If you want to see the best of the best in legendary vintage cars, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is the place to be; for motorcycles it's the Legend of the Motorcycle show held at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California.

Attendees might be surprised to find this was only the third year of the Legend of the Motorcycle. The event's organizers do a great job, and the invitation-only selection of motorcycles provided endless opportunity for delight and amazement.

There were almost 300 motorcycles on display and the estimated crowd of 6,000 people raised raised thousands of dollars for charity. The weather was cool with some fog, presumably to make the British motorcycles feel at home. The featured marques of MV Agusta and Norton were well represented and MV Agusta factory racers Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read were on hand - creating an opportunity to meet legendary motorcycle racers while taking in the legendary motorcycles.

Main Display Area

The Early Days of Motorcycles

I was impressed by the collection of vintage bikes from the dawn of motorcycling. This 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmueller is the oldest motorcycle I have ever seen and it was in perfect condition.

1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmueller

1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmueller - Detail

1904 Fabrique National: 1904 Fabrique National 360cc Type A Four.

1904 Fabrique National - Engine: One of my favorite engines at the show.

Outstanding vintage American bikes were on display.

1908 Curtiss: 1908 Curtiss powered by a single 50cc engine.

1911 Marvel: This 1911 Marvel was in perfect condition, It was one of my favorites.

1912 Henderson Four: I had never seen a two seater like this 1912 Henderson model Four.

2008 LOTM - 1942 Harley-Davidson XA (II): Rear view of Harley-Davidson Army motorcycle.

MV Agusta Motorcycles

I was impressed with the variety of MV Agusta motorcycles on display. It's interesting to see all the small displacement bikes -- 250cc is a small bike by most peoples' standards, but there were examples of smaller displacement bikes on hand.
There were so many clean examples, here are some of my favorites.

1956 MV Agusta Squalo Racer (II): 1956 175cc MV Agusta Squalo racer.

1956 MV Agusta Squalo Racer: 1956 MV Agusta Squalo Racer in front of the row of Vintage MV Agustas.

1958 MV Agusta Disco Volante: An excellent example of the 1958 MV Agusta 175cc Disco Volante.

MV Agusta 750S: One of the many MV Agusta motorcycles featured.

Giacomo Agostini and Eraldo Ferracci unveil the 2008 MV Agusta F4 RR312 1078, the first time it was displayed in the United States.

Giacomo Agostini & Eraldo Ferracci

2008 MV Agusta F4 RR312 1078

Norton Motorcycles

Norton built their first production motorcycle in 1904 and has a history of building motorcycles that not only ruled the roads but bested many competitors at the track and on the street.

1926 Norton Racer: The unique shape of the tank caught my eye on this 1926 Norton Race bike.

1968 Norton Dunstall 750

Norton 850 Commando: An great looking Norton 850 Commando and a rider with the perfect outfit.

2008 LOTM - 1954 Norton Manx: 1954 500cc Norton Manx ready for competition.

Vintage Japanese Motorcycles

For many of us our first experience on a motorcycle may have been on a 60's or 70's Japanese motorcycle or 'mini-trail'. This display brought back many fond memories....

1969 Honda CB750: Many riders of other bikes saw this view of the 1969 Honda CB750.

1962 Honda CR93 125cc: This 1962 Honda was looked like it was from the showroom.

1969 Kawasaki Mach III 500: I wonder how many of these little rockets are still around? This one is cherry.

2008 LOTM - 1974 Honda CB750 K: Great looking 1974 Honda CB750 won Class 9.

Custom Bikes

The award winning custom bike builders displayed some of their new creations.

World renowned bike builder Jesse James worked his magic on his AIRSTREAM inspired custom he unveiled at the Legend of the Motorcycle. The attention to detail and metal work make Jesse's custom motorcycles rolling sculptures.

Airstream Custom

Airstream Custom Sidecar

Award winning metric bike builder Jim Giuffra, owner of AFT Customs displayed his "ER HED" that was completed just before the show.

Jim Giuffra - ER HED

Ian Barry had Jason Lees Bullet Falcon on display. The combination of new and old make this a very cool custom that looks like a blast to ride.

Bullet Falcon Top: Top view of the Bullet Falcon Ian Berry built for Jason Lee.

Bullet Falcon Engine: The attention to detail on Jason Lees Bullet Falcon built by Ian Barry is impressive.

Bullet Falcon Gauge

World Bike Builder winner Roger Goldammer had several of his innovative customs on display. Gold Member is a unique blend of new and old styles and functionality. The 960cc engine is a single cylinder, fuel injected, nitrous oxide boosted engine with a turbo where the rear cylinder is supposed to be -- and the bike is something to behold. The bike set a record at Bonneville. The brakes that are designed to look like massive drum brakes, but in reality house modern disc brakes.

Gold Member

Gold Member - Engine

Being a judge at the Legend of the Motorcycle has to be a tough job -- there are many excellent choices in each class. But choose they must, and here are the winners:

1st Place Winners:

• Class 1 American Production 1901-1929 - 1913 Flying Merkel Twin, Mike and Karen Madden
• Class 2 American Production 1930-1977 - 1959 Harley-Davidson FLH Panhead, Kevin Goe
• Class 3 Competition 1908-1949- 1908 Indian Torpedo Tank Racer, Vince Martinico
• Class 4 Competition 1950-1977 - Mike Hailwood's 1967 Honda RC181-500, Virgil Elings
• Class 5 European Production 1904-1952 - 1949 Vincent Series B Black Shadow, Bryan Bossier
• Class 6 European Production 1903-1964 - 1956 BMW R60, James Moore
• Class 7 European Production 1965-1977 - 1968 BMW R69S, Scott Williams
• Class 8 Japanese Production 1957-1969 - 1969 Honda CB450 Police Special, Toastacia Boyd
• Class 9 Japanese Production 1970-1977 - 1974 Honda CB750 K, Dan Waltz
• Class 10 Modified Custom 1928-1954 - 1928 Harley-Davidson JD Bobber, Ricky Bunch
• Class 11 Modified Custom 1955-1977 - 1972 Triumph Rickman Cafe Racer, Ron Peck
• Class 12 MV Agusta - 1956 MV Agusta Turismo Lusso, Robert Arhontes
• Class 13 Norton Competition - 1972 Ron Wood Flat Track Racer, Jamie Waters
• Class 14 Norton Production - 1969 Norton Mercury, Gus Varetakis
• Class 15 Off Road - 1956-1969 - 1967 Suzuki YM250, Chris Carter
• Class 16 Off Road - 1970-1977 - 1972 Rickman Enduro, Blair Beck
• Lifetime Achievement Award - Giacomo Agostini
• Steve McQueen Award - 1966 Triumph T120R, Tim Gilligan
• Elvis Award - 1923 Norton 16H, Paul Adams
• Industry Award - Giacomo Agostini's MV Agusta 500 Triple, Jeff Elghanayan
• Custom Award - Bullet Falcon, Falcon Motorcycles, Ian Berry & Jason Lee
• Sculptor's Award - 1908 Indian Torpedo Tank Racer, Vince Martinico
• Preservation Award - 1908 Indian Torpedo Tank Racer, Vince Martinico
• Best of Show Award - 1908 Indian Torpedo Tank Racer, Vince Martinico