The Matris shocks are dampened perfect. No harsh rebound or compression. Really smooths the ride out. In the corners she stays planted and does nothing silly. I did not mind the stock suspension until I rode with the Matris shocks.
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Audace Handlebar thread
- Thread starterPaulDavies
- Start date
John Mathieu
Just got it firing!
Wow. Good compliment on the damping and ride. thanks.
Are the Audace bars 7/8 diameter (at the controls) or 1"?
7/8th at the controls (measured it at 22.2mm with a micrometer)
Thanks so much for this Paul.
Paul, Your pictures showed the extra pullback of the 2017 model bars very well but you mentioned that they were a little taller than the 2016 ones even without your spacers. o you know how much taller approximately?
GT-Rx I realise this post was a year ago... I'm curious though because I am looking for bar options for my Audace and you mentioned black riser extenders for that model. Obviously the Audace has T bars with integrated risers and so I assume you are using these with conversions to the Custom or Touring model risers and bars. But if so black riser extenders aren't going to go with those silver models. Maybe you have different conversion option in mind?
Yes, I mistakenly thought the Audace had similar risers, which it doesn’t of course. Seems like there is an easy solution per this thread. If people would like for me to offer an option here, I think $60 in black powder-coat could be done. Post away if anyone’s interested.
Well I measured them both this morning and the two vertical mounting tubes of the 2017 bars are about 0.5 inch longer than the 2016 model. You would think this would gain you some wrist height, BUT, the 2017 bars are angled downwards quite significantly to give a more relaxing wrist position. I tried to line them up today and get a photo, but without taking the bars off the bike for a side-by-side comparison, it's hard to accurately compare. Best I could do is tape some wood to the horizontal/flat part of the 2017 bars and measure the drop at the wrist position.
As you can see in the photo I would say the ends of the 2017 bars actually lose about 1.5 to 1.75 inches in height just before the bar ends. That translates to an overall LOSS in wrist height of about 1.0 to 1.25 inches compared to 2016 model. Bottom line is that if you want extra wrist height, you need to add risers. However the extra pull back and downward angle of the bars brings them closer to you, making it less of a stretch and a lot easier on the wrist, elbows and back and feels like you've actually gained bar height.
You could try experimenting by putting spare nuts and spacers under the bar mounts and using longer bolts from a hardware store until you found the height that works for you and hopefully doesn't stretch the cables.
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Anyone have the part number for the 2017 Audace bars?
Thank you Paul
GT-Rx What option(s) are you thinking of?
The simple bar risers shown earlier in the thread. Sounds like the better option may be the newer style bars at a decent cost.
I finally got my 2017 bars today (back ordered for nearly months) and fitted them straight away. Tomorrow I'll try it out but it looks like a big improvement. In the meantime I ran 1.5" spacers under the orig bars. They have been useful and by the way 1.5" is the unstressed limit to the throttle cable routed the standard way.
I see why Paul still wanted spacers with 2017 bars. As per his photos the main change is to increase the pullback angle from about 10 degrees to 20 or so. Due to the rake of the bars being in alignment wit the forks that extra pullback creates a slight down angle at the same time. The Guzzi engineers could have cancelled this effect and kept the bars flat if they rotated the main handlebar beam to compensate for the rake before welding them to the risers. Maybe for the 2018 model... I'm thinking I might re-engineer my original bars to achieve my vision of the perfect bend capturing the best traits of the 2016 and 2017 bars just for the heck of it.
A really minor thing I discovered while mounting the new bars is that they do not have a the locating hole on the top of the left bar to locate the switchblock. Easy to fix - either file off the plastic spike from the switchblock or drill a 5/32" hole. I chose the latter.
Thanks
I see why Paul still wanted spacers with 2017 bars. As per his photos the main change is to increase the pullback angle from about 10 degrees to 20 or so. Due to the rake of the bars being in alignment wit the forks that extra pullback creates a slight down angle at the same time. The Guzzi engineers could have cancelled this effect and kept the bars flat if they rotated the main handlebar beam to compensate for the rake before welding them to the risers. Maybe for the 2018 model... I'm thinking I might re-engineer my original bars to achieve my vision of the perfect bend capturing the best traits of the 2016 and 2017 bars just for the heck of it.
A really minor thing I discovered while mounting the new bars is that they do not have a the locating hole on the top of the left bar to locate the switchblock. Easy to fix - either file off the plastic spike from the switchblock or drill a 5/32" hole. I chose the latter.
Thanks
BCarnage
Just got it firing!
Hello, Could take a photo of the mounts (without the bags) so we can see how they mount up. I am looking for a way to add bags to my new Audace as well.
Thank you,
Brent
Hey Paul, I wonder if you could post few picture of your Audace, I like to see how the bike looks with the windshield. Which windshield did you install and would love to hear your experience riding with one. Thanks!
Hi
I bought one from af1 racing. Its a guzzi made sport or short screen version which bolts on and also accommodates the lights if you ever fit them. At that time there was no fly screen option around because the Audace uses the traditional round light, but I notice Todd has an Audace specific screen on offer via the site which might be a good lower cost option. The Af1 screen ended up costing about $800 cdn after exchange rates, taxes and shipping etc
All screens are a compromise of protection, noise, buffetting and breeze and these all depend on your height and the look you are after. The quietest was actually no screen at all and there was no buffetting either, but the breeze ripped your head off much above 100kph or 60 ish mph. I wanted to maintain the semi naked look so went for the short one which is good for about 140kph. There's no buffetting on my 5 foot 8 inch frame and the breeze is nice in hotter weather, but noise increased noticeably. I wear ear plugs so it's not a huge deal.
I tried a bigger screen from another bike. It may not have been ideal, but buffetting was a problem and it made it look more like a touring and was noisier but was godd for 160 kph
So much has been written on bike forums about screens, it's like the search for the holy grail, everyone has a different opinion and set of priorities and hardly anyone has tried more than one. All I can say is I am happy with mine and not looking for an alternative. If the wind was howling I might regret my choice and wish for more protection but you can only fit one.
Thank you Paul for details. I ordered Dart Cal 1400 Audace Marlin Flyscreen https://www.guzzitech.com/store/product/dart-cal-1400-audace-marlin-flyscreen/ from Todd and I hope I will like the look when installed on the bike. It apparently should reduce the direct air hit on the chest but being 5'11" not sure how effective it will be. This is just an experiment and if I don't like it I will try to sell it
I actually like the fact that Audace is a naked bike, in comparison to my Cal_Vin with OEM windscreen, Audace is way better at high speeds, no buffeting, no view obstruction. I tried once a bigger windscreen on the Cal-Vin, one with couple 'vents' which should reduce/eliminate buffeting but it was pure disaster. The buffeting wasn't reduce at all, and riding twisty road on the sunny day with trees on both sides reduced visibility to zero when sun hit the screen. I removed it and put back the OEM one, at least I can see road well looking over the screen. Now I have to wait for Dart Flyscreen delivery and good weather to complete the experiment