Husqvarna 40SV has a 348cc single-cylinder engine making a whopping 9 hp at 4,000 rpm. It's mated to a three-speed transmission that you shift by hand. It's owned by Eugene Garcin, who says he has the original Swedish title to the bike.

Right to left: 1966 Bultaco M-23 Metralla MK2 370cc five-speed road racer; 1971 Bultaco M-67 200 five-speed Sherpa SS Road Racer; 1970 Bultaco M-66 175 six-speed Sherpa SS. All are owned by California collector Robbie Cadwallader.

Jason McElroy has traveled all over the country on this 1964 Harley-Davidson FLH.

Greg Saule says his 1926 Moto Guzzi C2V—Corsa Due Valvole—was exceptionally advanced for its day, with a 500cc powerplant that made it capable of 75 mph.

The first of these two Bimotas is this 1993 DB2.

Note the swing-arm front end on this 2008 Bimota Tesi 3D.

Another post-war Moto Guzzi. Note the external flywheel that spins freely in the open air, slicing the ankles of all who get near. (jk)

Mario Malanca made motorcycles in Bologna, Italy, from 1956 to 1986, by which time his son Marco had been installed as CEO.

Event founder Gordon McCall

This 2023 Ducati Panigale V4R appears exactly as it raced in 2023, apart from a fresh set of tires. It's owned by Leslie Stretch.

This Ducati Panigale V4R is another Leslie Stretch bike. This one also appears just as it raced, in 2022.

The Ducati 916 is a legendary performance bike. This 1995 916 is completely original.

Clifford Cohen has owned this 2001 996 since new.

To help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Suzuki Hayabusa, Steve Wellman brought his 2006 model.

Terry Kaluza's 1976 Harley drag bike.

Check out the heat guard on Jon Wactor's 1970 Triumph 100C.

Scott Williams' 1954 BMW RS54 factory race bike

This 1986 Bimota DB1R was raced at Daytona in 1986 and '87.

Moto Guzzi 1000 SP.

Mecum Auctions brought this four-cylinder Henderson. They expect it to sell for over $200,000.

1966 Honda CB77 Superhawk.

1929 Indian 101 Scout brought by Indian.

1976 Kawasaki KZ900.

The rain fell all day, but didn't deter true moto fans.