Niiiiiiiice.

Took the bandit ( She still has no name ) over to Springwood Suzuki today for a couple of little things. While I was looking around, something caught my eye. Got chatting to a nice. not pushy salesman who asked. " Do you want to take it for a spin " ?  No pressure. Full tank. Go for as long as ya like. He showed me the tricky gizmos. Touring. Race. Wet settings. And off I went on a practically brand new Moto Guzzi California 1400.  About an hour later I returned. Very surprising. Loads of grunt as you would expect. Smooth gearbox. And for such a big bike, very nimble when you want it to be. I noticed that I was getting lots of stares from guys in cars and trucks. It has a presence. 24 grand drive away.   Not yet.
Was a nice way to fill in some time though.

They certainly look well suited for longer trips , but they don't look like a good all rounder if you also commute

Hammy wrote:Took the bandit ( She still has no name )

Silver ?

Hi ho silver ..........away .................


Think you'll be old enough to remember

you gotta love springwood Suzuki, they always just through you the keys and say don`t come back until you`ve had enough.

this is where I tested a new v4 tuono..I love that bike, very close to buying!!

its good to test new bikes all the time, to keep in touch with what`s on the market.

on the way down to Phillip Is last year , I meet up with a couple of blokes, one had a duke, and the other had a new "1200" guzzi.

we swapped bikes for about 100km`s, and as you say, they are very nibble, and comfortable seating.

I found the "1200" to be a bit down on power to mine, but wasn`t giving it a hard time, as it wasn`t my bike, and I`d never do that to someone else` bike anyway

so.. would you trade Hammy?

edit: just looked up what you rode, didn`t realize it was a cruiser style. the guzzi I rode was sports tourer.

No I wouldn't trade "Silver" in. She's stayin'.  Talked to a nice bloke there that they had loant a V4 Tuono for all of last weekend.  Hows That ?

Hammy its a italian niche motorbike, my mates guzzi 1200 sport is always got some niggly thing wrong with it i rock round most week ends to find it in bits.

A friend bought one of the new water cooled BM1200GS. He had it for 3 weeks - 1100 Km - and they had it back at the workshop for 14 weeks. gearbox - clutch - engine & active suspension/mode problems. Last week they gave him a new bike.  So even the "best" read expensive bikes can be quirky.

Ha , I like that .

Hammy wrote:Took the bandit ( She still has no name ) over to Springwood Suzuki today for a couple of little things. While I was looking around, something caught my eye. Got chatting to a nice. not pushy salesman who asked. " Do you want to take it for a spin " ?  No pressure. Full tank. Go for as long as ya like. He showed me the tricky gizmos. Touring. Race. Wet settings. And off I went on a practically brand new Moto Guzzi California 1400.  About an hour later I returned. Very surprising. Loads of grunt as you would expect. Smooth gearbox. And for such a big bike, very nimble when you want it to be. I noticed that I was getting lots of stares from guys in cars and trucks. It has a presence. 24 grand drive away.   Not yet.
Was a nice way to fill in some time though.

about the same price as FJR then... which would you prefer??? 

stu wrote:

Hammy wrote:Took the bandit ( She still has no name ) over to Springwood Suzuki today for a couple of little things. While I was looking around, something caught my eye. Got chatting to a nice. not pushy salesman who asked. " Do you want to take it for a spin " ?  No pressure. Full tank. Go for as long as ya like. He showed me the tricky gizmos. Touring. Race. Wet settings. And off I went on a practically brand new Moto Guzzi California 1400.  About an hour later I returned. Very surprising. Loads of grunt as you would expect. Smooth gearbox. And for such a big bike, very nimble when you want it to be. I noticed that I was getting lots of stares from guys in cars and trucks. It has a presence. 24 grand drive away.   Not yet.
Was a nice way to fill in some time though.

about the same price as FJR then... which would you prefer??? 

The Guzzi.  But they are two different bikes.