First Ride 2020 California 1400 Touring

[Skysailor]

Wow! I picked up my new to me Cali 1400 today and I am totally amazed at the power and handling. My 2004 BMW R1200CLC is a decent ride and I thought pretty powerful...until now. I literally had to hang on firmly while only using a moderate throttle accelerating into highway traffic. Very impressive! The position of my feet on the floorboards is slightly forward compared to the BMW so I will need to get used to the new position of the heel/toe shifter...may consider removing the heel lever but too early to decide. Made my first mod within minutes of getting it home and replaced the backrest with the Hepco Becker backrest with luggage rack that a fellow member sold to me at a very fair price. Battery was low so ran into a problem with the dash going blank which had me chasing imaginary issues with the security system and/or transponder keys but got that sorted out with a top-up charge. That's a problem not to be unexpected due to the showroom and shipping time this bike has spent sitting unused. One missing screw and a plug for the steering head hex opening will be fixed by a quick order with AF1 Racing...already placed. Happy camper here with my new ride! Oh, and I also recently ordered the GTM fueling kit so I will have something to tinker with in the near future but honestly, it doesn't need any more horsepower And there is no bluing on the exhausts so it seems to not be running too lean as some I have read about here. Still the GTM fueling solution looks to be a good thing to do in any case.

 

[Raven]

You will love the bike with the GTM kit. It will be totally transformed into a different and wonderful running machine. I put the full kit on my Norge with a few other mods and it is amazing.

 

[V700Steve]

Anyone who hasn't ridden a Cali14 needs to. I was happy to ride customers but can't buy one, got too many. It will make you smile.

 

[William H.]

It took me a while to adjust to forward controls and floorboards but they are so much more comfortable on a long ride, HOWEVER, you will find that they get a little slippery around 100mph . I took the heel shifter off my Cali being I just couldn't get use to it and it frees up more room to move my foot around. You will not regret buying the GTM kit.

 

[scott_m]

Congratulations! I love my 2016 Eldorado.

I too have the GTM fueling system but have not been able to get it installed yet as it has been brutally cold and icy until just this week. Hopefully, the warming trend is here to stay.

 

[Skysailor]

It took me a while to adjust to forward controls and floorboards but they are so much more comfortable on a long ride, HOWEVER, you will find that they get a little slippery around 100mph . I took the heel shifter off my Cali being I just couldn't get use to it and it frees up more room to move my foot around. You will not regret buying the GTM kit.

Good to know regarding the 100 mph effect! Don't think I will be affected by that as 75 - 80 is pretty much my limit....maybe 85 .

 

[Skysailor]

Congratulations! I love my 2016 Eldorado.

I too have the GTM fueling system but have not been able to get it installed yet as it has been brutally cold and icy until just this week. Hopefully, the warming trend is here to stay.

Scott, I will be looking forward to details of your experience in installing the system for any info that will make life easier when I get to my install.

 

[John L]

Wow! I picked up my new to me Cali 1400 today and I am totally amazed at the power and handling. My 2004 BMW R1200CLC is a decent ride and I thought pretty powerful...until now. I literally had to hang on firmly while only using a moderate throttle accelerating into highway traffic. Very impressive! The position of my feet on the floorboards is slightly forward compared to the BMW so I will need to get used to the new position of the heel/toe shifter...may consider removing the heel lever but too early to decide. Made my first mod within minutes of getting it home and replaced the backrest with the Hepco Becker backrest with luggage rack that a fellow member sold to me at a very fair price. Battery was low so ran into a problem with the dash going blank which had me chasing imaginary issues with the security system and/or transponder keys but got that sorted out with a top-up charge. That's a problem not to be unexpected due to the showroom and shipping time this bike has spent sitting unused. One missing screw and a plug for the steering head hex opening will be fixed by a quick order with AF1 Racing...already placed. Happy camper here with my new ride! Oh, and I also recently ordered the GTM fueling kit so I will have something to tinker with in the near future but honestly, it doesn't need any more horsepower And there is no bluing on the exhausts so it seems to not be running too lean as some I have read about here. Still the GTM fueling solution looks to be a good thing to do in any case.

There never was a plug for the steering head hex.

 

[Skysailor]

There never was a plug for the steering head hex.

Thanks. I figured that out after looking at photos of other Cali's I was ordering the wrong thing and canceled the order. Good catch and thanks for keeping me straight! Cheers Mate!

 

[John L]

Thanks. I figured that out after looking at photos of other Cali's I was ordering the wrong thing and canceled the order. Good catch and thanks for keeping me straight! Cheers Mate!

Although there never was a plug I didn't like the hole either so I made my own with a badge I found on a site somewhere. I glued a small piece of tube to the back the same size as the hole and stuck it down with a dab of silicon.

 

[Skysailor]

Although there never was a plug I didn't like the hole either so I made my own with a badge I found on a site somewhere. I glued a small piece of tube to the back the same size as the hole and stuck it down with a dab of silicon.

Ooooooooooh! I like! Search for a similar badge has begun

 

[Raven]

Ooooooooooh! I like! Search for a similar badge has begun

My Norge came with nearly the same cover. Start your search there.

 

[Skysailor]

Will do! Thanks!

 

[Skysailor]

Found the evidence of what you mentioned

 

[Raven]

Thankfully mine looks a lot better than that.

 

[Skysailor]

Good to know regarding the 100 mph effect! Don't think I will be affected by that as 75 - 80 is pretty much my limit....maybe 85 .

I need to update this statement. This bike, especially now with the GTM fueling package installed, wants to or rather makes me want to go faster than common sense would dictate! Not testing its limit but have definitely confirmed what William H. said about the slippery floor boards effect.

 

[William H.]

Not to worry! at about 110mph the turbulence down there smooths out LOL

 

[Skysailor]

Today I decided to check out and experience the Pioggia mode of the bike. Guess what? I found it to be a great alternative mode for riding around town and even for the highway especially when I have (plan to have) my significant other (wife) on board. I have explored the Tourisimo and Veloce modes and found them to be exciting and invigorating, indeed! But for everyday motoring around town I think Pioggia is the cat's meow for me. Also it seems to keep my tendency for speed a little more under control! It's nice to know what the bike can do and use it's full potential occasionally...and I will...but Pioggia mode works very well for taming the beast. This is called self-control!

 

[scott_m]

All modes will take you to the exact same place power and torque wise, the only difference is the steepness of the acceleration curve; how fast you get to the same point.

Veloce is the sharpest increase over the least time, Tourismo a little less steep while Pioggia is the least steep, but again, all modes render the exact same horsepower and torque.

 

[Skysailor]

Thanks for the explanation. I have noticed no problem getting up to speed on the highway but the acceleration curve as you say is such that changes in speed are not so abrupt. I am finding that pretty reasonable for my usual style of riding.