I have always liked the T3 Cali. Guzzi have made some brilliant bikes over the years but the Le Mans and the Cali are the two models that stand out for me. A Dutch bike came up on German ebay that looked good so I put my bid in and won the auction 
Friday I threw my sleeping bag in my van and set out for near Nijmegen to collect the M/C via Dover Calais on My Ferry at a reasonable £40 each way.
I kipped in my van in Belgium and got to Peter's place at 9.30am and enjoyed a traditional Dutch breakfast prepared by Peter.
The Cali I bought off him was sold new in Nijmegen in 1975. Six years ago it had new barrels, unleaded valves fitted plus new crank seals at the local main dealer at great cost. Mechanically the bike is superb and it has a nice patina which adds to the character. The tank and panniers have been repainted at some time but are good enough for me not to worry about the non original colour scheme.
This is how the bike was pictured on ebay:
Peter with the bike when I collected:
Peter is a Guzzi fanatic and has made he own private Guzzi museum, I understand he owns about 60 bikes, all Guzzis, nothing else will do.
He has six 750 S3. He acquired this one recently for restoration
Peter has been meaning to get around to touring England for a while and now plans to get over to Devon and stay at my place so I can show him around
I got back home at 1.30 am this morning (I got stuck on the motorway from Dover for 3.5hrs because it was closed due to an accident). This evening I tried the Cali up the road and I am really impressed with the comfort and character, one of the great old Guzzis and well worth the effort to get. Just got to get it registered in the UK now.
Friday I threw my sleeping bag in my van and set out for near Nijmegen to collect the M/C via Dover Calais on My Ferry at a reasonable £40 each way.
I kipped in my van in Belgium and got to Peter's place at 9.30am and enjoyed a traditional Dutch breakfast prepared by Peter.
The Cali I bought off him was sold new in Nijmegen in 1975. Six years ago it had new barrels, unleaded valves fitted plus new crank seals at the local main dealer at great cost. Mechanically the bike is superb and it has a nice patina which adds to the character. The tank and panniers have been repainted at some time but are good enough for me not to worry about the non original colour scheme.
This is how the bike was pictured on ebay:
Peter with the bike when I collected:
Peter is a Guzzi fanatic and has made he own private Guzzi museum, I understand he owns about 60 bikes, all Guzzis, nothing else will do.
He has six 750 S3. He acquired this one recently for restoration
Peter has been meaning to get around to touring England for a while and now plans to get over to Devon and stay at my place so I can show him around
I got back home at 1.30 am this morning (I got stuck on the motorway from Dover for 3.5hrs because it was closed due to an accident). This evening I tried the Cali up the road and I am really impressed with the comfort and character, one of the great old Guzzis and well worth the effort to get. Just got to get it registered in the UK now.
enjoy !
Guzzi's in general seem very good value for what you get and apart from a few of the elite ones, seem far better value than much of the "classic" stuff... As for the patina... crack on, all the better for it...
