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Driving report Moto Guzzi California EV
Board stories
Moto Guzzi continues the conservative line with the heavily renovated California EV. It still has running boards but also more quality in detail.
The Moto Guzzi California is of course not quite as old as the Villa Odescalchi, which was Pope Innocent XI’s residence at the end of the 17th century. Nevertheless, the youngest offspring of the venerable model series fit very well into the framework of the noble walls in Alzate Brianza near Lake Como, in the Moto Guzzi the presentation of the C.alifornia EV had relocated. But this classic tourer has 27 years under its belt, in 1970 Guzzi brought the V 7 Spezial onto the market.
The new generation of California shows some of the renovation work left by Arnolfo Sacchi, who was still in office at Guzzi until recently, and which his successor, Oskar Cecchinato, wants to accelerate. The California EV – that stands for evolution, i.e. gentle progress – makes a much more dignified impression than its predecessor. Switches and electrical components are now of high quality, instead of the previously crooked individual instruments, the EV can come up with a wonderful chrome-framed double fitting with white dials from Veglia, while the large headlight is now supplied by Bosch. The entire front section is even more noticeable. A 45 millimeter thick Marzocchi fork, appropriate for the weight and load, ensures both comfort and stability, while the 320 millimeter brake discs together with the four-piston calipers from Brembo ensure deceleration.
Of course, modernity has its limits in a conservative house like Guzzi. The antiquated integral system has been retained, which combines a front disc brake with the rear and is operated by the foot lever, while the hand lever activates the other front disc. However, there is also an innovation here, the so-called Braking Corrector, a pressure regulator that transfers more braking force to the rear wheel when the vehicle is heavily loaded. Using a linkage on the swing arm, it corrects the brake pressure in the rear wheel circuit depending on the compression travel. In order to avoid any external influence, the engineers did not allow the spring base to be adjusted on the spring struts manufactured by White Power.
Classic fans will also like the wide spoke wheels built by BBS, the rims and hubs of which are designed so that the spokes can be picked up without cranking. They also allow the use of tubeless tires, an improvement that was high time. And Guzzi also took the aesthetes’ criticism of the many plastic parts that marred the earlier California very seriously and replaced them with chrome-plated sheet metal parts.
Starting the California fulfills all expectations: the air-cooled V-engine, fed by a Marelli injection, starts bubbling away, gently shaking at 800 to 900 rpm. Although still completely cold, the 1064 cm³ engine willingly accepts gas and carries the driver out onto the little streets on Lake Como. Klock, klock is what the gearbox makes, which calls for a powerful step on the seesaw, but then precisely changes gear.
The considerable weight of 251 kilograms when dry – with a full tank that should be at least 270 – conceals the comfortable touring machine with its rather low center of gravity. Almost agile, the vehicle swings down the S-curves to the lake, with the engine pounding between 2500 and 3000 tours. This characteristic exudes serenity, even hectic people should soon find peace on the Cali. Violent braking maneuvers should initially be avoided by those who are inexperienced in Guzzi, because the integral brake requires some getting used to. Normally, the braking power of the foot brake is sufficient for all traffic situations, so the new large discs and the four-piston calipers helped a lot. However, it is annoying to always lift your foot from the vibration-protected, suspended running board in order to step down the brake rocker.
Later, on the expressway to Lecco, the Guzzi is allowed to show what it has to offer for quick progress. Above 5000 tours, the heavy V sounds a little tortured, but it still pulls forward quickly in fifth gear. 180 on the clock are not an issue; You don’t want to drive faster anyway.
It would be nice if the German importer managed to keep the price of the predecessor at 21,500 marks. It’s just a shame that the three-way catalytic converter won’t be part of the standard equipment until next year.
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