Guzzi Cali Cafe - Build Thread

[CarbsAndCylinders]

You can get one just like it, from here... http://tabclassics.com/product-category/tanks/moto-guzzi/

Thanks, I bookmarked the site, pricey but worth it.

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

Took me a while, but I just realized what you have here. A couple brothers local to me both have Guzzi Cali's and bring them by my shop now and again to work on stuff. Their Guzzis are some special edition Californias, but light and day different than what you have here- total bagged cruiser bikes. I'm going to have to read through this thread to even understand what is going on. LOL

The bike is an 89 Cali 3, one of the last with carbs, and using the famous Tonti frame. Its the same frame as used in the Lemans, except the Cali has forward controls and floor boards, which is done by having different lower frame rails.. easy enough to swap over.

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

The fairing screen arrived, went for a tinted version rather than clear. Now need to work out the best way of mounting it...

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

Been working on the mounts for the new seat unit, can finally see how it looks with the fairing and seat unit in place...

 

[HerrDeacon]

That is going to look sharp!

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

I bought an aftermarket front guard made to fit a Triumph T100, as it looked like it would work with the Guzzi 18 inch wheel. Sure enough it did, however it had four mounting holes pre drilled, which were a few mm wider than the fork brace I had to mount it too. After much head scratching, I had a 3mm alloy plate rolled to match the curve of the guard, then shaped and drilled it to match the guard nicely. That done, I had a couple of alloy strips welded to its top.. these will have their tops milled flat, then a couple of countersunk bolts can be used from the underside to bolt this bracket to the fork brace. Well, that's the plan anyway. It doesn't look good yet, but once the welds have been cleaned up and the whole lot polished, it should hopefully look ok.

Though the dog wasn't too impressed..

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

With the mount machined and drilled, I could see how it looked on the bike at last, though it still needs a bit more work to clean it up and give it a good polish...

 

[ex119x]

I have found that dogs are rarely impressed with well engineered solutions to mechanical problems. I don't bother sharing this kind of cool stuff with my dog or my wife.

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

Got the Guzzi bodywork booked in for paint with a local painter, I've not used before, but he has a good rep, so now I've got two weeks to finally decide on the colour scheme. Not easy, as I keep changing my mind

It'll probably end up being red, with some white graphics. Speed stripes down the tank and seat unit would be easy, but I'm trying to find a design that works well with the 'curvy' tank and seat unit... decisions, decisions.. something like the bikes in the pics below..

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

Finally got round to making a new mount for the LED rear light, so it fits the alloy seat unit, and also machined down its billet alloy cover.. Took about 2mm from its diameter, which lost a surprising amount of weight..

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

Meanwhile, I've been playing around with pinstriping tape, trying out different designs for the paintjob. Current idea (no doubt it'll change), is to have bright red with white panels, as seen in the pic below..

 

[irk miller]

Man, that 13 bike up there is something else.

 

[rossmick62]

You can't go wrong with red and white on an Italian bike

Its gunna look dead sexy

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

After a long wait, the bodywork is finally being painted. The base colour is done (Honda Victory Red), while I've made some small changes to my original design. In the pics you can see the painter laying out the outline for the white panels. Took a few attempts before I was happy. The paint should be ready for collection end of next week.

 

[Maritime]

Nice

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

A big day today, finally got my paintwork back. Very pleased with the end result.

 

[Maritime]

Wow, can't wait to see that on the bike!

 

[Sderbyshire]

Looks fantastic!

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

Quick test fit of the tank and seat to see how they look. Haven't fitted the set mounts yet, or those for the cockpit fairing, as need to finish the wiring first, so they don't fit quite right in the pics below...

 

[Maritime]

Nice!