Quick Ride

Quick Ride

MOTO GUZZI CALIFORNIA VINTAGE Eldorado for the new century

JUST INSIDE THE GATES at the Moto Guzzi factory in Mandello del Lario is a giant wall poster of Sean Connery astride a ’70s-era Eldorado police model. It’s an iconic image. When I was there last summer, just below the poster was parked this new version, the California Vintage, providing a strange echo across the decades.

We finally got our hands on a testbike stateside this spring. While the 2007 version isn’t a spitting image of the old bike, it is pretty dang close, and is actually much more closely related to bikes of that era than any of the other neo-retro players like Triumph’s Bonneville or Ducati’s SportClassics.

This is because underneath the black-with-pinstriped fuel tank and locking hard saddlebags is essential-

ly the old Le Mans frame.

And while the air-cooled, pushrod 1064cc engine and long-running five-speed gearbox may be equipped with a modern fuel-injection system and twin-sparkplug heads, this is the same shaft-drive powertrain that has been a Guzzi fundament for years. What this means

is a clutch that engages right at the end of its travel and a gearbox that requires a firm boot for gear selection lest you be punished with an uncalled-for neutral. Overall, though, as it has been for decades, the transverse 90-degree VTwin provides a pleasant backbeat to your ride.

The adjustable Marzocchi fork and twin shocks do a good job controlling the chassis and providing a

decent ride. So despite the fact that copbike windscreens typically seek only perpendicularity with the Earth, this one enjoys leaning. It’s surprising the pace that can be maintained through corners, but, then again, Guzzi cruisers of this ilk have always been goodhandling bikes. A hint of

the available cornering clearance is found the first time your feet are placed on the floorboards-they are high up and relatively close to the rider.

The long, white-trimmed seat is comfortable, and the windscreen and leg guards provide good wind protection. A 1-inch-diameter handlebar necks down to the grips and swoops back to greet the rider in a useful position.

All that shiny stuff (chromed front fender, light bar, valve covers, luggage rack, wire-spoke wheels, etc.) plus the pinstriping on good-quality black paint really make an impression on people as you cruise down the road.

Given the riding position and nakedly mechanical nature of the bike, it would be easy to get annoyed by the fact that you must completely lift your boot to execute gearchanges with the heel-and-toe shifter or to apply the right-side brake pedal (linked to also actuate one front disc, by the way). But by the time you’ve made it to fifth gear and dialed up 3500 rpm on the tach, the $14,990 California Vintage is loping along so pleasantly at a tick over 75 mph that a relaxed smile creeps onto your face and those minor troubles seem miles behind.

In some respects, the bike lives up too well to its “Vintage” name, but it also pays back in the pleasing character of the overall riding experience. It is a small price to pay for authenticity. -Mark Hoy er