California 1400 Owners, would you buy it again?

[moto-uno]

  If this is the Steve Ford that I  (think yellow Guzzi Custom) met at the Randle rally , you may be a bit responsible for
  my purchase of a 2018 Eldorado  . After my wife saw it , her words were 'you have to buy it' . The stock rear
  shocks are painfully under-sprung and the lovely looking saddles got old fast . Installed old H-D Dyna shocks and made
  a couple of seats and presto , damn near perfect . And the final mod on it's way to perfection , a Beetle map ! Like it
  so much I've moved my Le Mans 2 downstairs into storage , which is saying something as I put a quarter million kilometers
  on that bike !  Peter

[steveford]

  If this is the Steve Ford that I  (think yellow Guzzi Custom) met at the Randle rally , you may be a bit responsible for
  my purchase of a 2018 Eldorado  . After my wife saw it , her words were 'you have to buy it' . The stock rear
  shocks are painfully under-sprung and the lovely looking saddles got old fast . Installed old H-D Dyna shocks and made
  a couple of seats and presto , damn near perfect . And the final mod on it's way to perfection , a Beetle map ! Like it
  so much I've moved my Le Mans 2 downstairs into storage , which is saying something as I put a quarter million kilometers
  on that bike !  Peter

Hi Peter!!! That's great news. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the Eldorado, and that I helped with your decision. Those are some sweet custom Guzzi's that you built.

[roadventure]

I see Guzzi has some good deals on the California 1400s. I'd like to hear from owners the good and bad of these bikes. I currently ride a beat up 2003 Stone and a 2008 Norge. How quirky are these new 1400s? My Stone was a nightmare for the first 2000 miles, ha! Most of my riding is commuting and a couple of overnight trips a year. Thanks for your insight, peace.

To get directly to your question: yes.

My 2014 California Custom (dressed out as a "Touring") is my first European motorcycle.  All others have been Yamaha and a few Honda and Kawasaki going back to 1973.

It has proven to be comfortable, reliable and a superb touring bike and well suited for commuting and short rides as well.  The faults I have found have been the leaky hard bags (corrected with an application of Seam Grip) and the cracking, breaking welds on the exhaust crossover pipe.  The crossover pipe problem was solved by installing Todd's "H-Pipe" available from the GT Motorcycles Store (https://gtmotocycles.com/collections/store).

Beyond those two design goof-ups on the part of Moto-Guzzi I have found that it is easy to perform maintenance that is needed (oil/lube/valve adjustments).  There is no dealer support to speak of, so as long as you are comfortable and competent to perform your own service needs you should be all set.

[roadventure]

Whats wrong with it...

Hard side bags leak...I modded the mounting system and it improved some, still needs some black silicone work on the two piece seam on the inside of the bags.  Note: the 60L top case does not leak even one drop. Bag leaking on a bike of this $$$ and caliber is nearly criminal.

Get yourself some SEAM GRIP and apply inside the bags at the seams (https://www.seattlefabrics.com/Seam-Gripreg-Sealer-Adhesive_p_506.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA2O39BRBjEiwApB2Ikrc3NIbX6rdSZLHez9d_6e_BpqFHs0b4eSlaxXuMVmMGr5X_ax51yRoCxecQAvD_BwE).

IT WORKS! 

[roadventure]

I drilled drain holes at the low point in the bags on my 1400. This way, my stuff might get wet, but won't be floating in a puddle of water at the end of a trip...

Get this stuff and apply to all inside seams (also plug those drain holes since after this, they won't leak)

https://www.seattlefabrics.com/Seam-Gripreg-Sealer-Adhesive_p_506.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA2O39BRBjEiwApB2Ikrc3NIbX6rdSZLHez9d_6e_BpqFHs0b4eSlaxXuMVmMGr5X_ax51yRoCxecQAvD_BwE