| | | | Road test: Moto Guzzi California Vintage & Touring-Vintage Rock n’ roll from Moto Guzzi |  Written: 10/04/2006 : 12:31. Read 14490 times (19/day). | | The integrality of this filed article is for Premium Members. | If you’re a Guzzisti California is one of the absolute epic names in Moto Guzzi history. To celebrate the great California model Moto Guzzi has launched the black and white Vintage. With great attention to detail and finish Moto Guzzi makes the only Italian cruisers. And it sure is unique.
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California Vintage sounds better than any other Moto Guzzi in standard livery. Still, the 1064cc horizontal V90 now conforms to Euro 3 with a three-way catalyser. The engine comes directly from Breva 1100, but sound different with a tune for loads of instant torque. The air cooled V-twin thumps out torque generously with just a slight twist of the throttle. California Vintage feels special cruising around in Moto Guzzi country. I chose one of only six California Vintages available to the press as my first Guzzi of the day. I did not regret it as I thundered through the many tunnels that links the main roads with the many small towns around Lake Como. I found myself in the Brit group of journos and we had stocked up on Moto Guzzis latest metal including two California Vintages and one California Touring. Since 1971 Moto Guzzi has featured a California in their model range. California Vintage celebrates that fact in Moto Guzzis 85th anniversary.
The handlebars are high and stretched towards me. My knees are bent slightly too much and I can’t help but feel that the footboards should have been further forward. That is just not possible on a horizontally mounted V-twin. In front of the new cylinder heads from Breva 1100 is a rubber flap taken from the local bus between Mandello del Lario and Lecco. The flap is there to shield your knees from knocking into the cylinders when braking hard. Moto Guzzi marketing director Fulvio Parisatto told us that the local Police force had asked for this on their California fleet. Seat height is a low and comfortable 780mm. We are heading up into the mountains for the first time this day to get some photography done. California Vintage is not the ideal bike to drag through the hair bend corners and not long after the first bends I get a huge slide from powering the Vintage through a bend. It was a left bend and somehow I instinctively kicked my right boot down on the tarmac. At least now I knew how slippery the road was. Did long and sweeping turns from there and wished that I was on a Griso in stead up these roads.
Cruising back in Mandello town I could not help being infected with ...
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