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True to form, the deep blue from the ocean waves, adorned with surfers, broke on your shore as teens with tan skin and sun-bleached hair clustered around cars artfully changing from bathing suits into street clothes beneath the towels wrapped around their health. Using the motorcycles’ front wheels pointed north in the Pacific Coast Highway, it was 2015 Moto Guzzi California 1400.

For this idyllic scene, Moto Guzzi brought a week’s worth of international motorcycle journalists to experience the California dream upon the marque’s 2015 version from the 2015 Moto Guzzi California 1400. While the large 1400 is functionally unchanged from last year, Moto Guzzi remains quite happy with the undeniable fact that the reimagined California was its first all-new motorcycle in several many stands like a symbol of Guzzi’s new approach to designing motorcycles. This really is not without good reason, since a California of a couple ilk has been around Moto Guzzi’s model line since 1971, lasting through nine model iterations.

Let me know in regards to the engine
The 1380cc, 90º V-twin apes the initial Cali. It’s the biggest engine in Moto Guzzi history, belching out greater than 88. 5lb-ft of torque with a measly 2750rpm. The 104mm pistons are mated to four valves per cylinder, one overhead camshaft with rocker arms and roller tappets. There’s a 52mm single throttle ride-by-wire system, with bi-jet injectors to ensure the ideal mixture of fuels reaches the engine as so when needed.

Final drive is via a shaft with double flexible coupling after a brand new single clutch with reduced load. The six-speed ‘box runs top gear being an overdrive for comfortable cruising.

What’s the chassis like?
The double cradle steel frame includes a purposefully low centre of gravity, having a 1685mm wheelbase, 32° of rake and 155mm of trail. Seat height is 740mm, though 720mm is available being an option.

The 46mm forks do not have adjustment, however the rear shock is adjustable for preload. The bikes get dual-channel ABS upon the Brembo brakes (radial calipers early on on 320mm discs ), which work well enough but don’t possess the initial bite you may expect, the ABS is switchable and works

Should I buy one
Moto Guzzi California005The Touring bike I rode has got the neat touches that were seen inside the production drawings to the 2014 / 15 Cali : A funky pillion grabrail ; 1950s motorway cop fairing and lights along with the sweptback panniers. It’s a machine to become seen on, however that doesn’t mean it’s simply for more than function.

The Cali offers long, confident lean in corners. Consistent with Guzzi it’s five degrees more when compared to a Harley-Davidson, and also the bike has its own sliders mounted beneath the footboards. You’ll work the road through them pretty quickly though, as it’s just such a lot fun acquiring the big girl over quite a distance.

The Cali also gets Traction Control with three settings : Touring, Fast and Rain. Accessed via the left handlebar switchgear the difference involving the three is immediately obvious, and although Touring is fine for 99% of what you’d do on this sort of machine, it’s well worth sticking it in Fast (or Veloce as says upon the screen ) from time to time just to impress yourself with the ideal dose of Italian ooomph.

So what’s it prefer to ride?
The Cali is wonderfully engaging to ride, with none from the bothersome vibration you may expect. That’s to not claim that this can be a homogenised, sanitised, smoothed-out new Guzzi – oh no. What We‘ve here‘s a great use of something called an ‘elasto-kinematic engine mount’. Basically the motor is joined towards the frame by flexible mounts that may be tuned from the factory.

Moto Guzzi California004What which means in real every daythe world is that whenever you’re upon the move the bike is smooth and almost vibe-free, but stop with a junction and there’s the familiar Guzzi throb using the bike lazily rocking from side-to-side underneath you. The internal system works brilliantly. This then is real dial-in character that gives the finest bits without having the numb hands (or numb bum ) you used to obtain using the bikes from Mandello.

The Cali is really a cracking place to become to cover miles as it’s perfectly simple to stick the bike in one gear and roll on and off the ability as you have to. It’s also wonderfully manoeuvrable at slow speeds and city-speed too. Although fully-dressed and loaded up California tips the scales with a mighty 337kg.

Therefore the seat is good, the riding position excellent, the chassis and motor superb and also the tech as rewarding and useful to make use of as you’ll find on anything Japanese or British. It’s simple to plod along or really motor when the mood takes you, and it’s more refined than most machines in its class. When was the final time anyone said that a few Guzzi?

2015 Moto Guzzi California 1400 Touring Specifications

Engine Type Air/oil-cooled, transverse mounted, 90° V-Twin
Engine Capacity 1380 cc
Bore x Stroke 104 mm x 81.2 mm
Compression 10.5:1
Fuel System Phased electronic Multipoint sequential injection
Horsepower 96 @ 6500 rpm (claimed)
Torque 87 ft-lb. @ 2750 rpm (claimed)
Transmission 6-speed
Clutch Single-disc with integrated anti-vibration buffer
Final Drive Shaft
Frame Steel tubing, closed double cradle with elastic-kinematic engine mounting system
Front Suspension 46 mm hydraulic telescopic fork
Rear Suspension Dual shocks with adjustable spring preload and rebound damping
Front Brakes Dual 320 mm stainless steel floating discs, Brembo radial callipers with 4 pistons
Rear Brakes 282 mm stainless steel fixed disc, Brembo floating calliper with 2 pistons
Front Tire 130/70 R 18”
Rear Tire 200/60 R 16”
Seat Height 29.1”
Curb Weight 701/743 lbs
Wheelbase 66.3”
Fuel Capacity 5.4 gal
Electronics ABS, cruise control, traction control, rider modes
Colors Blu Zaffiro, Rosso Amaranto