Audace - my new bike

[janusz]

I finally picked my dream bike from the dealer and managed to drive save home. Despite the traffic, I enjoyed the ride. Please keep in mind this this my first bike in such a caliber, before I only drove 250cc bikes when taking training classes at local training courses. I own the Vespa GTV 300 which I purchased last year and it is a bike a practice before taking a big jump into MG.

The ride home was brilliant, most of the ride I was sucked in the traffic which moved at 3/5km/h. I really think that getting stuck in such a circumstances give a newbie like me a sense what the real riding around city is like.

[Hymes Inc.]

Congrats, that is quite the upgrade.

[TodkaVonic]

Good for you janusz! Sweet ride.

[Guzzistajohn]

cool! Welcome aboard!

[LowRyter]

congrats. 

[Lcarlson]

The 1400s are really nice bikes. But if your coming off much smaller machines, it might be good to avoid dense traffic situations until you're a little more comfortable with a big bike like the Cali.

[AH Fan]

Get that big girl out on the open highway ............. that's where she will show her good stuff.

Ciao.

[rodekyll]

Good for you!  Don't let the others make you afraid of the big beast -- just respect its potential to hurt you and ride it accordingly.  Also remember the respect that others give you -- as they hand you performance awards!    

That sort of a first ride experience will certainly help which of your bikes to choose for what riding environment.  I'll bet either of the others are better than a 1400 at parade speed.  But once you're on the highway it should be a treat!

Now can you imagine that same congested ride without needing to use the clutch or shifter?   I think the Convert should be brought back.  Coupled to a 1400 it would be a hoot!

[twowings]

Nice going! The best of both worlds...

[lucydad]

JanusZ,

I love the looks of the big A.  She will be a hoot once you find an open road.  Came close to buying one here in Houston, but a guy beat me to the only one to come into town at our dealer. 

Give us another ride report please.

Ride safe!

[Dilliw]

Love the redheads!

[oldbike54]

                     


                                  Attaboy !

  Dusty

[lucian]

Congratulations on the 1400!  Awesome cruiser for sure. 12,000 miles on my custom 14 without a single issue, your gonna love that bike. as others have stated , just respect the the weight your handling at all times, especially on slow speed maneuvers.  Plan ahead a little bit when parking to avoid having to back pedal too much, especially on a slope. Also. be aware in sand or gravel as these big cruisers can get a little squirrel y on the front end.

Wait until you set the cruise control at 70 mph on a highway and come to a hill.  You'll feel the torque of that big twin start pulling on it's own, there's nothing like it! Welcome to the group

[janusz]

Thank you all for very kind words and encouragement. A bit of background :)

Last year when I bought my Vespa GTV 300 I knew nothing about MG. Well, till I bumped to a web-site which was about MG California 1400 Custom. At this moment I knew I have to have one, don't ask why but for me it was a perfect bike. Well, I didn't know for sure how perfect it could be, I've never sit on anything closely as big as this bike. And then MG introduced Audace model, this was a real curved ball from my perspective. I liked both bike very much but I had to choose just one (blame my wife, I would buy both). I decided to go with Audace, probably the deciding factor was the location of pegs vs platform on 1400 custom.

Some of you may ask why I decided to jump from 278cc scooter to 1380cc bike. The answer is very simple. If I could ever ride a big bike in my life it has to be now. I'm 62, still fit, and in my assessment I can handle the weight. Another aspect is I'm a newbie and it is typical that attraction will be drawn towards big bikes. I think I need more time to develop appreciation towards  smaller one. The most important thing happened yesterday when my wife drove in the garage after work and she got out her car. Her words were:
THIS IS VERY BEAUTIFUL BIKE, I NEVER EXPECTED TO BE SO GOOD LOOKING BASED ON PICTURES!
In my books this is big, my wife never commented on any of my bicycles, scooters (Vespa), etc. but saying:
'Nice, whatever make you happy!'

Today it was a VESPA day, I had to pick up some merchandise and Vespa GTV 300 is great for that where as Audace sucks since there is no any place to load anything. So MG was resting in the garage and Vespa was deployed to do all foot work. The first thing I had to pick up it was the new MG helmet :) and then stop for cappuccino. My riding day was cut short because I had to go back home and take my dog for a walk :(

If you really don't mind will keep you up the speed with the progress but not quite sure if you like read more of this nonsense. After all this is nothing new, and many of you went through the same experiences in the past (please feel free to share).

Cheers,
Janusz

[fotoguzzi]

I had to go back home and take my dog for a walk :(  Dogs are worth it good on you!

If you really don't mind will keep you up the speed with the progress but not quite sure if you like read more of this nonsense. After all this is nothing new, and many of you went through the same experiences in the past (please feel free to share).

Cheers,
Janusz

Please do keep us up to speed.. I like to know your impressions..

[Idontwantapickle]

Now can you imagine that same congested ride without needing to use the clutch or shifter?   I think the Convert should be brought back.  Coupled to a 1400 it would be a hoot!

Yes!  A 1400 Convert with a six speed automatic and a lockup TC. They have the computer on board already and the technology is well proven in millions of cages.
And congrats Janusz on the new bike.  It is a beauty.
Hunter

[janusz]

Yes!  A 1400 Convert with a six speed automatic and a lockup TC. They have the computer on board already and the technology is well proven in millions of cages.
And congrats Janusz on the new bike.  It is a beauty.
Hunter

Thank you. But the convert is not my kind of option at all. In my case it has to have a clutch, gears, etc. Another words properly manual :)

[janusz]

Please do keep us up to speed.. I like to know your impressions..

My first impression sitting in the traffic jam was to learn my clutch. When I used 2-fingers on the clutch and squeezed the lever, the bike was happy to shift gears but I wasn't able to put bike in N(eutral). Only if I put all fingers on the clutch lever and squeezed right to the grip bar then putting bike in neutral was extremely easy :) This may change with time as at this point I have only 15 km on my bike :)

Another impression: It was a warm day but nowhere as hot as it will be in the summer. The bike was very hot when waiting in the traffic (specifically the left side). I like to know if you will turn your bike/engine off when in similar situation?

[twowings]

What pants were you wearing?  Plenty of body protection? or just dungarees?

[janusz]

What pants were you wearing?  Plenty of body protection? or just dungarees?

Just a regular levi strauss jeans 
I'm not much concern about my pants but very much concern about the bike. One thing to remember is when the bike was parked in the garage, after about 1 hour after the engine was turned off the tank was still very worm. Just wonder if this is normal. Thanks!

[twowings]

Oh, I get it now..*duh*...I would like to believe the engineers took into account the stress of prolonged idling in traffic when designing the bike...I would shut the engine off if traffic was at a standstill for more than a few minutes but remember the oil passing through the engine is conducting heat away to some extent...as far as the clutch and transmission it will take some miles to 'break-in' or 'loosen up' and make using the controls easier...

[Zoom Zoom]

Just a regular levi strauss jeans 
I'm not much concern about my pants but very much concern about the bike. One thing to remember is when the bike was parked in the garage, after about 1 hour after the engine was turned off the tank was still very worm. Just wonder if this is normal. Thanks!

Congratulations!

Re the tank: Yeah. It takes a while for that big lump beneath it to cool down. Since heat rises.............. ..... Well, you get the idea.

John Henry

[Tom]

Congrats on the bike.  Good to see that keeping the Scooter is a reality based ride.  Most riders don't know that the Vespa will "eat" a lot of bikes in the twisties.

[janusz]

Thank you all.

Today, I wanted to put some serious miles on my new bike but had to cut the ride short because I was socked in rain. The temperature was around 14 C, my gloves, jeans, boots were completely wet, I felt really cold and didn't have choice but just turn around and ride home. I have to admit that my Belstaff soy waxed cotton jacket passed rain test with flying colors but this was only piece of garment which actually manage protect me.

As of today I managed to put a whipping 30 km total on my bike  Good new is I managed to ride in very wet condition and got home in one piece.

[PJPR01]

Worthwhile to invest in some good waterproof riding gear, you should be able to ride thru a pouring thunderstorm and still stay dry, especially gloves and boots so you can operate the controls properly.

I was in Mississauga two weeks ago for work, and will head back again in July...whereabouts is the Guzzi dealer in Toronto and do they rent Guzzi's by any chance?

Even more importantly, is there a nearby Polish bakery to buy some makowiec or paczki?   

I might spend a weekend up there next time and do some exploring...pretty sure I can bring my helmet as a carryon item. 

[janusz]

Hey PJPR01,

I usually check weather before going for a ride but this time I goofed and ended up socked wet Riding in the rain is not my cup of tea and I will cancel my ride if there is chance of rain.

Corsa Meccanica is the only MG dealer in GTA http://corsameccanica.com/ but not sure if they rent bikes. I can find out if you want me to.

Paczki, makowce, serniki, etc. sa latwo dostepne w Toronto:

1. Wisla Plaza is in the moment the best place to buy polish food: https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Wisla+Delicatessen/@43.622204,-79.6001616,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x1d750b10ad33cc80!8m2!3d43.622204!4d-79.6001616

2. Starsky (http://www.starskycanada.com/aboutus.php) is a supermarket where you can buy anything you can dream of, paczki, makowce, ogorki malosolne, etc. you name it and they have it :)

3. Roncesvalles Ave in Toronto, used to be called Marszalkowska by polaks living in GTA. It is not so much polish now as it was 10 years ago but you will be able to find few polish restaraunt like this one: http://cafepolonez.ca/

Bring the riding gear, worst case scenario we will have to share MG / Vespa and I will take for a spin around the city. Please send me pm with more details about your stay in Misssissauga and we will be able to arrange some fun.

[PJPR01]

Bardzo dobrze!   Wisla is only 6 km away from the office, Starsky only 8 km...fantastic...I shall have to bring an extra small suitcase to pack some goodies home!!

Very kind of you for the invite!  I shall do that...once travel plans are in place...I'll send a note and see if we can coordinate a ride.

Dziekuje!

Paul

[janusz]

Short (5 minutes) video from my ride around Toronto. Managed to put additional 55 km on the bike and spend almost 1 1/2 hours on the bike 

https://youtu.be/NeP2XY4JmpI

[Tom]

Just an opinion but I'd keep it in a lower gear to keep the rpm's up around 4K when rolling.

[janusz]

Just an opinion but I'd keep it in a lower gear to keep the rpm's up around 4K when rolling.

Thank you Tom. I thought I was revving engine too high and switching gears up too late. I will definitely try to put your suggestion to use. Thanks!