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Converting Touring to Custom

Martin DG

Just got it firing!
GT Contributor
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
Messages
20
Location
Quebec, Canada
I am currently shopping for a 1400 Custom. My plan was to buy new, black colour of course and slowly, with time, buy extra touring accessories (seat with passenger rest, windshield, etc.) to help for weekend excursion with my wife. A deal came up for a used white 1400 Touring 2014, equipped with extra Russel Cycle touring seat, Agostini exhaust, highway perg, etc. Really good price. My questions:

1) Is it feasible to revert to a custom just by removing all touring extra?
2) Swapping colour from white to black feasible? (fuel tank is my concern)
3) Should 2014 be avoided for any special reasons, being close to initial release?

Thanks.
Martin
 
My answers:
Based on personal life experience

1) Probably not.
Do you have room to store all the stuff? Seems like something always gets lost on these type of adventures.
Taking stuff off is easy. Putting it all back on always seems to create surprises.

2) Can you spray?
Know how to sand, prime, paint? Have a place to do it where you are not going to get over spray on wife's stuff?
Are you willing to take everything off & take it to & pay somebody $1000.00 (+/-) to spray?
then put it all back on without scratching that new paint? See answer for #1 for additional info.

3) 2014's are fine.
All of them are fine especially if it has more than 5000 or 10000 miles on it.
 
1) yes - I've got a custom and I easily remove the top box incl. rack after long trips (also possible with the saddlebags but I like the look of the custom with the MG saddlebags)
2) yes, but I would doubt that it is worth the effort - would rather buy a black one ...
3) don't know - I've got a 2013 custom and have only issues with a noisy 3rd gear and a fogging speedometer ;-)
 
There is a differences between the two bikes suspension with the Custom have remote resevoirs on the the rear shocks. I would advise against trying to convert a Custom to a Touring as the price of the individual componets will far exceed the price difference between the two models. The Saddlebags alone will set you back $1209+. The Sidebag Guards $384.99+, Engine Guards $274.99+, Windscreen $329.99+, Top Box $632.99, Backrest $920.35, Touring Saddle $467.99, Fog Light Kit $456.99, so forth and so on.
 
Thank you all for the advice. I will place an offer for the white Touring, price is too good to pass for 5,000km. I will keep it white - especially that the seller went through the trouble of installing 3M protective film on all surface. I will buy the seat and smaller handlebars from the California Custom. Swapping to a shorter bars, will the brake & hydraulic lines be way too long and need changing?
 
Thank you all for the advice. I will place an offer for the white Touring, price is too good to pass for 5,000km. I will keep it white - especially that the seller went through the trouble of installing 3M protective film on all surface. I will buy the seat and smaller handlebars from the California Custom. Swapping to a shorter bars, will the brake & hydraulic lines be way too long and need changing?
A few have gone the other way and fitted touring bars and seat to a custom. I would respectfully suggest you try it in stock form for a while and spend the $$ on the GT fuelling mods and possibly a suspension upgrade.
 
Take into account, the California Custom Seat is a solo seat, however switching between seats take just a turn of a key and less than 10 seconds. In my case the OEM seat was good for around 90 miles before it started to be uncomfortable.

Just remember these bikes are hand built and no two are exactly alike. I too urge you to ride the bike some time before you start making modifications. My Custom is mostly stock with OEM accessories with the exception of a K&N oil filter. I have no fueling issures nor cross over exhaust failure after 22K miles. I do have the fogging instrument cluster however. The bike wasn't really broke in until 18K or so and now has all the performance I could wish for.

I am guessing that you would have a 3"- 4" difference in the length of the brake & clutch lines. If you do switch hoses, for the front brakes, it would only have to be hose 2B000089 (15 top picture) between the resevoir and the ABS Cluster. For the clutch, hose 2B000093 (6 bottom picture) from the clutch resevoir. A California 1400 Custom Parts Manual

California 1400 Custom Parts Manual  B
 
Last edited:
I seem to remember they were from harpermoto.com/oem-moto-guzzi-illustrated-parts-catalog.html
But I believe that AF-1 also has some into. My advice is addition to Guzzitech, join the Moto Guzzi National Owners Club. They can hook you up with a manual and a lot of good information. Good value for the money; mgnoc.com
 
I would totally agree with LuftWolf’s post, however although I had no fuelling “issues” IMHO the GT fuelling mod transforms the bike. I also had a similar problem with the instrument cluster (replaced under warranty) - no problems with the cross over apart from losing the clamp (bad PDI?). In addition have fitted a BMC filter and modified air box lid (peanuts to buy if you don’t want to mod the original). Again IMHO OEM suspension dire, Matris transformed the Touring, can’t comment on the Custom. Lots of info regarding all of the above on the forum and lots to tempt you in the GT Store. Also I seem to recall downloading the workshop manual after contributing .
 
Are these part diagrams from af1racing?
I have a handful of the Parts PDFs on this site, but you have to donate to get to them... since they are so easily found on Google these days, I haven't been adding the new models for bandwidth (costs). MGNOC (of which I was both the State Reps for Massachusetts first, then SoCal) used to be solid with info, but it mostly harbors older bike info now.
Mike Harper has retired but is selling of NOS parts.
I have, or can get, any OEM part. Many are on the online Store here, tab above. Ask if you don't see it. AF1 are good friends of mine and an excellent resource of course, but appreciate the business here to keep the site alive.
 
I am currently shopping for a 1400 Custom. My plan was to buy new, black colour of course and slowly, with time, buy extra touring accessories (seat with passenger rest, windshield, etc.) to help for weekend excursion with my wife. A deal came up for a used white 1400 Touring 2014, equipped with extra Russel Cycle touring seat, Agostini exhaust, highway perg, etc. Really good price. My questions:

1) Is it feasible to revert to a custom just by removing all touring extra?
2) Swapping colour from white to black feasible? (fuel tank is my concern)
3) Should 2014 be avoided for any special reasons, being close to initial release?

Thanks.
Martin


1) Is it feasible to revert to a custom just by removing all touring extra?

Yes.

2) Swapping colour from white to black feasible? (fuel tank is my concern)

Yes. (repaint or purchase OEM white replacement sheet metal/plastic)

3) Should 2014 be avoided for any special reasons, being close to initial release?

Not sure, BUT I have a 2014 Custom (converted to a Touring by adding the touring parts) and the exhaust system broke at the crossover. No other problems that have not been self-inflicted.
 
There is a differences between the two bikes suspension with the Custom have remote resevoirs on the the rear shocks. I would advise against trying to convert a Custom to a Touring as the price of the individual componets will far exceed the price difference between the two models. The Saddlebags alone will set you back $1209+. The Sidebag Guards $384.99+, Engine Guards $274.99+, Windscreen $329.99+, Top Box $632.99, Backrest $920.35, Touring Saddle $467.99, Fog Light Kit $456.99, so forth and so on.

My Custom is dressed out as a Touring. Yes, is can be expensive, but I happened to buy mine second-hand already done. :)
 
Concerning the Touring model silver wheel, anyone tried powder coating to black? I was wondering about possible issues concerning curing temperature since I believe the OEM wheels are cast aluminum.
 
Concerning the Touring model silver wheel, anyone tried powder coating to black? I was wondering about possible issues concerning curing temperature since I believe the OEM wheels are cast aluminum.

No problem powder coating the Aluminium wheels. It’s done all the time.
 
If anyone is intereted about a paint job estimate, I called a recommended paint shop near me St-Jerome, Quebec, Canada and he quoted me $1200-1300 CDN to paint all 9 Cal Touring parts to black: front & rear fenders, tank, tank covers, side panels and paniers. Now i have to look for a colour that looks like Guzzi's 'Competition Black'.
 
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