MrKiwi's damaged 2014 Moto Guzzi California Custom - my retirement project

[MrKiwi]

I'm still new to this site and I've spent a lot of time reading posts on the site. Quite helpful.

My 2014 California Custom only had 6,300km on it when I purchased it from a friend who is the dealer principle for Moto Guzzi where I live. I knew when purchasing this bike several things:
- it was a damaged bike, nothing structural, cosmetic damage. So a project bike for me to work on in my retirement
- the dealer had changed the oil filter and oil, did all the stuff necessary for it to pass import homologation and road warrant of fitness standards for NZ
- they had done no other work to the bike.

I took it for a test ride and that day it performed quite well. Not as well as my previous 2014 California Touring I had owned a couple of years ago. So on that basis I bought it. The price reflected the bike's history.

However, it soon started to run roughly. Partly I think because some of the fuel was old. Drain the tank and refill better but lots of surges and running only on one cylinder at times. Time to do a cold reset. I disconnected the battery, turned the key on, then off to ensure electricity had been properly discharged, then reconnected. That made a surprisingly big difference. Two problems remained, minor surging and low rev lumpiness.

This morning I took it back to the dealer for a diagnostic check. I know my limits and I will not personally muck around with diagnostics. Before heading down a booster plug route (which I am going to anyway) I wanted to check that there was nothing obvious with the set up. Turns out the bike ignition sequence had never been set up properly, one of the setup parameters was not programmed.

Just back from a long ride and man oh man what a difference. It is behaving really well. The only issue is minor throttle hang below 2,800 rpm. Next step is to fit a booster plug. It is a lot cheaper than a fuel remap. I'm not after extra power or performance, just smooth running below 3,000rpm. Almost there.

 

[MrKiwi]

Cosmetic damage.

The previous owner in Japan obviously had problems keeping the bike upright, hence why I think it had such low miles on it.

While the bike is a 2014 model, it was first registered in Japan in 2017. Given my observations on the bike above, I think that owner had problems in corners at low revs with lumpy throttle response and throttle surges. There must have been at least two offs. One down the left hand side, one down the right hand side.

Pic of the damage down the right hand side, it was much the same on the left, albeit less severe:


You can also see the standard custom seat in the above photo. Not going to be a good seat for MrsKiwi who rides with me at times.

 

[MrKiwi]

Off came the front crash bars. First step was to straighten, as much as possible with my limited tools and workshop setup, the bracket mounts. That done, I considered getting these re-chromed, but the cost of re-chroming is NZ is high. So instead I took these to a powder coater, and he sand blasted the chrome off and painted it satin black to match the black on the bike.

There was greater damage on the right hand side compared to the left. You can see it on the above photo. These are good enough for what I need, but at some point I may invest in new ones.

Fitted to the bike, I like it better than the chrome. Just a personal preference thing.

 

[MrKiwi]

That seat.

Recognising that I don't like spending lots of money, especially now that I am retired, I spent hours on the net searching for a better seat option. They are out there, but at twice the price of getting my seat altered by an automotive upholsterer. I was not expecting that outcome.

Noting that seat shape is very much a personal thing, I wanted two outcomes with a revised seat. Firstly, for my wife to be high enough to see over my shoulder (I'm 6 foot she is 5 five 4). Secondly I wanted my bit of the seat a little higher with a firm base and a soft top layer.

The upholsterer did up the seat and left it uncovered so we could test ride it. The rear (pillion section) has a firm base at the bottom, medium layer in the middle and soft top. Photo of the seat as tested.

 

[MrKiwi]

The finished product. It works well and the overall cost was NZ$700 including taxes.



I'm impressed with the quality of the work, overall comfort and the fit with the bike.

 

[MrKiwi]

I have an adventure riding background and I have become accustomed to hand guards. Mostly used for protection when adventure riding, but they also help significantly reduce chill factors riding in the cold and wet. After lots of searching the web (google is your friend) I found that the only option was open ended guards for weather protection not safey protection i.e. fitted to the handle bar end as opposed to both ends.

 

[MrKiwi]

This 1400 Custom, like many, was sold from new without the large touring screen and side lights. Personally, I'm not a fan of large screens fitted to the touring version of the California and fortunately there are some options for smaller screens. Part of the purchase price was for the dealer to fit the screen. I think it looks good. It is Ok to ride behind, I like an air on my helmet and there is a good air flow, with no buffeting.



I do miss the touring round side lights (as I refer to them), and may yet fit some LED's to this bike at some point.

 

[MrKiwi]

This week, I removed the two chrome rear pannier crash bars. Three bolts each. Two of the bolts super easy to remove, one, up under the seat, were a bit of a bitch to remove. Especially on the side above the drive shaft.

These are going to sand blasted and powder coated satin black like the front crash bars. I'll post a pic once done.

 

[MG_Zach]

Coming along very nicely so far! I'm going through a similar process myself right now. Though I've not made 1/10 of the progress that you have so far. Love the work on that seat that was done. Looks like an excellent end result.

 

[Lannis]

This week, I removed the two chrome rear pannier crash bars. Three bolts each. Two of the bolts super easy to remove, one, up under the seat, were a bit of a bitch to remove. Especially on the side above the drive shaft.

These are going to sand blasted and powder coated satin black like the front crash bars. I'll post a pic once done.

I'm really enjoying the narrative. I often do the sorts of things you are doing to your bike; customizing it JUST FOR ME (and my pillion).

Handlebars, hand grips and shields, crash bars or not, custom seat (always), maybe footpeg relocation. I seldom do anything for appearances sake, and I don't have a need for extra widgets (GPS, phone mounts, etc), but that's just me.

It's very useful to see what other folks like yourself are doing to your bikes, including what had to be done to make it run correctly.

Thanks!

Lannis

 

[MrKiwi]

Thanks @Lannis

The pannier crash bars are being worked on because they were scraped by the previous owner.

Painting is cheaper than re-chroming, and as it turns out I kind of like the satin black look. I did contemplate red, as I like the red frame as the V85s. But I thought it might look out of place.

The hand guards are purely personal preference and I like the look of them on the bike as well.

 

[MrKiwi]

Coming along very nicely so far! I'm going through a similar process myself right now. Though I've not made 1/10 of the progress that you have so far. Love the work on that seat that was done. Looks like an excellent end result.

Thanks. Yes I was delighted with the finished product. So much so I took a handful of his business cards and dropped them off to some of the local dealers.

I'm a 'known' person here due to my previous role in the auto industry so my recommendation, not lightly given, is taken notice of.

 

[GTM®]

Thanks. Yes I was delighted with the finished product. So much so I took a handful of his business cards and dropped them off to some of the local dealers. I'm a 'known' person here due to my previous role in the auto industry so my recommendation, not lightly given, is taken notice of.

Lucky him and you. I just mostly get ignored and a twin middle finger salute around here.

 

[MrKiwi]

Lucky him and you. I just mostly get ignored and a twin middle finger salute around here.

That's sad, you do some excellent work.

 

[GTM®]

That's sad, you do some excellent work.

Thanks. A decade and a half of abuse gets you some thick skin. I do it because I love it. But at this point, I'm about done.

 

[MG_Zach]

Thanks. A decade and a half of abuse gets you some thick skin. I do it because I love it. But at this point, I'm about done.

Well hang in there because I'm going to need your expertise in the months to come. You and Scott both.

 

[Vili]

Nice project. I did the same/similar on my 2013 touring, the crash bars on the right side were bent and scratched, I straightened them, filled the scratches with body filler, and powder-coated them in matte black. Since the bike is black, I've blackened almost all chromed pieces, including fog lights, mirrors, turn signals, front light's chromed rim... Since the large windscreen was scratched and cracked, I just removed it, and I love it. I wish you and your wife a lot of enjoyable miles!

 

[MrKiwi]

It's fathers day here in NZ. The kids bought me the usual chocolate etc but they picked up on a hint from me and got me a little bracket that screws into the brake or clutch controllers that you can then mount gear on. For me, it's my GoPro.

 

[MrKiwi]

It was a nice day here, so I took the big goose out for a ride. A 418km loop.

 

[MG_Zach]

That is a beautiful machine for sure!