Meet the last of the original Moto Guzzis.
In the 1970s, most motorcycles handled like they had a giant hinge between the wheels. Then one Italian engineer invented a frame to which phrases like “mass-centralization”, “low center of gravity,” “short wheelbase” and “light weight” couldn’t be applied — not because they didn’t describe Lino Tonti’s tubular steel masterpiece, but rather because they didn’t exist in the motorcycle lexicon yet.
Forty years later, that frame is still in production, at least on one bike — the Moto Guzzi California Black Eagle.
So far as a motorcycle that represents an authentic “retro” experience goes, the Black Eagle is essentially perfect. It is a 1970s motorcycle, just updated with necessary emissions gear like fuel-injection and basic modern conveniences like push-button start. That frame is still welded by hand at Moto Guzzi’s 90-year old factory in Mandello del Lario while that distinctive 1,064cc, 90-degree, across-the-frame V-twin is nearly identical to the 949cc unit that powered the 1971 original.
Those ’70s specs are both good and bad: good for riders, bad for Guzzi’s parent company Piaggio, which has to shell out more coin to produce the labor-intensive design than it does its flagship, World Championship-winning superbike.
The California hails from a time before the word “cruiser” was dreamed up as a way to market uncompetitive, outdated motorcycles from the 1950s to a gullible public. Ignore for a second the swept-back handlebars and forward foot controls. What you have here is a relatively powerful, relatively light (for the time), sporting motorcycle from 1971 equipped with modern, adjustable suspension and modern, powerful brakes. Use the light steering to throw it into a corner fast, in defiance of its cruiser label, and you’re rewarded with ability and feedback. Trickle through traffic at low speed and the Black Eagle is both balanced and predictable.
That’s not to say it doesn’t have character. Twist the throttle at a stand still and the bike jerks to the left as torque is transferred through the drive shaft. The transformation from normal motorcycle to fashion statement occurred some time in the 1980s, when cruiser fashion saw ergonomics akin to a riding lawnmower rather than a horse saddled Western-style, as is en vogue now. That means curiously high floorboards and peculiarly low bars or, together, an inconveniently cramped riding position that compromises both control and comfort.
The end result is a matte black motorcycle that isn’t a retro trying to mimic an authentic experience, but rather that original trying to compete in the modern motorcycle market. If you value character over bling, it might just be the cruiser for you — just be prepared to do some classic-style wrenching, at least to swap out those bars and floor boards.
And enjoy it while you can — a whizz-bang, fully-modern replacement is scheduled to roll out at end of this year.
WIRED All the classic bike character, none of the classic bike headaches. Original details like the polished aluminum cylinder head covers must cost a fortune.
TIRED Costs a fortune: $13,500 is nearly as much as that superbike. Tall riders need not apply — ergonomics were compromised in the transformation from standard to cruiser.
One of Moto Guzzi’s early Tonti frame bikes, from 1973
California Black Eagle photos by Wes Siler/Wired