My first Guzzi - 2010 Cali Vintage

[FortySevenTwo]

Hey all - new guy to the forum here.  I've been riding BMW and Honda sport and sport-touring style bikes 45+ years.  Never been a cruiser type rider really... Until, well, yesterday when I picked up this beautiful bike from a good friend who is getting up in age and decided to stop riding.  He has owned it since new and barely ever rode it.  It's a 2010 Cali Vintage with only 1,572 miles on the odometer!  Getting on it yesterday was my first experience with this style of bike and, I have to say, I absolutely love it!  Guess it's a keeper!  Anyway, looking forward to learning all about this bike.  Seems like a great forum to do that :) 






 

[TN Mark]

Welcome to Moto Guzzi and the WildGuzzi forum. I had that exact bike many years ago. Those tube type wheels are an easy changeover to the EV or early Bassa tubeless wheels.

[kingoffleece]

I'll start:
It's 16 years old.  Check ALL the rubber bits.  Change all fluids.  Service forks.  Tires are how old?  I'd also switch out all the relays.  Cheap insurance.
Sitting around unused is also hard on a machine.  personally, I'd look at EVERYTHING.

The wheel swap to spoked tubeless is a good one.  I switched my 1100 California over-no more tubes!

[scra99tch]

Welcome, I have a 2007 Vintage Black.

Careful pulling apart the gas tank hose barb, its very tricky to push and pull and there is a possibility of breaking the barb.  Not a huge deal but requires you to machine the pump housing and fit a metal BMW quick disconnect. 

I eliminated the O2 sensor with guzzi diag, and I believe I uploaded a beetle map to mine.  It needed further adjustment on the fuel map to eliminate the coasting decel pop. 

Other than that you might try a larger taller windscreen if buffeting is too much. 

[blu guzz]

Welcome to the wild and wacky world of Moto Guzzi. I think you are in for some really fun times. You have picked a beauty to start with.
Having said that, I can't agree more with Fleece. Aside from all the checks he mentioned, please keep in mind that in spite of the miles, it is an old bike. I am not saying that is a bad thing, but if there are some hiccups along the way, just keep that in mind. Even old Hondas have some issues.
With the caution out of the way, when riding season rolls around again, definitely try a rally or 2. They are very different from BMW rallies or I expect Honda rallies and of course, nothing at all like Harley rallies.

[Stretch]

That one's a beauty!   

                           -Stretch

[FortySevenTwo]

Welcome to Moto Guzzi and the WildGuzzi forum. I had that exact bike many years ago. Those tube type wheels are an easy changeover to the EV or early Bassa tubeless wheels.

The tires are Metzeler tubeless both front and rear.  They're definitely old (fronts 09 rears 08) despite looking new. 

[kingoffleece]

Tire will run tubeless on the right rim.  Not yours.
I had the same wheels on my Jackal.  Found some spoke tubeless OEM Guzzi wheels on flea bay several years ago and swapped them out to eliminate use of tubes.  Very happy.  You may want to do the same.  Also, when I first got the bike and before I swapped wheels I took them off to renew the wheel bearings.  The amount of rust inside the wheels was very surprising, to say the least.  Took several hours to smooth the inside.

[Cam3512]

My first new motorcycle was a new white 2009 Calvin.  Regret selling that bike.  Change out the spotlight bulbs.  Mine ran like crap from the factory. ECU reflash did the trick.

[TN Mark]

Meaning the 35W halogen driving light bulbs are awful.
Guzzi used those same awful 35W halogen bulbs on the 1400 series driving lights.
I switched all my forward lighting to LED. The improvement was spectacular. I even swapped out the  Eldorado taillight bulb for a red LED. Again, love the results.

[Cam3512]

My first new motorcycle was a new white 2009 Calvin.  Regret selling that bike.  Change out the spotlight bulbs.  Mine ran like crap from the factory. ECU reflash did the trick.

If I recall (it’s been a while) the stock spot bulbs were 50W.  If you ran with them on day and night, they would over tax the charging system.  I replaced with 35W “super brights”. 

[kingoffleece]

This, as stated above.