Moto Guzzi California: The Story of the Great Italian Cruiser

The California is arguably the longest-running and most recognisable model in Moto Guzzi's history: born from an order for US law enforcement, it has over the decades become the quintessential Italian take on the American-style touring motorcycle, staying in the range, albeit profoundly renewed, to the present day.

The model's story begins in 1968, when US importers Joe and Mike Berliner persuaded the Los Angeles Police Department to test two slightly modified V7 700s. The officers immediately appreciated the Italian bike's handling and acceleration, while the mechanics praised the ease of maintenance guaranteed by the transverse V layout. Having beaten off competition from American, British and Japanese makes, Moto Guzzi won the LAPD contract, giving rise to the V7 Police, from which the first civilian version, the V7 750 California, derived in 1970. The decisive step came in 1971 at the Milan Show, with the unveiling of the V850 California, fitted with an engine enlarged to 844 cc and technical solutions derived directly from the V7 Sport.

Over more than fifty years the California range has constantly renewed itself: from the V850 California of the 1970s to the California II (1980s), through to the electronic fuel-injected EV versions of the 1990s, which brought electronic fuel injection in place of the traditional carburettors, and numerous themed variants such as the Stone, Jackal and Vintage, the latter openly inspired by the look of the original 1972 V850 California.

As well as its use by the Los Angeles police and other US departments, the California boasts a distinctly Italian first: it was adopted as an official vehicle by the Corazzieri Corps on duty at the Quirinale, a recognition of the prestige the model achieved in an institutional setting too, far beyond its original role as a touring motorcycle.

Historic examples of the V850 California, especially the best-preserved or those restored to faithful, period-correct standards, are now much sought after by collectors as direct evidence of a fundamental chapter in the relationship between Moto Guzzi and the US market, while the modern California remains one of the benchmark cruisers on today's motorcycle scene.