As a husband and father, it’s rare for me to be able to ride my Moto Guzzi California for long rides. Any of you that have a young family know what I am talking about.
Let’s face it, I’m lucky to be able to have a motorcycle, and I’m not complaining. When I do go for a pleasure ride, short as it may be, I ride my Moto Guzzi on my favorite back roads of northern Union county North Carolina to make the most out of it.
…continue reading Favorite rides on Guzzi Californias
If you read Moto Guzzi California maintenance part 1, you learned how to change the oil and oil filter on a late model Guzzi California. Here in part 2, we discuss how to inspect and change the air filter.
This is best performed when your gas tank is empty, so take a nice ride to use up your tank the day before you do this.
…continue reading Moto Guzzi California maintenance part 2
Riders that never owned a Moto Guzzi often ask what’s it like to do routine service on a Moto Guzzi. The usual questions are: How do you change the oil? Where is the oil filter? How easy is it to get to the air filter?
Here in part one of a special series on Moto Guzzi California maintenance, we explain how to change the engine oil and oil filter on a late model Moto Guzzi California that has a V11 (1064cc) engine.
…continue reading Moto Guzzi California maintenance part 1
The Moto Guzzi California Black Eagle edition has been announced for the 2010 model year. This new Cali has a matte black paint scheme, named Aquila Nera, and shares some formerly unique features of the California Vintage.
The often debated retro style tail light from the Vintage now also comes on the Black Eagle edition. I do get a variety of comments about the tail light on my California Vintage. Some say it looks just like it came from an old motorcycle (as intended) and they like it, while others think it looks like it came from a hardware store to fit on a tractor or maybe a boat trailer. Personally, I believe it fits the retro style, but I do wish it had the chrome trim ring that the early Vintage model publicity photos showed.
…continue reading Moto Guzzi California Black Eagle 2010
In December 2008, I wrote a review of my 2007 Moto Guzzi California Vintage based on the first 1000 miles that I owned it. I’m now at 3000 miles and figured it would be a good time for an update. Before I start, I want to mention that I believe there are no real differences between the model years of this motorcycle, at least through 2009, so this review should be pretty valid for all 4 model years of the Cal Vin. I purchased my 2007 Cali new during the later part of 2008. I don’t ride on any high mileage trips, just because of family and work obligations, so it has actually taken me about a year to accumulate these 3000 miles. I do realize that some folks ride that many miles in just days or weeks.
…continue reading California Vintage Review: 3000 Miles
Mounting a top case, or trunk, to a Moto Guzzi California is an easy do-it-yourself project, especially if you already have a luggage rack like the California Vintage does. A good top case can not only enhance the look of your motorcycle, but can make it more enjoyable and practical.
I like that the Vintage comes with a luggage rack, but I have not yet seen a back rest that will fit with it unless you make one yourself.
To take care of two things at once, a relatively inexpensive solution is to add a top case that can also serve as a passenger back rest. You could also add a backrest pad onto the top case to make it a little nicer for your passenger if you want. In this article, I’ll show you how I mounted a Givi top case to my 2007 Moto Guzzi California Vintage.
…continue reading Mounting a Givi Top Case on a California Vintage
After returning home from a nice ride on my California Vintage, I was shocked to see oil dripping down the fins on the left cylinder.
I was lucky in a way because it apparently had just started only moments before. What could be causing oil to drop like this? Oil was dripping down fin by fin, and eventually landing on the left foot board and toe part of the heal-toe shift mechanism.
What do you do when your 66 year old disabled mother-in-law, your kids’ Grandma, asks you to take her for a ride on your Moto Guzzi? You may be thinking that it’s not a big deal, but this is a woman that can’t walk without using a cane or walker. She has also undergone open heart surgery within the last decade and is disabled, but fortunately she is still determined to try new things.
For Christmas, she managed to make it through the airports from a very cold and snowy Syracuse, NY down to visit us in North Carolina. She warned me ahead of time that she was expecting me to take her out for her very first ever ride on the back of a motorcycle.
…continue reading Grandma gets ride on a Moto Guzzi
The Moto Guzzi California Vintage, when first introduced in the US market, was not easy to find then, and they are still not exactly easy to find today. Moto Guzzi dealers are not all that common here you know. Fortunately, I live within 20 miles of a dealer that I visited occasionally over the last 10 years as I continued to dream about having another motorcycle. I didn’t want just any motorcycle. I wanted something unique. Something that could last a lifetime and still be special. I studied motorcycle magazines and read reviews for all sorts of bikes, but only a few got me interested. I visited every motorcycle shop that I could find, but nothing really struck me as the one I had to have until I met the Moto Guzzi California Vintage.
One of the early versions of the modern era California Guzzi motorcycles was the 1999 model named the V11 Bassa. The Bassa was a step up from the V11 Jackal, and had a retail price of $11,290 in the US market. That was still a bit pricey for motorcycles in the US in 1999; however, the California Guzzi has pretty much always been a higher-end motorcycle. Actually, the 1999 Bassa was priced $100 less than Guzzi’s 75th anniversary edition of the 1996 California 1100i.
So, what’s it like to ride a Moto Guzzi Bassa? Check out this video for the thrill and sound of a Bassa handling the twists and turns of a mountain road.
…continue reading Moto Guzzi V11 Bassa Celebrates 10 Years
