CALIFORNIA 1400 CUSTOM WINS PRESTIGIOUS CYCLE WORLD MAGAZINE BEST CRUISER TITLE.
-August 2013.
MOTO GUZZI CALIFORNIA 1400 CUSTOM TAKES FIRST PRIZE IN THE “TEN BEST BIKES 2013” IN THE CRUISER CATEGORY IN AMERICAN CYCLE WORLD MAGAZINE.
After receiving unanimous approval from magazine testers all over the world, the all new Moto Guzzi
California 1400 Custom has added a further important recognition from the biggest selling magazine in the US
taking first place in the Cycle World annual comparison test in the highly competitive Cruiser category.
This victory has great significance because it comes from the largest and most influential magazine in the USand is a true reference point for enthusiasts all over the world. The win is also an important endorsement for
Moto Guzzi’s re‐entry to the big bore Cruiser segment with the new California 1400 because America is the
largest market for large cruiser bikes and home to popular and established competitor brands such as Harley
Davidson and Victory. Beating these brands on their home soil is further proof that the California 1400
Custom is a truly extraordinary motorcycle.
The massive Cycle World comparison test, now in its 38th edition, chooses from the best bikes in production
from all over the world which are divided up into ten categories and then rigorously tested by testers and
journalists from the magazine. The bikes were evaluated based on performance, the fun factor and were they
enjoyable to ride and the overall quality of the bike. The Moto Guzzi California, less than a year from its
unveiling, showed that it has no fear of the competition in these areas.
The award citation read: “This Italian gets under your skin in a good way, its air‐cooled 1380cc V‐Twin winning
us over with torque and the starring role it plays in the Art Deco looks of the bike. Though classically styled, the
California is modern, with three levels of power delivery and traction control, plus ABS and cruise, none of
which detracts from the bike’s mechanically satisfying nature”.
The Cycle World award is the second one the California 1400 Custom has won in the USA within a few months.
In May The Robb Report, the American magazine that has been the International authority and reference
point in the luxury segment for almost forty years, listed the big Custom made in Italy at Mandello del Lario
among its Best of the Best Luxury Portfolio for 2013.
The California 1400 went on sale in Australia only this May following the global launch in November last year.
With a spectacular visual impact, the style of the new California 1400 conveys the unmistakable Moto Guzzi
class and tradition, combined with never before seen lines, dimensions and technologies, but highly popular
among passionate “Guzzisti” all over the world: it is not by chance that Scottish actor Ewan McGregor,
collector of vintage Guzzis, after seeing the new California Custom and Touring, chose to be the ambassador in
a fantastic advertising campaign produced for the new models. Built by hand in the historic Mandello plant
where Moto Guzzi was founded in 1921, these new flagships of Italian industry are the first Cruisers in the
world equipped with traction control, “ride by wire” multimap technology and LED Daylight Running Lights
(DRL).
Thanks to the immediate success of these new products, the result of an investment strategy that involved
both R&D and restoration of the historic Moto Guzzi plant in Mandello del Lario, in 2012 Moto Guzzi – going
blatantly against the European market trend – recorded a 15.3% increase in sales. In the first six months of
2013 Moto Guzzi continued this extraordinary curve, documenting an 11.2% increase in the first half of the
year compared to the previous one.