Moto Guzzi Audace 1400 ABS

Blasting through city tunnels, splitting lanes and never looking back. Audace means "bold", and this bike is just that.

I didn't take the bike out of Veloce mode the whole time I rode it. I had played around with the touring and rain modes on the California and the Eldorado, but the Audace just felt like it was made for the sportier riding mode. Swapping out the floorboards for mid-controls and the wide board-tracker style bars for narrower T-bars, this bike was at home in the traffic-addled streets of Southern California when I was testing it.

The geometry of the bike has been refined and the handling is excellent at all speeds. With the shorter bars your input has to be a little more deliberate, but it's more stable at speed. As I mentioned earlier, they decided to go with foot pegs on this one and set them up a little higher, so the ground clearance is noticeably improved over the California and the Eldorado. What really impressed me was the stability while leaning into sweeping turns on the highway.

The specific bike I got has been murdered out from head to toe. Most everything is matte black, but the red trim adds a nice contrasting pop. However, unlike most of the other blacked-out versions that OEMs are making, Moto Guzzi offers the Audace with a matte red gas tank: something that to me, just looks good without trying to be too bad ass or taking itself too seriously.

For someone looking for a unique, stylish cruiser that has all the attitude and the power to match, the Audace would be an excellent choice.

For more information on the Moto Guzzi Audace and other Moto Guzzi products, visit MotoGuzzi-us.com