Wildguzzi.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: MarcoSolo on June 23, 2026, 04:27:08 PM
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Got a slow leak in the tubed rear tire and want to pull the wheel myself and seal the rim for tubeless. I've looked for a manual and video specific to that year and model without immediate success. Found a bunch of manuals on ThisOldTractor but nothing on rear wheel disassembly for a tire change. Watched a video on another MG model which seemed pretty straightforward so I'm not averse to just digging in but I would prefer to save on doubt and frustration and not overlook something - like not letting the brake caliper hang on the brake line - thanks AI.
Got the panniers off, pipes off, left side shock off, brake caliper off, pinch bolt eased out, don't have a hex drive large enough to remove the axle bolt on the left side yet (forgive errors in terminology) but I do have the correct socket for the right side axle bolt. For better or worse, whoever did the last tire change for the previous owner wasn't big on torque specs and everything so far has come apart with little effort.
In any event, I'd like some kind of shop manual for my 08 CA Vintage and any advice on what I'm doing would be much appreciated. And any maintenance I should do once I have the drive hub apart?
Thanks,
Mark
Thanks for any help.
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Maybe go here https://retromotorcyclemanuals.com/en-us/products/2006-to-2011-moto-guzzi-california-1100-vintage-service-manual?srsltid=AfmBOoozyL_IO0VfoYE0ju8sJjP0qRoR7aD1rmlPMLZiq546ub0FGMbc
Good luck
Paul B :boozing:
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Here is all of the EV type Cali's , your's is on bottom of list on left.
https://www.guzzitek.org/atelier/gb/1100/California1100_Atelier_Compil.pdf
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Thanks to both of you - much appreciated.
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If you have your original tool kit, it should have a 2" piece of hex stock that fits the rear axle, the only hard part is getting the bike up high enough to roll out from the fender - or laying the bike over... carefully.
There are lots of videos on boobtube for going tubeless. I recommend a tube of 5200. There are tape kits tho.
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If you have your original tool kit, it should have a 2" piece of hex stock that fits the rear axle, the only hard part is getting the bike up high enough to roll out from the fender - or laying the bike over... carefully.
There are lots of videos on boobtube for going tubeless. I recommend a tube of 5200. There are tape kits tho.
Thanks - I didn't need a hex after all. When the axle nut on the right side is removed and the pinch bolt released, the axle is easy to drift out. On raising the bike, I used a block and tackle attached to a joist above to raise the center stand high enough to get 4" of wood under it. My Guzzi advisor showed me that the brake caliper hanger just slides aft as it is supported by only the axle and a pin on the inside of the swing arm and not bolted on in any way, unlike on other models. Once the hanger was out of the way there was plenty of room to remove the wheel from the drive hub and plenty of room under the fender to get the wheel out. Like Christopher Columbus said upon his return, "It's easy when you know how." Although my adviser said it's tricky to reassemble without the 10 arms of a Hindu goddess. Now I just need to find a sympathetic shop to break the tire down so I can see what caused the flat. Thanks for the info on going tubeless but I am thinking of just redoing the rim strip and putting in a heavy duty tube.
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I finally found a manual for my California Vintage which had "Removing Rear Wheel" in its table of contents. Scrolled down to page 139 and found this content:
Rear Wheel
CAUTION
Disassembling and reassembling the rear
wheel may prove difficult; these operations are
best left to experienced mechanics.
If necessary, contact a Moto Guzzi Authorised
Dealer.
Curses - foiled again!
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If you have a local shop willing to change the tube do it....I do my own cuz I have too, not because I wanna.....it involves lots of cursing, busted knucks and more than a beer or two :boozing: and heaven forbid you pinched the tube and hafta do it all over :violent1:
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Got the tire fixed at a nearby shop, $97, half hour labor and $46 for the Michelin HD tube. Took me about a half hour to reassemble everything and take it for a test ride. No left over parts, no untoward noises, rear brake still worked, life is good. I did look around for the rubber cush drive piece but the '08 CA Vintage doesn't have those, MG having opted for a cushioning device in the transmission. And I lubed the drive splines with moly grease at the shop.
Thanks for the comments and advice.
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I did look around for the rubber cush drive piece but the '08 CA Vintage doesn't have those, MG having opted for a cushioning device in the transmission. And I lubed the drive splines with moly grease at the shop.
(https://i.ibb.co/hJTc3VPw/Screenshot-2026-06-25-180302.png) (https://ibb.co/hJTc3VPw)
The Vintage still has the cush drive inside the rear wheel, like the EV per the parts manual.
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(https://i.ibb.co/hJTc3VPw/Screenshot-2026-06-25-180302.png) (https://ibb.co/hJTc3VPw)
The Vintage still has the cush drive inside the rear wheel, like the EV per the parts manual.
When I didn't find the rubber spacers when I took the rear drive apart I looked it up and found the following via "AI" with references to sources:
Wheel: The rear wheel hub is rigidly mounted to the final drive, which lacks the typical rubber dampers.
Gearbox: The internal cush drive consists of a "face-cam" shock absorber built into the 5-speed constant-mesh transmission, which softens driveline lash and protects the shaft drive.
I don't claim to know jack but when I took the rear drive apart I didn't see any rubber buffers. Richard Prior's famous words come to mind - Who you gonna believe? Me or yo' lyin' eyes?
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Did you see a large snap ring holding the drive spline plate to the wheel? The cush drive blocks live under there!
Number 15 holding number 14 into the wheel hub in the illustration above.
Brian
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When I didn't find the rubber spacers when I took the rear drive apart I looked it up and found the following via "AI" with references to sources:
Wheel: The rear wheel hub is rigidly mounted to the final drive, which lacks the typical rubber dampers.
Gearbox: The internal cush drive consists of a "face-cam" shock absorber built into the 5-speed constant-mesh transmission, which softens driveline lash and protects the shaft drive.
That five speed has had the cam cush drive in the transmission PLUS the rubber bumpers INSIDE the rear wheel since like the Roman empire. Not in the rear drive, but inside the wheel hub as shown in that parts drawing for the 2008 Vintage.
The AI is feeding you slop.
Did you take the clip off of the center of the rear wheel and pull it apart?
Doesn't matter. Not a lot to do in there.
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Pull it apart & lube the hub, something not to many do hence most are locked up & don't work anyway. Lovely job, HA Ha ha. It's all junk, don't investigate. Another nice idea if it works.
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That five speed has had the cam cush drive in the transmission PLUS the rubber bumpers INSIDE the rear wheel since like the Roman empire. Not in the rear drive, but inside the wheel hub as shown in that parts drawing for the 2008 Vintage.
The AI is feeding you slop.
Did you take the clip off of the center of the rear wheel and pull it apart?
Doesn't matter. Not a lot to do in there.
Got it. Didn't understand the exploded diagram the first time. Didn't take the clip off as there was no need. I did lube the spline but didn't know to open up the side of the rear wheel. Didn't put anti-seize on the muffler tips either, but that's easier to remedy. As I said, I don't know jack, just got the bike, and haven't been able to find a shop manual for it. Every model I've been able to find details on are configured differently. Not just a little frustrating but satisfying when it all went back together easily. Thanks for the clarification. The tire's got a good bit of life left in it but when it's time to change it out, I'll be better prepared.
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Welcome to the CalVin owners club....these were the apex of the cali 1100s. And share most of their parts with them save some upgrades and special bits. A little research on the forum will get you a long way.
Most importantly those special bits; windshield, chrome and hard bags can be ungodly expensive to replace if damaged. Post us some pics of you can!
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Welcome to the CalVin owners club....these were the apex of the cali 1100s. And share most of their parts with them save some upgrades and special bits. A little research on the forum will get you a long way.
Most importantly those special bits; windshield, chrome and hard bags can be ungodly expensive to replace if damaged. Post us some pics of you can!
I haven't had much luck with photo storage places but here's a link to the ad of the bike I bought with better images than I could provide. I might get a couple of pieces rechromed as the chrome is not that great in places and someone painted a piece that had been chrome with silver paint to mask the flaking - shrug. Thanks for the welcome!