2009 CALIFORNIA VINTAGE VS 2015 CALIFORNIA 1400 TOURING

[timonbik]

Considering giving my knees a break and going with a cruiser of sorts or something with a little more relaxed riding position.  Just tire kicking at this point.  Missed a golden opportunity on an EV when I dragged my feet and someone else picked her up.
Any how, there are a number of  new left over 2015 California Tourings around very aggressively priced.  There are also a couple of 2008/09 Vintages with low kms for sale at about half the price of the new 2015's.  Any input, guidance or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,  Tim

[elvisboy77]

I've owned both.  The Vintage is a great bike, classic 1100 series.  The 1400 is a completely different bike altogether.  Way better fuel delivery, electronics, etc.

It boils down to whether you want an older, less modern and less expensive bike or a newer, very modern and more expensive bike.

I can tell you that I am VERY pleased with my 1400 Eldorado.  It is the best Guzzi yet.

[bpreynolds]

Considering giving my knees a break and going with a cruiser of sorts or something with a little more relaxed riding position.  Just tire kicking at this point.  Missed a golden opportunity on an EV when I dragged my feet and someone else picked her up.
Any how, there are a number of  new left over 2015 California Tourings around very aggressively priced.  There are also a couple of 2008/09 Vintages with low kms for sale at about half the price of the new 2015's.  Any input, guidance or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,  Tim

Apples and apricots.  There's 200 pounds of difference between them and while lots of guys here who own the admittedly great 1400s will say you can't tell the weight much, that sheer difference alone makes them very different kinds of machines.  I've owned no less than four 1100 Californias and probably driven somewhere between 90k to 100k miles on them all total.  Never a let down, never a breakdown.  To me, to me I say, an 1100 Cali can exist in your garage as the only bike you'll ever need.  Yes, it will likely require some modifications to do so like lowering the pegs or an aftermakret seat, but most bikes do.  I dunno if I'd say the 1400 is a great choice for the single bike in your garage; it is obviously a great choice regardless, of course, but still.  Just my 1 cent.

[timonbik]

Write ups on the California Vintage tout  it as a sport bike in cruiser clothing.  Don't know if I'm ready for the Harley experience.  Rode them at work for years and although they have improved, never been a fan and truthfully I can't get my head around the "image" thing.  Is the 1400 a Harley in an Italian suit or is it an extension of the Vintage, a Sport bike in disguise?
Thanks, Tim

[Tony/CT]

I can't say anything about the 1400 as I've never ridden one, although I certainly like the looks of the Eldorado. It looks like an update of my 72 Ambassador. I've had three 1100 California bikes, an 02 Special Sport I rode 41,000 miles before I sold it, an 02 EV which is still in the garage with 52,000 miles on it, and an 09 Vintage which now has 32,000 miles on it. I bought it with 20,000 miles on it...just broken in. I'd have to say the Vintage is without a doubt the smoothest engine used in the California bikes. After riding it a while, I thought there was something wrong with the EV, too much vibration, so I changed out the wires, plugs, adjusted the valves, had the shop adjust the throttle bodies. It was the same. The Vintage is just smoother. The EV however has been more comfortable for two up long trips. My wife prefers riding on the back of the EV, the seat is bigger, the bags are smaller which allows her to move her legs back farther and there are no chrome bars in front of the bags that move her legs even closer to mine. The EV has really nice tubeless rims, $$$, that the Vintage unfortunately does not have, Guzzi having put tube rims on the bike to save money. For me the 1100's are plenty of motorcycle and I don't feel the need to go bigger. They take me, my wife, our gear everywhere we want to go with ease and I have logged well over 100,000 miles on them. It seems that I see an awful lot of short mileage, relatively new 1400's for sale and wonder why. I know of at least one rider who went back to the 1100 after owning a 1400. I think you would be happy with either bike.

[fotoguzzi]

how far from Minneapolis do you live? I don't know anything about this EV but maybe worth consideration.

https://rmn.craigslist.org/mcy/5662749160.html

[Red Dog]

Old School Dependable vs New Tech Thrill

If you don't need to be fast with flash the old 1100 cannot be beat.  Dependable, easy to work on, cheap to own & most anything that will go wrong on it you can find out how to fix it right here.

The 1400 is fast & fun & expensive.  Check out the $ of a rear tire.  Pull the rear wheel off to check/change gear oil, more time involved in doing maintenance & a bit harder to do.  Not all the bugs are known or worked out on the 1400.

I have had both the 1100 & 1400, I like both of them.  After riding a 1400 the 1100 seems very tame especially if it has the 8:33 gears.
I sold the 1400 because it was built on a drunken Friday & a hangover Monday & I just did not want to deal with MG & warranty with the closest dealer 7 hours away.

[Murray]

Write ups on the California Vintage tout  it as a sport bike in cruiser clothing.  Don't know if I'm ready for the Harley experience.  Rode them at work for years and although they have improved, never been a fan and truthfully I can't get my head around the "image" thing.  Is the 1400 a Harley in an Italian suit or is it an extension of the Vintage, a Sport bike in disguise?
Thanks, Tim

Its more a Harley in an Italian suit IMO the 1400's are heavy you are reminded every stop and the takeoff never seems to be as good as it should be.

[Dean Rose]

In my mind they should have kept the Vintage bike and gone with the 1200 Breva engine and come up with a better alternator for the bike.

Dean

[bad Chad]

They are such different machines.  They both have that Guzzi feel, thats about where the similarities end.  By most objective measures regarding comfort and performance, the new 1400 have it all over the old stuff.


I have ridden both, fast.  The 1400 handles and corners much better than you would think.  The drive train, is wonderful.  The down side it takes up more room in the garage, and its still heavy pushing it around.

I love the Tonti cals, wish I still had a Bassa, but if I had the cash on hand, I would choose a 1400 vs 1100 Tonti.  Just depends on what you want.

[timonbik]

Looking at the specs for the 1400.  Wet weight is better part of 110 pounds more than dry weight.  Has a 5.4 Gal US fuel tank @10 pounds per = 54 pounds.  Must hold one hell of a lot of oil to make up 50+ pounds???

[LowRyter]

Hand's Down the 1400 is a much nicer machine.

The only thing against it is the cruiser riding position.

[Tom]

The Eldorado 1400 handles better than the Cali 1400 touring.

[Murray]

Looking at the specs for the 1400.  Wet weight is better part of 110 pounds more than dry weight.  Has a 5.4 Gal US fuel tank @10 pounds per = 54 pounds.  Must hold one hell of a lot of oil to make up 50+ pounds???

Rubber mounted engines are the work of the devil especially on formats that have good primary balance anyway.

[mjptexas]

Can't comment on the Cal Vintage as I've never ridden one.  I do however, consider the last generation of push rod Guzzi engines to be one of the all time great motorcycle power plants.

I just finished a 1,700 mile ride through the Ozarks on my Cali 1400 Custom & enjoyed every mile.  The 1400s are absolutely great bikes.  Fast, comfortable, and handle better than any 700 lb bike has any business doing.  Averaged 42 mpg for the trip.

It is a truely modern motorcycle - traction control, abs, and, electronic cruise.  once you have a bike with real cruise control you wonder how you ever lived without it.

In 16,000 miles ZERO problems.  Yes, it goes through tires, but so do all the other bikes I have.

Downside?  It does weigh 700 lbs.  Really only a problem in the garage and parking lots, but it is heavy.

[elvisboy77]

The Eldorado 1400 handles better than the Cali 1400 touring.

Rode the Custom before buying the Eldorado, it was great but I think the Eldorado is better, I guess the setup is different enough to matter.

And as far as cost, anything new and modern costs more than something older.  So if you cannot afford or don't want to spend on new, then old is awesome too. 

My brother bought a USED Porsche 997 for about $90k.  He got a nail in a tire and they would not patch it, and the tires were something like $1,000 or $2,000.  The second he started to squawk about it I told him "you want to play, you got to pay".

Same thing for a high performance motorcycle.

[Tom]

I rode the Cali 1400 Touring and Eldo 1400 at the John Day National.  Thanks to Portland Moto Guzzi for letting everyone "trash" their bikes.  Right above the town is the local airport.  Quick estimate with no checking about 1000' above the town.  To get there is switch back road with some nice hairpins and on the back side is some long sweepers to get back down to the highway.

The Eldo didn't flop into the hairpins.  The Cali Touring did.  Both felt good on the sweepers and straights.  Seems that the wheel and tire sizes make the difference.  Just for info sake, I'm no slouch with pushing a bike on a mountain road.  I like riding Stelvio and other Alpen roads.

[Lcarlson]

Hand's Down the 1400 is a much nicer machine.

The only thing against it is the cruiser riding position.

And even that's not against it if you WANT a motorcycle with the cruiser riding position. H-D sells a lot of product, so apparently a lot of folks do....