Newbie Question on California 1400

[mazdaman]

Hello All,

I've been thinking about purchasing a new Califronia and joining the Guzzi family. I come from a background of riding all kinds of motorcycles and am looking to buy my first cruiser. Yesterday, I test rode a Cali 1400 Touring. I have a couple questions about the bike...

1) Do these bikes have a slightly vague front end? I noticed a very unnerving wobble when cornering on the bike. Do other people have this problem? (Note, I checked the tire pressure and suspension after the ride and both were fine).

2) Is there an OEM steering damper that can be bought?

3) How different are the Cali custom and touring riding wise? Sadly, I only had a chance to ride the touring. Would most likely be buying a Custom.

Thanks!

 

[buzglyd]

I had the same feelings when I test rode the touring. Plus, the buffeting from the shield was bothersome as well.

The custom feels different for some reason.

 

[GTM®]

Welcome to the site here, and in advance on Guzzi ownership. Poke around a bit here in this section, and you'll uncover a handful of known facts about the Touring. The first is that the Tourer uses shorter rear shocks then the Custom, and depending on your weight, they are most likely horribly mis-set or out of your weight range. The windscreen can also be problematic depending on speeds. When properly sorted, the 1400 is likely one of the best handling cruisers on the market... as experienced here in the land of endless corners.

Much like every other motorcycle made, plan on spending a handful more to sort the suspension, and you'll have a long happy life with it. The don't offer a steering damper, no... They are to mask problems, so put that money towards the suspension. My recently pulled from service RentAGuzzi.com C14C was an amazing machine, once the suspension was sorted, and the bike was fed some fuel and allowed to breathe properly.

 

[Little Don]

Hello All,

I've been thinking about purchasing a new Califronia and joining the Guzzi family. I come from a background of riding all kinds of motorcycles and am looking to buy my first cruiser. Yesterday, I test rode a Cali 1400 Touring. I have a couple questions about the bike...

1) Do these bikes have a slightly vague front end? I noticed a very unnerving wobble when cornering on the bike. Do other people have this problem? (Note, I checked the tire pressure and suspension after the ride and both were fine).

2) Is there an OEM steering damper that can be bought?

3) How different are the Cali custom and touring riding wise? Sadly, I only had a chance to ride the touring. Would most likely be buying a Custom.

Thanks!

I've had my 1400 Touring for 1 1/2 years, but am not a super experienced rider. I've put 6-7,000 miles on it and have not experienced any wobble when cornering. The only time I had an odd response on cornering, the problem WAS low tire pressure.

 

[mazdaman]

Welcome to the site here, and in advance on Guzzi ownership. Poke around a bit here in this section, and you'll uncover a handful of known facts about the Touring. The first is that the Tourer uses shorter rear shocks then the Custom, and depending on your weight, they are most likely horribly mis-set or out of your weight range. The windscreen can also be problematic depending on speeds. When properly sorted, the 1400 is likely one of the best handling cruisers on the market... as experienced here in the land of endless corners.

Much like every other motorcycle made, plan on spending a handful more to sort the suspension, and you'll have a long happy life with it. The don't offer a steering damper, no... They are to mask problems, so put that money towards the suspension. My recently pulled from service RentAGuzzi.com C14C was an amazing machine, once the suspension was sorted, and the bike was fed some fuel and allowed to breathe properly.

Thanks for the information. What sort of suspension modifications would you suggest?

 

[mazdaman]

One more question- is there anything that can be done about the heat from the cylinder heads? The heat was WAY worse then other Guzzi's I've ridden in the past. Granted it was a very hot day, but I don't think I could ride the bike for more than half an hour in that condition....

 

[Guzzi_Lou]

I've only noticed the heat when waiting at a light ... once moving I can't recall noticing it at all.

 

[GTM®]

One more question- is there anything that can be done about the heat from the cylinder heads? The heat was WAY worse then other Guzzi's I've ridden in the past. Granted it was a very hot day, but I don't think I could ride the bike for more than half an hour in that condition....

Well covered here. Sort the fueling, and be rewarded by much cooler engine temps, and huge power gains; https://www.guzzitech.com/forums/th...cal-14-dyno-vs-stock.13773/page-2#post-107663 -- it's a big motor, and more leanly fueled then most any other modern Guzzi to date. More fuel = cooler running = more power = slightly more fuel consumption. All trade-offs for you to decide.

 

[stephenm]

The heat seems to dam up between your knees and the tank. If you move your knees an inch or two away from the tank, the heat blows away. I have found the steering very smooth. I had a 1200GS for 100,000km and learned early to relax my shoulders to avoid feeding movement into the steering with the wide handlebars.

Stephen