New To Me 2016 Eldorado 1400

[Skysailor64]

Hi Mark,  I certainly agree with you regarding the horn.  I had the same issue with my old BMW R1200CLC and changed it to a more appropriate sounding one.  Let us know and hear what you come up with! 

[blu guzz]

Another agreement on the horn, what a joke. But, years ago in Europe, some cars had a 2 setting horn with city and country.  It may be that in the urban areas in Europe, the db are limited.

[TN Mark]

These are due in on Thursday from Amazon. 125db should get the job done. I didn’t want to go too large, so I’ll see how these fit. $30

FARBIN Car Horns 12v Loud High Tone/Low Tone Metal Twin Horns Kit with Relay Harness,Universal Horn for Truck Car Motorcycle (Black horn with wire harness)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71nC+gi1WcL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

[TN Mark]

It looks like I found a Unicorn part, 2S000538.
These are the Eldorado 1400 leather saddlebag mounts. They should deliver on Friday so I’ll confirm then.

[TN Mark]

I stopped at Cadre Cycle this morning on my way up north and ordered the corresponding Eldorado specific leather saddlebags. Whohoo.

[Mike Crenshaw]

TN Mark, I've been reading your post with interest.  I've owned a 2014 California 1400 Touring for a few years now.  I'm the third owner and I'm pretty sure the second owner never made any changes to the motor.  Your comments about the engine mapping have me wondering if the stock map has been changed.  How to determine if I have a remap?  Can this be tested by Guzzi Diag? 

[blu guzz]

I wanted the Gucci Guzzi bags too, but was too cheap to part with the money.  Yours will be a real stunner when you have finished with it. 
Keep going, I look forward to seeing how far you can take it.

[TN Mark]

TN Mark, I've been reading your post with interest.  I've owned a 2014 California 1400 Touring for a few years now.  I'm the third owner and I'm pretty sure the second owner never made any changes to the motor.  Your comments about the engine mapping have me wondering if the stock map has been changed.  How to determine if I have a remap?  Can this be tested by Guzzi Diag?

In my case my Eldorado has an aftermarket PCV (Power Commander Five) with an AT-300 (Auto Tune). It’s currently running a ‘base’ map that was generated on an actual dyno by, as far as I know, the only professional dyno tuner on a Moto Guzzi in the country. It’s not a map you download from the internet for a donation in your garage with a laptop and cables. The ECU in the 1400 was intentionally designed not to allow or encourage that scenario. Plus I trust the actual before and after dyno run results on actual dyno with the same bike configuration I have. There’s only one option for the real thing regarding a 1400.

Today, the newer bikes can get an actual good fuel map from Piaggio because their team in CA knows what they’re doing, and they use a dyno.

The PCV and the AT have the fuel map that allows the engine to run in its optimum settings based on the air filter, the air box configuration and the exhaust system on my bike. Also in my case, the entire exhaust system has been replaced. The entire OEM exhaust system has been relocated to my attic.

The exhaust system, slip on mufflers, the crossover, the stepped head pipes, the Power Commander (6) and the air filters are readily available from a different Moto Guzzi internet forum. A Technical Guzzi forum.

I test road a stock 2014 CA Tour about 5 years ago. I wanted to like the bike because I inherently like the Moto Guzzi brand. The bike ran so poorly I couldn’t return to the dealer fast enough. Hanging throttle plus every other poor running condition they were originally sold with.

I admit to being biased as every bike I own gets tuned properly by the aftermarket, with aftermarket parts. IMHO, my  Eldorado runs better than the Guzzi R&D design and engineering teams ever thought it could. It also runs cooler than other 1400’s.

I’ve been chasing down and collecting a few other unobrainium 1400 accessories in the US and Italy. In the coming weeks I’ll be able to spend some time in the garage to install many of them. Knee replacement surgery next month will keep me off the road at work for a while. That equates to Guzzi Garage Time.

I have no idea when the bags will show up. I also don’t currently know how to post a picture here because I don’t have an online photo storage site etc. Apparently iCloud doesn’t count. But I’ll get that figured out as well.

[TN Mark]

Next week my work travel throttles way back so I’ll have some garage time with Bella.

In the meantime time, I’ve been busy gathering a lot of ‘unobtanium’ accessories. An eBay seller in Italy has been particularly helpful and so easy to deal with.. My fourth shipment from them was delivered yesterday. No muss, no fuss, fantastic deliveries with DHL combined with excellent pricing.

On Monday I confirmed I found a real unicorn part and ordered it. The OEM Eldorado specific leather saddlebag brackets (unicorn) are scheduled to deliver tomorrow. The OEM Eldorado leather saddlebags are on order with my somewhat ‘local’ dealer (Cadre Cycle) but I don’t have an ETA yet. The bags are in stock in Italy.
Pro Tip: this is a great time of year to ask about ‘Black Friday’ pricing on expensive items. ;)

I’m into the Eldorado for the long haul, therefore I’ve also been building up a supply of regular maintenance items (spark plug wires, plugs, seals etc) as well as some unique 1400 items (1400 dash, lock set, spare keys) that once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.

I also bought the Becker Technic work stand for cleaning and regular maintenance. After changing the oil with a scissors jack under the engine it was clear the jack was more in the way than it was helpful. I contacted Simon Becker through email because their website doesn’t allow shipping into the US, or Canada. Simon was also a breeze to work with, he gave me the non VAT price and his ‘lift’ is on its way to me.

[TN Mark]

The Eldorado ‘Grip Enhancement Phase’ is nearly done. So far I’ve completed installing:
B064270 - Heated grip kit
2S000339 - Grip ends, DPM
B064245 - Black billet ‘trapezoid’ mirrors on 1” risers
606438M and 606439M - Adjustable billet levers, DPM
Hand guards, smoke color, generic that attach to the mirror mount

Next up:
B064243 - GPS mount, DPM, with a used TomTom Rider 2
2S000464 - Black billet reservoir covers, DPM
2S000350 and 2S000352 - Brake & Shifter lever trim, DPM
2S000538 - Eldorado leather saddlebag mounts

I’ve been completely impressed with the design and the quality of the Moto Guzzi DPM accessories.








The Becker-Tecnic ‘lift’ came in over the weekend. It’s exactly what I was wanting for maintenance etc. it’s quick, easy , stable and completely out of the way. Pretty sure I’ll love using it.

[TN Mark]

There was some thought and comment on another Guzzi forum that suggested I spent a lot of money on these DPM accessories. That’s not altogether true.

For one thing, the design and the quality of the DPM items are very good. Very good indeed. Second is they’re getting quite old at this point. So, expect to pay much less than when they were sold on a current model.

I found an eBay seller in Italy, VALER14, that has been stellar in pricing and delivery through DHL. I can 100% recommend them as an excellent source.

Pro Tip: combining multiple items in one purchase greatly reduces the cost of each item as well as greatly reduces the shipping cost. For instance, I bought the reservoir covers for $47. I added the brake and shifter trim pieces for only another $100, $50 each for the lever trim pieces that separately would be about $250. Plus, no extra shipping costs by adding the two trim pieces.

Another thing is to watch a companies website. I bought two other items at very low prices. The DPM front wheel trim, center piece with the ring on the ABS side, for $39, new in the original packaging.

I also bought the DPM bar ends for $29. These were pictured as just the ends without hardware or spacers. Sure enough, they came in the original packaging as well with everything included. These two item came from AF1Racing in Texas.

The matching OEM Comfort Cell rear seat came in yesterday from a UK eBay seller. This particular eBay seller was just ‘ok’ compared to the one in Italy.

[TN Mark]

Two of the DPM accessories that were already on the Eldorado when I got are the Rider Heat Shields between the intake track and the head, item number 2S000032 and the Rear Brake Reservoir Cover, item number B064288. 

Both very high quality in design, execution, aesthetics and/or function.

The eBay seller I mentioned, VALER14, has the Rider Heat Shields, but, they’re pricey.