• last year
In the second episode of 5 Best Bikes, Cycle World asks, “What are the 5 Best Bikes for riding to the Quail Motorcycle Gathering?”

This week's guest is Mark Hoyer, editor in chief of Cycle World magazine. We discuss his collection of vintage vehicles and a special dinner at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering with Peter Egan to celebrate Peter’s new book, The Best of Peter Egan—Four Decades of Motorcycle Tales and Musings from the Pages of Cycle World, before getting to the business of deciding which motorcycle would be the best for attending the event.

What bike would you use? Let us know in the comments. Also hit us with your 5 Best Bikes ideas. If we use your suggestion, we’ll give you a shout-out.

Cycle World's Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer is the special guest for 5 Best Bikes this week. Around this time each year he gets a tingling in his bones that tells him it's time to make sure his vintage motorcycles are in tip-top shape and roadworthy for a ride north for the Quail Motorcycle Gathering.

This year Hoyer will be hosting an exclusive evening with Cycle World Editor-at-Large Peter Egan after the gathering, to celebrate the release of Egan's new book The Best of Peter Egan—Four Decades of Motorcycle Tales and Musings from the Pages of Cycle World.

In preparation for all things Quail, Hoyer joins 5 Best Bikes to suss out a list of motorcycles that would be best for riding to the Quail Motorcycle Gathering. Before the business of arguing the list, Hoyer gives us a quick rundown of his vintage stable.

After slightly going over the 10-minute time limit (Hoyer is thorough in his assessments), the list of the 5 Best Bikes to ride to the Quail Motorcycle Gathering was set:

2000 Kawasaki W650:

The 2000 W650 was more British and retro than the Triumph Bonneville of that time.

Norton Commando 800:

The boss rides one—often and a long way. Can't argue with that.

2017 Honda CB1100 EX:

The 2017 Honda CB1100 EX looks the part of an '70s UJM with all the reliability and comfort of a modern motorcycle.

2020 Suzuki Katana:

As we described the 2020 Katana in our first look: It's a throwback done right. The combination of one of the all-time killer engines, a GSX-R1000 K5, and a modern interpretation of Hans Muth's iconic design makes for a stunner that would draw a crowd—even at the Quail.

Velocette 500:

Once again Mark Hoyer rides one and he has made numerous trips up the coast on his 1954 MSS. Each time the bike has made the return trip without a failure. Sounds like a winner to us.

Read the full article here: https://www.cycleworld.com/5-best-bikes-to-ride-to-quail-motorcycle-gathering/

Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
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Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Welcome to 5 Best Bikes,
00:06 Cycle World's newest video podcast
00:09 where we talk about the 5 Best Bikes.
00:11 This week, I've got my boss, Mark Hoyer.
00:16 Mark, what's your deal?
00:18 - My deal is motorcycles.
00:21 No, I'm the editor.
00:22 Editor of Cycle World, have been for quite a while now.
00:24 And we're gonna talk about the 5 Best Bikes.
00:28 - 5 Best Bikes.
00:29 So, you've got a bunch of vintage stuff.
00:34 You're the vintage master in the office.
00:36 - Whoa, I don't have that much vintage stuff.
00:38 - You have a lot of vintage stuff.
00:39 You've got, how many Jaguars?
00:42 - Two, yeah.
00:43 - What years?
00:44 - '64, '66.
00:47 - Okay, you've got some crazy weird--
00:50 - Tim's van.
00:51 Yeah, when you say crazy weird, I think Tim's van.
00:53 '58 Tim's van, box-shaped van, British, English Ford.
00:58 - It needs an engine.
00:59 - All the racers, my engine's done.
01:01 But all the racers, all the continental racers
01:03 and English racers, sort of in the late '50s
01:05 when it came out, it had a lot of power
01:07 and a lot of capacity, easy to load,
01:09 good to drive for the time.
01:11 And so that was kind of the inspiration
01:13 of getting that there.
01:14 Good bike hauler, vintage bike hauler, yeah.
01:16 - Bike wise?
01:18 - Couple, one or three, four, maybe four.
01:22 Depending if you count one that I may or may not own.
01:25 - Yeah, that one made a cameo in MC Garage.
01:28 - It just showed up.
01:29 It's on my, it just showed up, man.
01:32 I don't know where it came from, it just showed up.
01:34 - What is it, a '72?
01:35 - '72 XS650, seems to run okay.
01:38 - Yeah, we talked about JIS screwdrivers
01:40 and how to get unstuck screws
01:43 'cause everything on that bike is corroded.
01:44 - No, it's a good example for screwdriver discipline, it is.
01:49 - Yeah, you've got some other bikes
01:51 that are quite a bit older, though.
01:53 - Yeah, '74 Norton Commando, sort of similar vintage.
01:58 Pretty nice bike to ride.
02:01 - Kinda updated to some modern bits.
02:03 - Yeah, little stuff here and there, electronic ignition.
02:06 That's about really the only change.
02:09 Runs pretty nice.
02:10 '54 Velocette MSS.
02:12 Good British single, like real strong, good running bike.
02:18 For a single from the '50s, pretty phenomenal performance.
02:21 You know, with the gearing and the work I've done
02:23 on the motor, you can sort of ride it
02:26 at 70 miles an hour all day,
02:28 provided it's not a part getting a new piston or something.
02:32 - Melting down on the side of the road.
02:33 - Yeah, I haven't done that to me too much.
02:35 - You got a two-stroke, too.
02:37 - Yeah, '73 RD350, Kevin Cameron TZ spec motor.
02:42 Doesn't run, but I'm gathering the parts
02:46 to finish that thing off.
02:47 - Very cool, okay.
02:49 - So I admit, I have a problem.
02:51 - You have a problem, and there's an event
02:55 every year in May that is basically
02:59 like a shining beacon for Mark Hoyer.
03:01 He kind of just drifts north during that time.
03:04 What is that?
03:05 - It's true.
03:06 The Quail Motorcycle Gathering is really,
03:08 we've been sponsors of it from the first year,
03:11 and it's really, it's kind of the poster child
03:16 or philosophical motorcycle counterpart
03:20 for Cycle World Magazine.
03:22 That is, it's all-inclusive.
03:24 Every kind of bike gets into the Quail.
03:26 I mean, not all bikes get into the Quail,
03:28 but all types of bikes.
03:30 So it's embraced choppers, it's embraced cafe racers,
03:34 custom bikes, where your sort of old-style Concord
03:37 was more like restored, perfect, period correct,
03:42 and there's survivor classes and stuff.
03:43 So they've done a really good job
03:45 of kind of including all of motorcycling.
03:47 Nice emphasis on style, really good vibe.
03:50 - Good, right on.
03:52 So we always have a special kind of event
03:54 that happens during that as well, right?
03:56 With Peter Egan.
03:58 - This year, we have a special dinner with Peter Egan.
04:01 Peter Egan's just finished a book
04:02 called "The Best of Peter Egan."
04:03 It's all from the pages of Cycle World.
04:06 It's for sale now.
04:08 It's a motorbooks edition and a super rad piece.
04:13 It's got a lot of cool stories in it.
04:14 And he's gonna travel to the Quail this year for a dinner.
04:19 We call it an evening with Peter Egan.
04:21 Dinner's included.
04:22 You buy the book.
04:23 You can find out about it on our website and register.
04:28 But Peter will be joining us
04:31 after the Quail Motorcycle Gathering.
04:32 It's a separate event.
04:33 You don't have to get a ticket for the Quail,
04:35 though I recommend it.
04:36 We'll have tickets for this dinner.
04:38 It's limited, but we'll spend an evening
04:40 talking about stories and musings of Peter's,
04:43 and he'll talk a little bit about the book and his career.
04:47 - Very cool.
04:48 - Should be good times.
04:48 - So as soon as that link's available
04:50 and open for registration,
04:52 we'll put it down in the description below.
04:54 So since we're talking about Quail,
04:56 that's gonna be our five best bikes episode this time.
04:59 - Oh, naturally.
05:00 - Absolutely, right?
05:01 All this segue for nothing would be silly.
05:03 We're gonna start the timer.
05:06 I've got my handy tape and my marker.
05:09 I write 'em down on the tape
05:10 and put 'em up on the toolbox board.
05:12 And then we pull and take and we argue
05:16 which would be the five best bikes to go to Quail.
05:19 So, and we have to do this in 10 minutes.
05:21 That's the challenge of it,
05:22 is to actually come to a list in 10 minutes.
05:24 So start the timer, and since you're the guest and the boss,
05:29 you get to go first.
05:30 - Okay, I've made it a habit of riding weird things
05:34 up to the Quail from day one.
05:37 - Okay.
05:38 - But I'm not gonna pick one of those things yet.
05:40 But I'm gonna say 2000, 2001 Kawasaki W650.
05:45 - Okay, yeah, that's a good bike.
05:48 I have a soft spot in my heart for that bike.
05:50 So I really like it, but what's the reasoning?
05:53 - It is, A, it's old enough now
05:55 that it's sort of vintage in its own right.
05:58 Like the new W800, totally cool, really groovy.
06:01 But I think this would have a particular amount of style
06:05 because now it is 19 years old.
06:09 And it also was sort of, it was more vintage British
06:15 than, for example, even the Bonneville of the day.
06:18 So the Bonneville, yeah, the 2000 Bonneville,
06:21 when it came out, the air-cooled Bonneville,
06:23 I went on the press launch in Oxford.
06:25 It was a really great modern interpretation
06:30 of what the Triumph Bonneville had been.
06:32 But I actually kind of enjoyed the vintage-ness
06:36 of the W650 more, the sound, shape of the pipes.
06:39 - I agree, it sounds so cool.
06:41 And then when you uncork them, they sound even cooler.
06:43 - I actually raced one at the Elsinore Grand Prix in 2001.
06:46 - Nice. (laughs)
06:48 - So I have an affinity for that bike.
06:50 So definitely on the list.
06:52 All right, I'm gonna kick it off with a Ducati MH900E,
06:57 my KL replica, tribute piece.
07:00 Right, it's super beautiful bike, super rad.
07:04 - I can't argue with that, it's super beautiful
07:07 and super rad, but bring wrist braces, back braces.
07:12 - Yeah, it's not probably not the most comfortable.
07:13 - Chop your legs off at the knees, exquisite.
07:17 That's the kind of bike where it's super stylish,
07:19 beautiful, I mean, beautiful from every angle
07:22 and sounds great, but was less comfortable
07:26 than a 996, 996 team. - Oh yeah, of course.
07:29 - It was just a wreck. - Super wreck, yeah.
07:31 - You have to be wicked, wicked dedicated.
07:35 - Well, yeah, it all depends, I guess,
07:36 how far you're riding to the quail, right?
07:39 If you're riding from here, probably not the best bike.
07:41 If you're riding from like four blocks away in Monterey,
07:44 it could be, right?
07:45 But I had a friend that bought one,
07:47 he rode it from the dealership to his house,
07:49 which was about seven miles, parked in his garage,
07:52 never rode it again, 'cause he was like,
07:54 "I can't even sit on it."
07:55 So maybe not the best, I think we'll leave it off the list.
07:59 It's a cool bike, but I think we're gonna leave it
08:01 off the list for now.
08:02 Hit me with your next one.
08:04 - I'm gonna go with modern British,
08:08 interpretation of British, Bonneville T120,
08:11 one of the T120s, 'cause it's,
08:13 I'm a big fan of kind of upright riding position,
08:19 phenomenal motor, great sound, nice chassis,
08:22 just great sort of standard motorcycle,
08:29 with a lot of style.
08:30 - Yeah, it is, it has a lot of style.
08:33 I was actually gonna throw a Thruxton in there.
08:36 - Which kind of Thruxton?
08:37 - I was actually thinking the new TFC,
08:40 the Triumph Factory Custom Thruxton.
08:42 It's not out yet, though.
08:43 - Yeah, but-- - We haven't ridden it.
08:45 Once again, probably a torture rack.
08:47 - We could make a phone call, see if we could get it.
08:49 I almost, I would say I got it, you know, you're right,
08:53 'cause it can't be that uncomfortable,
08:57 and the style points versus the T120,
09:00 it's through the roof.
09:01 - Okay, so I've written down Bonnie,
09:05 but we're just gonna leave it off,
09:06 and we're gonna replace it with the Thruxton.
09:07 - Right on. - For the sake of time,
09:08 and for the sake of coolness.
09:10 So that's my next one, so let's have another one from you.
09:14 - I would go with a 2017 Honda CB1100EX.
09:20 - CB750EX.
09:25 - 1100. - 1100, sorry.
09:28 1100, yeah.
09:29 - So what you get with the EX is that beautiful,
09:34 seamless gas tank, and the paint finishes on that bike
09:38 are exquisite, that candy red on the tank, no seam.
09:43 It's just butter, and that, the EX got like 4.4 gallons
09:47 of fuel capacity versus 3.9 for the original,
09:50 modern CB1100. - Right, so you got
09:51 a little bit of range. - Got a little,
09:53 not that it's a huge difference, but--
09:54 - But the bike has got a nice, like, ergonomics
09:57 to where you could ride a full tank
09:59 and not wanna get off the thing, so.
10:02 - Great riding stance, and like, butter smooth.
10:05 Every pivot feels like it's got bearings in it,
10:08 just liquid centers, you know?
10:10 - I totally back that one, I agree.
10:13 EX, CB1100EX, okay.
10:17 While I'm slapping it up there, I got kind of a weird one.
10:21 My buddy Bruno Di Prato from Italy
10:25 sent over a story a while back about a Magni 750S Tributo.
10:30 - Yeah. - So basically,
10:32 a tribute to the '71 MV 750 Sport.
10:37 So it's a modern interpretation.
10:39 Looks like a 750 Sport, but it's got a new motor in it,
10:41 it's got a modern chassis, it just has that really cool
10:45 red and blue style, and you know,
10:49 but it's probably really hard to get one
10:51 in the United States. - Yeah, that's true.
10:54 - It's a pretty bike. - Yeah.
10:57 - You could ride it at the Quail,
10:59 and it'd probably sit somewhere on the lawn.
11:01 - Yeah, you know, I-- - Gather around it.
11:03 - I could come up with arguments against that
11:05 at the same time, any Manny.
11:08 They're exquisite. - Okay, okay.
11:11 Putting it in there. - Arturo.
11:12 I mean, it's just, there's so much history and light.
11:16 I concede. - Okay, good.
11:20 - I didn't even think of that.
11:21 - You got me. - He was mine.
11:24 I got him, I got him.
11:25 That's, that doesn't happen often, if ever, so.
11:31 Okay, next.
11:32 What else you got? - Just keep in mind,
11:33 I can veto any of these. - Yeah, you are the boss.
11:36 Like, he could just say, "Nope, it's all my list."
11:39 - Sorry. - We've got about
11:42 three and a half minutes left.
11:43 - Okay, three and a half minutes, should I go?
11:45 - You go. - I'll go.
11:46 You can't pick any long trip, say, coast highway
11:53 for this kind of event without mentioning the words
11:55 Norton Commando, I'd pick an 850 'cause I've got one
11:57 and I've done the ride several times up and back.
12:00 - Mm-hmm. - Great bike for the road,
12:03 lot of torque, I've geared mine up, electronic ignition,
12:06 everything else is pretty much stock.
12:07 Phenomenal to ride.
12:10 I've had one mechanical.
12:12 - And it was a electrical issue.
12:15 - Yeah, the rotor, the rotor, the Lucas rotor
12:19 after all this time, blew up, shredded the stator,
12:23 didn't break the primary, I pulled off the freeway
12:26 right to a gas station, pull off the primary,
12:28 cleaned it out, bought a battery just in case,
12:31 but I just ran on battery power, left the lights on,
12:33 made it home, so it's technically not a DNF.
12:36 Anyway, great bike, smooth, powerful, sort of the--
12:39 - It's crazy how smooth and powerful they are
12:41 for the era they came out in, right?
12:44 For like a '70s, mid-'70s bike to actually be rideable
12:49 to the quail and back with very few issues,
12:52 I think it definitely has to go in the list.
12:53 - Yeah, good handling.
12:55 You know, if you're doing the quail ride,
12:57 so May 4th is the quail event,
13:00 but the quail ride is May 3rd,
13:02 limited tickets, 100 tickets,
13:03 but usually we get a stop at Laguna Seca
13:06 and we get to run a couple laps,
13:08 and actually the Commando's pretty nice.
13:10 - Pretty rad on it.
13:10 - Yeah, I mean.
13:12 - Yep, I say goes on the list for sure.
13:14 So I got another one that's actually not out yet,
13:18 but I think also has some history to it
13:23 to where people would go, yes, that's a 2020 Katana.
13:27 - Yeah.
13:27 - Just looking at it, I mean,
13:31 it looks like a modern interpretation of the OG,
13:36 and it's got all the modern Coupe de Mont,
13:39 you know, it's just gonna be nice.
13:40 - What I like about that pick is K5,
13:45 so it's a GSX-R1000 K5 motor,
13:47 it's not fully tuned the way the K5 was,
13:50 but that is one of the great inline four cylinders,
13:53 just a gorilla, you know, longer stroke,
13:56 pretty inspiring piece, wicked cool.
13:59 - Let's put it on the list.
14:00 - All right.
14:01 - Okay, Katana.
14:02 - And I love the lineage of it,
14:05 I'm sort of like probably target audience
14:07 for what that Katana is, you know, and being--
14:09 - Well, even me, I mean, I was probably eight years old
14:14 when the Katana came out,
14:15 and still, like, that thing was crazy rad.
14:18 - Yeah.
14:19 - You know, I was looking at motorcycle magazines
14:21 when I was a kid going, yeah, that thing's--
14:22 - No, it was mind-blowing, that styling.
14:23 - Spaceship! - Hans Smuth.
14:25 - Yeah, so--
14:26 - Mind-blower.
14:27 - Put it on there, all right.
14:27 We got six on the list so far, we got a minute.
14:31 One more, give me one more.
14:32 - Okay, Velocet, swingarm Velocet 500,
14:37 another bike that I own,
14:39 but for the reasons I mentioned earlier,
14:41 really good power, all day at high speed.
14:45 You can run that thing at 70.
14:47 - Yeah.
14:48 - And again, I've never had a mechanical that's--
14:51 - How many times have you ridden it up and back?
14:53 - Well, for various things,
14:55 I've probably done eight round trips on it.
14:57 - With no mechanicals?
14:58 - Nothing that put me in a truck.
15:02 I had some stuff where I had to, you know,
15:04 tighten up some hose clamps on the oil lines.
15:07 - All right.
15:07 - And that, but yeah.
15:09 - All right, well, let's put it on the list,
15:10 and we'll call it at that, although I did have one more,
15:13 and that is a, depending on how short your ride was,
15:18 Super Cub.
15:22 - Oh, darling.
15:23 - Super Cub, only because it would be a great little bike
15:26 to cruise around, to get around town the whole time.
15:30 I mean, it just in and out of everywhere,
15:32 and it's, look at it, man.
15:34 I mean, it's got some style.
15:35 - Three days, no freeways.
15:38 - You could do it that way.
15:39 - And that would be awesome.
15:40 - Yeah, three days, no freeways.
15:41 You would have a great little ride.
15:42 - We got room for saddlebags on there.
15:44 Solo seat, I ride alone.
15:47 - Yep, same.
15:49 So should we put it on the list,
15:51 or is it just too much work?
15:53 - Oh, man, it's darling.
15:55 It'd be great when you got there, but--
15:57 - Too much work to get there.
15:58 - Trying to hammer up Coast Highway or something,
16:01 or Nacimento-Ferguson Road.
16:04 - Yeah, be getting strafed.
16:07 - I think you would, yeah.
16:08 A little bit of stressor right there for me, I'm thinking.
16:11 - Well, cool, we've got, we're actually over time,
16:14 so we're gonna need to hurry up and knock these out.
16:16 So, W650, Thruxton, we've got kind of two twins
16:22 going on here, which one's out of these two, I think?
16:25 I think the Norton's gotta stay, because that's your bike,
16:27 and I'm not gonna kick your bike off the list.
16:28 - Yeah, I gotta pull executive power on that one.
16:32 - Yeah, so what do you think?
16:34 Out of any of these, which one would be
16:36 the first one you would pull?
16:38 - I would first probably pull, I guess I would...
16:43 Oh, man, I might just pull the Thruxton TFL.
16:51 - Okay, TFC.
16:53 - TFC, sorry.
16:54 - Yeah, my C looks like an L.
16:56 Okay, Thruxton TFC, gone.
16:59 I say W650 stays, 'cause I love that bike.
17:02 It's, like I said, special.
17:06 I think this guy, as cool as it is,
17:10 might be a tough one to procure for one,
17:13 and then you might be stressed out
17:14 riding it all the way there.
17:16 - Yeah, I'd be, yeah.
17:18 - Okay, so 750S is off.
17:22 We have five bikes.
17:23 Two of your bikes stayed on the list.
17:25 - Yeah, right on.
17:26 - Okay, so there we go.
17:28 Five bikes, five best bikes to ride to the quail with.
17:33 1000, 2001, W650, any Norton Commando,
17:39 preferably an 850.
17:41 - I like 'em.
17:42 - Okay, preferably an 850.
17:44 CB1100EX, 'cause it's super comfortable,
17:46 super easy to ride.
17:47 - Smooth, just absolutely.
17:48 - And it looks the part.
17:50 It's a full package.
17:52 2020 Katana, just, you can't deny it.
17:56 We'll just leave it at that.
17:57 K5 motor in it, and it's just,
18:01 it's gonna be a really good bike.
18:02 We already know it's gonna be pretty rad.
18:04 And, Bellasette.
18:06 - Yeah, Bellasette.
18:06 - Swingarm 500.
18:07 - Yeah, and you know, like '50s era,
18:09 it's really, the technology is kinda older than that,
18:12 but it sort of represents the truly kinda classic era.
18:16 You could pick a BSA, like a Gold Star or something,
18:19 but I think a British single is sort of the foundation
18:23 of British motor biking, so.
18:25 - So there it is.
18:27 Five best bikes to ride a quail with.
18:29 If you like what we're doing, like, subscribe,
18:32 share with your friends,
18:33 and we'll see you for the next five best bikes.
18:36 (bells chime)
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