FIRST RIDE
P100
2013 MOTO GUZZI CALIFORNIA 1400 CUSTOM
Ci Piace
(We Like)
...What's not to like about the
new California Custom
BY ALAN CATHCART
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MILAGRO/THOMAS MACCABELLI
P
iaggio Group management has now pulled another trigger on its corporate shotgun, firing the second round
in its double-barreled revival of the historic Moto Guzzi
marque.
After the debut in global showrooms last December of the
born-again 1400 Touring member of its legendary California
custom cult, now comes the relatively stripped-down but still
pretty sumptuous 1400 Custom cruiser variant. This utilizes exactly the same chassis platform and new 1380cc big-bore engine as the Touring, but it's clad in leaner, lower and especially
lighter styling designed by Piaggio's Miguel Galluzzi.
At $14,900, the butch-looking Guzzone (big Guzzi!) is
$3090 less costly than the full-dress Touring model (Guzzi
plans to produce 600 of the Touring models in 2013 and 3000
of the Customs) and is available in two color schemes - gunmetal grey or gleaming black.
We were fortunate enough to have a black one waiting for us
outside the front door of Monte Carlo's Fairmont Hotel, ready
for a cruise along France's Cote d'Azur – starting, of course,
with a tour of the Monaco F1 Grand Prix circuit.
