Comments on: Installing 35W bulbs in fogs on Cal Vintage

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 18:16:27 +0000

Moto Guzzi California Vintage Fog Beam Reflector Replacement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvqHnOvyn-k

By: Jim Wolfe

Jim Wolfe — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 01:09:24 +0000

I have a 2009 CAL VIN that I bought as a wreck and restored after it was involved in a serious accident. I’ve learned a lot while rebuilding it and riding it for the last year.
The problems people are having with the California Vintage charging system are easy to correct. The system as designed has plenty of capacity to run all the lights and even heated grips in you would like to install them.
The problem stems from the electrical connector connecting the two yellow wires from the alternator to the regulator Take the regulator off the frame and work the wires out of the frame until you get to the connecters. There is plenty of wire tucked up in the frame and you should be able you pull it out far enough to get good access to the connectors. The GREEN//RED//WHITE connector is probably O.K. but should be taken apart and filled with dielectric grease to keep corrosion out.
The two YELLOW wire connector is probably burnt, corroded and hard to get apart. When you get it apart you will see why you battery gets low. This connection is not heavy duty enough and gets hot and burns the wire ends out of the connector.
I cut the connector out and used high quality wire connecters and spliced the wires together, eliminating the connector. You may want to solder the connection if you don’t have very good butt splices and a good heavy duty crimping pliers.
After spicing the yellow wires I wrapped the hole connection with electrical tape and just pushed them back up into the frame and reinstalled the regulator.
My battery voltage was about 12.3 volts at 3,500 RPM before I did this modification. It now runs 14.4 volts at 3,500 RPM. Plenty of power for all the lights and other accessories you might like to add.

By: ken

ken — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:14:32 +0000

Just bought a calli vintage secondhand and the previous owner had fitted LED bulbs in the fog lights so they must be available.
they are very bright but dont have a beam so its not going to light up the road just get you seen more. what they do have is a bluish tint so it looks a bit like a police bike from a distance whitch may not be legal but gets you noticed.

By: John

John — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 01:30:59 +0000

In reply to Dave Hanks.

Dave, since I installed the 35 Watt bulbs many miles ago, my low battery issues went away. I also installed a Battery Tender Junior cable which I plug in occasionally. I don’t want to jinx myself, but I use my auxiliary lights almost all the time and I’m still running the original battery. I rarely ever reach 5000 rpm, and if I do, it is just for a second. So, my recommendation is this exact combination because it has proven to work really well for me. Also, my side stand kill switch works fine and so do my auxiliary lights. I recently had to re-adjust the side stand switch stop screw because it was not pushing in the switch quite far enough when I put the side stand up, so was killing the engine when I put it in gear. A very easy adjustment (about one half turn with a wrench) and all is fine again. Not use the lights and no safety switch = rubbish.
John

By: Dave Hanks

Dave Hanks — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:49:25 +0000

I experimented with the bike and sure enough… I found that if I switched on the auxiliary lights the battery went dead and I could not start the bike. I took it to the dealer for its 1000 mile service and explained the situation. I asked them to put 35 Watt bulbs in ( which they forgot to do) However, they did perform a voltage test on the bike. They told me that even if I installed 35 watt bulbs I should not run the auxiliary lights as the alternator is not powerful enough to power them and keep the battery charged. ( Even at 5,000 RPM) The dealer said that they called Moto Guzzi and the answer they were given was “not to use the lights” As the auxiliary lights are standard factory installed equipment ( and one of the reasons I initially bought the bike) it seems the factory should have a better answer

I have an additional problem that is not a big deal, but still a safety issue. The side stand cut-off switch does not work, the dealer told me that the bike is wired that way and there is nothing that can be done, additionally the dealer told me that the bike will start while in gear…..

Anyway….I installed 35 Watt bulbs and bought a Jump Start Box which fits nicely in the side bags. I now switch the lights on ” Very Occasionally” in heavy traffic and use the Jump Box to start the bike….So far so good

By: John

John — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:05:48 +0000

In reply to Dave. Dave, sorry to hear that. I'm guessing fuel line and/or drained battery due to running the 55 Watt auxiliary lights. Please let us know what you find out. John