The uncomfortable fact about {custom} bikes is that for each good one constructed, there are dozens of dangerous ones. All too typically you’ll come throughout {custom} bikes which were crudely cobbled along with no regard for good style—or security, even. This 1999 Moto Guzzi California was one such bike, till Massimo Rinchiuso rescued it.
“The California was beforehand custom-made utilizing poorly matched elements, with many malfunctioning elements and poorly made modifications,” says Massimo, who runs Fuchs Workshop as a one-man band within the vibrant metropolis of Ravenna, in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna area. “The bike was not solely actually ugly but in addition probably harmful.”
Massimo’s consumer is a long-walks-on-the-beach man, so the Moto Guzzi’s torque twin-cylinder motor fits him properly. He handed the bike over to Massimo to make it not solely lovely to take a look at, however usable and protected, too. The concept was to shed visible weight and switch the chunky Moto Guzzi California right into a laid-back seashore tracker.
The bike’s easygoing look belies the quantity of labor that went into it. Massimo’s first job was to create a harmonious bone line—which meant making intensive adjustments to the body. Then it was time to spec the California with working gear to go well with its new stance.
The OEM Moto Guzzi forks had been upgraded with a cartridge package from YSS, including full adjustability, and new YSS shocks had been fitted out again to choose up the California’s tail. Massimo retained the unique wheel sizes (18F/17R), however swapped the unique items for chromed Borrani hoops.
He turned his focus to the brakes subsequent. The entrance hub was modified to host a second brake disc, with Brembo calipers doing obligation at each ends. The setup additionally consists of custom-made caliper mounts and braided hoses.
As you’ll be able to inform, the entire Moto Guzzi California’s unique bodywork was binned. Massimo fabricated a brand new set of aluminum items from scratch, beginning with a tapered gas tank and matching tail bump. A trimmed entrance fender and triangular facet covers spherical out the set.
The facet cowl sits on {custom} mounting tabs, whereas the tail encompasses a neatly recessed LED taillight that Massimo designed and manufactured from scratch. A trendy pleated saddle provides an satisfactory stage of consolation.
Going deeper, the California’s 1,064 cc V-twin engine was rebuilt with a number of enhancements. It now sports activities polished consumption ducts, a lightened crankshaft and flywheel, and an upgraded camshaft. Massimo put in Ok&N pod filters, fabricated a brand new stainless-steel exhaust system with HP Corse mufflers, and remapped the ECU to optimize efficiency.
Massimo additionally rewired the Moto Guzzi from scratch—partly to accommodate the brand new bodywork, and partly as a result of the prevailing wiring was a ticking time bomb.
A tidy cockpit enhances the remainder of Massimo’s even handed adjustments, that includes tapered handlebars on new bar clamps. The switches and clutch perch are Domino elements, whereas the entrance brake’s grasp cylinder comes from Brembo. An LED headlight from Highsider sits out entrance, mounted on custom-made brackets.
There are subtler particulars to understand too—like Massimo’s even handed facet stand mod. “The decrease left a part of the body was modified to get rid of the very ugly unique facet stand—mounting a way more discreet one in a rearward place,” he explains.
Massimo completed the Moto Guzzi California off by sprucing the aluminum bits, including delicate graphics, and hitting the body with a contemporary coat of black. Delicate Moto Guzzi eagle motifs adorn the tank, whereas the facet covers are emblazoned with the bike’s nickname; ‘Riviera.’
“I selected that identify as a result of I affiliate this motorcycle with the relief that a gorgeous crusing boat can create when it travels by calm seas on a sunny day. And since Fuchs Workshop is positioned on the Riviera Romagnola—the land of motors.”
Fuchs Workshop Facebook | Instagram | pics by Christian Fussi
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