QUAIL MOTORCYCLE GATHERING 2012 ~ Motorcycle Fashions

Best in Show winner 1974 MV Agusta 750S of Simon Graham; a show-winner, ridden regularly. This is the second time a 'ridden not hidden' bike has won Best in Show at the Quail.

In its fourth year on the grass of Quail Lodge's golf course, the Quail M/C Gathering felt qualitatively different this year, as if it had been holding its breath, watching and waiting, and this year decided to exhale. The mood was relaxed and friendly, everyone was happy to be there, the day was perfect as usual, enthusiasts and collectors traveled long distances to participate, and the quality of machinery was simply excellent, with an increasingly broad selection of ogle-able bikes.

A few MV production racers at the Gary Kohs MV-only display

The big features - an Indian display, Gary Koh's 32-MV collection, the débuts of the new Crocker and Magni-Triumph, Marty Dickerson with his 'Blue Bike' - were impressive, and worth a bit of hype. When Michael Schacht revved up his 84hp/80cu" Crocker, everyone noticed, and appreciated the deep throaty rasp of this hand-built machine. Giovanni Magni was a quiet presence, visiting the US for the first time (with his daughter) to see the unveiling of the first-ever British-engined Magni, with a pumped up BSA triple racing engine powering the typically Italianate rosso chassis.

Unveiling the Magni-BSA special, with TripleTec 930cc racing engine

Interviewing Marty Dickerson as part of my emcee duties was the highlight of my day; I've been reading about his exploits aboard Vincents since I started riding at 15; sitting beside his 'Blue Bike', now owned by Herb Harris, it took little prodding to hear his reminiscences about this legendary machine, which really helped establish the HRD-Vincent name in the US. Dickerson was employed by the American importer of Vincents to ride his perfectly standard 1947 Series B Rapide around the small towns of the US, to give riders a chance to see the bikes up close.

Marty Dickerson

The legend of the Vincent preceded him, and in most towns, the fastest local bike would challenge him to a race, which he won every time but one, in around 50 illegal street speed contests; he related 'the first time I rode into Arizona, in some tiny town, all the local riders begged me to race a guy with a hotrodded Ford, who had beaten them all. I was Shanghai'd into the contest, which had already been set up for 10pm that night on a pitch black rural road - if everyone had left, I would have been completely lost! The riders lined both sides of the road, and at the end of the distance had headlight beams crossing the road. The car guy said 'rolling start from 50mph', so we rode out a ways, and paralleled each other. That was the ride I learned the 'Poor Man's Tuneup'; when I shifted into 3rd gear at around 90mph, I wasn't getting enough power, and he was pulling ahead, so I dropped into 2nd gear, which cleared the plug, the engine surged, and I beat him by a wheel'.

Marty Dickerson's legendary 'Blue Bike'

Pulling double duty as emcee and a judge of the Concours meant less time to take photos and closely examine the entries, but the numbers tell their own tale; more entries, more bikes on the field, more spectators than the previous year. The Quail is growing, gaining international attention, and is bound to attract an even wider range of machines in the coming years. The Quail Lodge has been closed for the duration of this event, meaning participants need to find lodging elsewhere in the Carmel/Monterey area, but it looks like the hotel may re-open by next May, which means a lot more 'parking lot' encounters and casual chat time as trucks roll up on Thursday afternoon...the stuff which strengthens connections between collectors, builders, riders, and fans. Fingers crossed.

East Side Moto Babes Ana and Stacie

Barn find BMW R69S for sale in the Corral...

The outrageous twin-engined BUB streamliner belonging to Dennis Manning; the bike was allowed to skip the podium ramp-ride when it won a prize in the Competition category...

She stood all day by Robbie Cadwallader's 1966 Rickman-Bultaco, and it won a prize in the Off-Road category. Coincidence?

Rainbow bungees on a big Indian Chief

The ones who make it happen...the Quail staff is incredible, and always friendly

At the end of the day, trying out the new Crocker...a full road test will follow this summer

Beautiful '48 Indian Chief with sidecar; behind is my Production Manager, Debbie Macdonald (formerly of Thunder Press), with husband Niel on the left, and moto-photo-journalist Clem Salvadori

The post-Quail-Ride banquet; video clips of Mert Lawill in action in 'On Any Sunday', during a tribute to the man himself.

Ducati, recently sold to Audi for $1.1Billion, could afford to bring girls as well as bikes...

Gene Brown's 1960 BSA DBD34 Gold Star, which has 4 miles from new!

Mark Hoyer awards Shinya Kimura the Cycle World 'Elegance in Action' trophy, for an exceptional bike which gets used a lot; Shinya's MV Agusta qualifies!

Original-condition Feilbach Limited of 1911

Falcon's Ian Barry and tuner/builder Paul Zell examine the AFT 'Sento', AMD world champion custom bike

Looking not a little NASCAR; the HD-engined Gurney Alligator

I spy a perfectly-sized rider for the mini-Indian

The MV 175cc racer with Earles forks and extended fuel/oil tanks...poetry

Twin gear-driven camshafts, elegantly housed in magnesium, aged to perfection.

Giovanni Magni, carrying on with his father's legendary chassis-building workshop in Italy, here débuting the BSA-Magni special. Molto gentile!

American racing legend, and 'On Any Sunday' star, Mert Lawill, here with his daughter. Hilarious conversational tidbit; 'do you think it would be ok if I asked Mert's daughter on a date, or will Mert kick my ass?'

The Gary Kohs MV-only parking lot...

Never put your MV in the laundry...

Interviewing Michael Schacht with his all-new Crocker motorcycle, the result of 11 years of struggle. I wrote a brief piece for Cycle World after the interview, which you can read here. A longer article will appear later...