Moto Guzzi California

The Moto Guzzi California is a cruiser motorcycle that Moto Guzzi manufactured and marketed from 1971, with a standard seating position, footboards, a heel-and-toe gearshift and linked Brembo brakes. The first one was designed in consultation with the Los Angeles Police Department Traffic Division, as a modification of the Moto Guzzi Ambassador that won the department's vehicle tender, and it built on the 757 cubic centimetre V7 Special and the 850 cubic centimetre V850 GT. It originally had a left-foot gearshift, a bulletproof Lexan windshield and a sprung sidestand. Other police departments used it, including the California Highway Patrol, and a civilian version went into mass production in 1971. Moto Guzzi made a version almost continuously from 1971 to 2021, ending with a 1400 cubic centimetre model, and the line went through six major evolutions: the V7 850 GT California, 850 T3, California II, California III, California 1100 and California 1400. In 2002 an 80th anniversary edition was designed by the furniture maker Poltrona Frau, and in 2017 the MGX-21 Flying Fortress bagger was built on the 1400.