Calvin brain trust, please school me

[mtiberio]

Yesterday, I just picked up a 2009 Calvin in white with 4000 miles.



Questions:
1) Will the tubeless wheels from a 1998 EV bolt on?
    answer - no <= wrong, answer: rear is a direct bolt on
2) Will the Corbin solo saddle for the Jackal and Stone work?: http://corbin.com/motoguzzi/jackal.shtml

3) I like the bar bend, but they are too far forward, does anyone make bar backs for the 30mm (at the clamps) bars?
    answer - likely, no, but spacers under the stock risers will get 'er done
4) Or should I fit 7/8" risers to the upper triple and go with some pull back buckhorns from?: http://www.sideroadcycles.com/ImportedMotorcycles/ImportHandlebars/ImportHandlebars78.html
    answer - no answer possible to "should". could => yes
5) Should the saddle bag crash bars have left marks on the saddlebags (I doubt it), does it mean they are bent? can the bags be fit without the guards?
    answer - no, but some do. as far as fitment w/o guards - inconclusive
6) The clutch rattles when cold and the lever is pulled in (sounds like a dry clutch ducati), but is otherwise normal. Concerns?
    answer - one vote for no concern
7) Replace the crossover with a Harpers H style?
    answer - lots of opinions on exhaust, intake and computer mods
8) replacement windscreens (just plastic, not hardware)
    answer - rifle (rifle 19.5 is 1" taller and 1" wider than stock)
9) cruise controls...
    answer - throttlemeister

[dilligaf]

Nice looking motorcycle.  :BEER:
Matt

[mtiberio]

tnx...

[Caffeineo]

Beautiful bike.  ;-T
I put the Harpers H on my Bassa and really like the way it sounds.
There is a thread on here about putting EV wheels on a CalVin. I think some spacers are needed and it is very doable.
Have you tried rotating the bars back? I really did not like the bars on my Bassa until I rotated them back. Now they are much better.
My clutch kinda makes a lot of noise and works just fine. Only about 15K miles on it but I believe the noise in normal.

[mtiberio]

the ev wheel threads are confusing to me. it appears there were some intermediate years where offset rear drive flanges and long rear drive spacers made mixing and matching parts more problematic. I'm wondering if going back to 1998, the wheels and their splines, etc would be more similar.

The grips are at about a perfect angle for my wrists, I'd hate to rotate them, they are just too far forward (and low). Also, seeing whereas the grips feel low, rotating down further would be untenable. Rotating them up from their current position might actually move the grips further back, they are that low. The whole ergos on this bike are messed up. I feel like I'm crowding the tank, my feet feel too far forward on the boards, and my torso to thigh angle is too acute (I'm 5'9" with short legs and long torso/arms). If I had bars with more pullback, it would cure a host of issues, improve the leg angle, foot position, etc.

[Tom Hansen]

Good looking bike!  I had been looking at this one as well as another identical bike in Florida.  I just bought mine from another board member and am going to pick it up later this month, so I can't help you at all.

I just wanted to congratulate you and brag about how beautiful our new bikes are!!

[Wayne Orwig]

Or maybe raise the seat. That helped the the leg angle a lot for my on my EV.

[harrytief]

Hi Mike
Congratulations on the calvin in white...like a young bride at her wedding.
I mounted '03 EV wheels on my calvin and did a write up that you can find in the archives. The swap is straight forward at the front for all years of EV wheels. You will need to trim the "Y" shaped fender brackets/spacers that ride on the front axle and serve the dual function of attaching the fender braces and centering the front wheel. I cannot recall (age related memory degradation) the new dimension but I noted it in my report. Let me know if you can't find it and I'll pull the wheel to measure. The rear is more problematic as you need both the rear brake caliper carrier and the inner bearing spacer from the EV. The calvin spacer can be trimmed to fit the Ev rear wheel the issue being the gap between the wheel hub and the rear drive outer flange. Measure that gap and trim accordingly. I bought a EV rear spacer keeping the calvin's as spare. The EV rear caliper caliper is necessary as the calvin's will wont fit up without machining. Both front and rear axles from the calvin should fit.
I used stone bars as replacements for the calvin's beach bars and the bike was instantly more responsive and comfortable. Go figure. Looked better too.
I used the two part crossover from Todd and liked the sound and quality but find that cross pipes over time will separate from each other and the bike will backfire until you discover the problem.
The PacificoAero/H&H fairing is the very best wind and buffet solution for the calvin. I know as I've tried them all and can sell you the larger rifle screen and lowers along with the pop vents installed in the screen. Sits on a shelf.
You will be very happy with the calvin if you also:
Replace the rear shocks with something that controls rebound and compression.
Add Matris adjustable fork cartridges.
Drop the triple clamps 20 to 25mm.
Mount the stickiest tires you can find ( stay with bias ply).
Ride alot.
Damn the snow.
Be safe
Harry

[mtiberio]

Or maybe raise the seat. That helped the the leg angle a lot for my on my EV.

yes that would probably help, but I have short legs, and like to be able to flat foot...

[harrytief]

My post above should read that the EV rear caliper carrier is also necessary.
Harry

[mtiberio]

I mounted '03 EV wheels on my calvin and did a write up that you can find in the archives. The swap is straight forward at the front for all years of EV wheels. You will need to trim the "Y" shaped fender brackets/spacers that ride on the front axle and serve the dual function of attaching the fender braces and centering the front wheel. I cannot recall (age related memory degradation) the new dimension but I noted it in my report. Let me know if you can't find it and I'll pull the wheel to measure. The rear is more problematic as you need both the rear brake caliper carrier and the inner bearing spacer from the EV. The calvin spacer can be trimmed to fit the Ev rear wheel the issue being the gap between the wheel hub and the rear drive outer flange. Measure that gap and trim accordingly. I bought a EV rear spacer keeping the calvin's as spare. The EV rear caliper caliper is necessary as the calvin's will wont fit up without machining. Both front and rear axles from the calvin should fit.
...

this: "inner bearing spacer from the EV"

you mean the spacer pressed into the rear drive unit, not the spacer that sits between the two wheel bearings, right?

[harrytief]

Memory alert!
Mike I can't recall without reading my posts of that time which spacer caused the gap problem. I do remember thinking that unless the gap caused a wheel offset issue it was only an aesthetic problem. I also remember that the calvin inner hub spacer was longer than the EV's (by about 15mm?). If your EV wheels already have the inner hub spacer and bearings then try fitting them up and see if a gap at the hub/rear drive flange appears. You will also see that the calvin rear caliper carrier will not fit up.  As I type, I seem to recall that I did need to shorten the spacer pressed into the rear drive by the amount of the gap. I wonder if Vigara can also initiate memory loss.
I do not recall there being any other fitment issues that discouraged me from doing the wheel swap.
Let me know what you find.
Harry
PS
I have a earlier aluminum EV rear wheel that I may never get around to using. Excellent, near new condition.
Oh yes, one more thing. You will see that the large spring circlip holding the splined plate in the rear wheel is held in its groove by a single clip unlike earlier tonti rear wheels. There were internet reports of EV rear wheels failing when the large circilp enlarged its groove and slipped out. I added several additional of the smaller clips following a post by Greg Field on here. Greg sent them to me while at MI.
Harry

[mtiberio]

a purely aestetic gap between the wheel flange and the rear drive unit doesn't concern me. All I want is full engagement of the wheel to rear drive splines. PM me with a price for your early EV rear wheel...

[Sheepdog]

Rifle offers replacement windshields at a variety of widths/heights for +-$160. A couple of 1/2" drive, 18mm sockets between your handlebar clamp and the upper triple clamp will bring your bars up and back. It's an inexpensive technique for evaluating comfort while deciding on a more permanent fix (my solution was to use California Stone bars). I had a seat made that raised the seating surface 3/4". It made the bike far more comfy and I can still flatfoot at stops (I'm 5'10" with a 31" inseam). If it's not already done, adjust your shifter so you can fit your foot under it to improve comfort even more. There's a second adjustment for this underneath the transmission...just trace the linkage.

[Arizona Wayne]

Mike, did you buy that bike from Wes Stephens(looks like his)?

[Cam3512]

The chrome guards around the saddlebags rubbed against the bags on mine too.  Pretty sure most do that, and don't think you can remove them.  I tried bending them down a bit, but they still didn't totally clear the bags.  One side was worse than the other.

[mtiberio]

Mike, did you buy that bike from Wes Stephens(looks like his)?

Tom from Beaverdam Va...

[mtiberio]

The chrome guards around the saddlebags rubbed against the bags on mine too.  Pretty sure most do that, and don't think you can remove them.  I tried bending them down a bit, but they still didn't totally clear the bags.  One side was worse than the other.

tnx

[Cam3512]

BTW  Mike, best thing you can do is have Todd @ GuzziTech reflash the ECU to eliminate the closed loop/O2 sensor. 

I found the combo of H-pipe crossover, open air box and stock pipes to work best with the reflash.  I tried everything, to include  a Power Commander, Mistral pipes, black magic, etc.   YMMV

[PeteS]

One option for the bars are Rox Risers. They can be rotated horizontal to move the bars back. They also come ridged and anti vibe style. Well made product.

http://www.revzilla.com/rox-risers

For windshields the best I have ever sat behind was the Swanee. Not the best looking but near zero turbulence. I think Harpers sells a copy. Avoid any of the flat police style shields They mount so far forward it makes it a turbulence machine.

Pete

[CalVin2007]

  Mike-

     I have these bars on my CalVin:  http://www.bikebandit.com/aftermarket-parts/motorcycle-control-and-brake/handlebars-universal/bikemaster-nighthawk-handlebars

     They are 7/8" so I used risers from a Jackal to replace the CalVin 30mm stuff. The bars sit up and back just the right amount for me to be comfortable...be advised they do flex a bit more than the Fat Bars did, and it also takes more effort to turn at low speeds and when moving the bike in the garage. No cable changes were necessary, just some minor routing tweaks in the upper triple clamp area.

   I have a Windjammer on mine and it's great for nice smooth air, but before that I did use a National Cycle Plexistar II with very good results. FAR better than the stock screen but requires modding the aux light mounts. A Plexi III would be even better.

  Terry

     

[Sheepdog]

Be aware that 1 1/8" bars are 28mm...Guzzi bars are 30mm.

[Greg Field]

When I worked at Moto Intl. we fitted a Calvin with tubeless wheels.

My memory is that it required a post-2002 (US model years) rear wheel. A 98 EV front should fit fine.

[mtiberio]

yes, a bastard sized bar if there ever was one...
Cal 14 is 28mm
1.125" is 28.6mm
CalVIn is 30mm

The rox risers look "interesting", but not sure they would fit the 30mm CalVin bars.

maybe just a 1" high, 1" diameter, 1/2" ID aluminum spacer from mcmaster carr?:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#unthreaded-spacers/=w949ul

[Travman]

BTW  Mike, best thing you can do is have Todd @ GuzziTech reflash the ECU to eliminate the closed loop/O2 sensor. 

I found the combo of H-pipe crossover, open air box and stock pipes to work best with the reflash.  I tried everything, to include  a Power Commander, Mistral pipes, black magic, etc.   YMMV

Last night we installed a reflashed ECU from Redline (Yorktown, VA) on my friends CalVin. His bike also has the H-pipe, open air box and stock pipes. The bike finally feels like it should. It breathes and revs much more fluidly, much more enjoyable. Luckily, I had ridden a well sorted EV-T a few years back so I knew what was possible.

We also finished installing those 1973 Eldorado valve covers yesterday evening. Thanks for selling those to me.

[mtiberio]

did you go with metal valve cover adaptors or just the dual use gaskets?

[Sheepdog]

Those spacers look great (I used the sockets 'cause they were in the toolbox and are chrome). The risers will put the bar clamp in a slightly unfamiliar place (visually, at least), but they will put the grips where you seem to want them. In my case, this didn't work (the bend of those bars put my wrists at a weird angle). Still, it remains an affordable way to make the bike fit you. I've placed a photo below to show the Rifle shield (+4" of height and 2" wider with Vetter Pop Vents), the Stone handlebars, the higher Sargent saddle, and the raised shifter:



Cam...those valve covers look trick!

[dlapierre]

Just to be contrary. I don't know why you would want to change anything until you give it a chance. Mine is exactly the same bike. Colour and all. The only thing I  changed was the windshield...to a lower one because the buffeting of the stock one was bothersome. Oh, and \I went to a bit wider rear tire when I wore the first one out..only because it was a brand I like.
 I'm a hair over 6' tall. I wear a full-face helmet.
I have a stable of bikes and each one feels a bit different to ride. Each one takes a little getting used to. But, the Cali Vintage took nothing to get used to.

[mtiberio]

I know what my body likes, but you are right go slow w/mods.

[stmike]

About a month or two after buying my white Calvin I brought it to Todd and had him set up all the fueling for me, including H-pipe, Ferraci open air box, ECU reflash, PC V, and maybe a couple of other things that I don't recall at the moment.  He also adjusted it all on his magic computer.  Bike ran great after that.  Whenever I bring it over to him for its service he always makes sure its still set up the way it should be.  This was a very worthwhile investment.
Congratulations on your new bike (and your good taste!).