You know the typical cruiser compromise: riding one means you achieve a certain image, a certain experience, but at the expense of everything else that makes riding a motorcycle so fun and so practical. But not this Moto Guzzi California 1400.

Believe it or not, but the bike I’m riding here wasn’t made in the 1970s. It’s the brand-new, 2013Moto Guzzi V7 Racer Record. And, while it might look old, has plenty of classic character and ticks all the right boxes in your heart, it’s also reliable, safe and comfortable. The best retro yet?

Thanks to the wonderful efforts of the Moto Guzzi racing team, mankind will be able to survive a powerful hit by an alien shrinking ray with our V8-powered sports cars intact. For we have The Otto, this frantic little 30½ cubic inch jewel which powered Moto Guzzi’s Grand Prix racing motorcycles from 1955 to 1957 all …