FIRST RIDE
P102
2013 MOTO GUZZI CALIFORNIA 1400 CUSTOM
It takes less than a single
2.075-mile lap of Monaco's track
to realize that Moto Guzzi's engineers have subtly transformed
the character of this second new
model. That's with more than 20
detail changes compared to the
Touring. However, there's nothing too subtle about the most
significant of these - namely the
removal of the tourer's windscreen, hard luggage, spotlights
and other such high mileage accoutrements, leaving a bike that's
48 pounds lighter than its Touring
twin, with a curb weight of exactly
1
2
3
660 pounds complete with a full
5.4-gallon fuel tank.
The much lighter Custom consequently accelerates notably
harder, and thanks to its reduced
bulk minus the screen and twin
non-detachable 9.2-gallon panniers, is significantly more agile
in changing direction, swinging
from side to side through a series
of third-gear curves with much
greater abandon than I'd experienced three months earlier on
the same roads on the heavier
Touring model. That also means
the brakes work even better, too
4
5
1. The cockpit of the California: Clean
and functional. 2. The seat: Better for
one than it is for two. 3. The look is
definitely distinctive. 4. Italian muscle:
a 1390cc, 90-degree V-twin is the
heart of the new Custom. 5. Twin
Sachs shocks with remote reservoirs
give the California Custom 4.3 inches
of rear wheel travel.
- the new Guzzi Custom is a fine
dynamic demonstration of the
old axiom that less weight equals
more performance.
Compared to the Touring model, this stripped-down musclebike is essentially a Guzzi streetfighter, albeit in cruiser mode.
Like the dresser, it comes with
footboards and twin rear shocks,
and is powered by a re-engineered version of Guzzi's traditional air/oil-cooled transverse
V-twin motor with shaft final drive.
At 1380cc this is not the largest
capacity twin-cylinder engine
