"Griso" thread in "Motorbike Chat"
Had a longer ride on a Griso today. In the pissing rain... First impressions: It's a comfortable bike, with a reasonably upright riding position. It ...

Had a longer ride on a Griso today. In the pissing rain...

First impressions:

It's a comfortable bike, with a reasonably upright riding position. It has an auto-starter so you just turn it on, and dab the starter button once, and it does the rest. As soon as it starts it shouts "HAIRY CHESTED TWIN" at you, and there are noticeable vibes through the bars telling a tale of large lumps of reciprocating alloy not far away.

Snick into first. Yes, that's right. Snick. On a Guzzi. I was surprised too! But snick it does, and off we go into London traffic. The grunty twin delivers from low revs, and although hardly flickable, is surprisingly agile through the traffic. The Brembos up front are reassuring and progressive> the ride is smooth and comfortable, and the steering precise. It has a slight tendency to drop alarmingly into turns at very slow speeds, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I continue through the familiar streets of Sarf London and Surrey (I'm going home to show it to T. Minor and Major). As I get used to it I start to chuck it through the traffic with more enthusiasm, and start to enjoy the surge of torque that catapults me through overtakes with ease. And the rumbling exhaust note is music to my ears - and that is through the ghastly standard silencer, which I'd junk in favour of a Termignoni, which would make it sound even better!

I arrive home and the kids are suitably impressed.

So I point it South and go out to play on some larger A Roads. This is not what you'd call a girls' bike. The grunt up to 5k rpm is delivered in gargantuan gollops, and then you hit 6k RPM and....whoosh! Well, whoosh as much a big Guzzi can whoosh. But the lump revs surprisingly freely, and from 6k to the redline and limiter which is around 9.5 I think, it really does clear off rather sharpish!In fact, it rather feels like it wants to carry on revving past the limiter - but that might just be because I've been riding triples for a few years.

The handling is neutral and confidence inspiring. It turns in to the bends without fuss, and is untroubled by braking and turning together, and by crap road surfaces and white lines. I'm having fun now. The only thing annoying me a bit is the surge on the upshift, presumably the result of the inertia of a big crank and flywheel. And the fact that the speedo on the demostrator didn't work, which made judging velocity for cameras tricky.

The finish and build quality look good, but I do wonder why so many bits are made of cheap looking plastic - the covery fingbobs between tank and heads in particular - rather than something a bit more quality and solid.

Other things that were of some concern were the lack of a pillion grab rail (Torque Wench insists) and there isn't one available. I might have to think about a carrier and/or pannier fitting kit - or a new spouse.

So back to Corsa Italiana, smiling, but still undecided. Need to ride some different styles of bikes. Maybe. Or maybe it really is time I had another Guzzi.

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Can you get a ventura rack for them yet? Brilliant luggage and a neat little grab rail when you're not using it. Here's a pic of the grab rail on my monster..


Good write up BTW, I love the look of the Griso. Must try one soon.

Sounds lovely Get it bought, then!

Replace pillion grab-rail with a pillion pal / love handles belt thingy. Miles better than a grab rail.

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Token bauble:

Bah humbug.

Agreed !!

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Suspension specialists

Griso & Ventura rack / other 3rd party grabrail.

Have you bought it yet?

Er...no. I was just thinking about a Hypermotard. No....put that knife away!

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wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah wallah

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Token bauble:

Bah humbug.

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Go and buy it man!

(on second thoughts, I'm really enjoying these threads so go try one of those naked hyabusea thingys)

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GP

The Griso rocks.
I've got the older 4v model which got good reviews everywhere.
Check out this months Bike mag to see how much better the new 8v model is.
What's really impressed me is the quality of finish.
I use it all weathers and all year everyday and despite a particularly heavy dose of road salt last Winter, there isn't even a hint of corrosion.
It's loads better than my last Honda CB1300 in the finish dept.
You couldn't sat that about Guzzi's 10 years ago.

And, walla!

(Well, not quite, but presque)

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You haven't finally, have you?

Git

Haven't done the paperwork yet - but a deal has been struck for a new Griso 8v, junking the stock silencer in favour of a factory Termignoni, and having a screen fitted. Like this

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Nice write up. There's a gouptest in Bike this month of it (its the 8v 1200 yeah?) vs HarleyXR1200, Yam XJR1300 and BMW R1200R. The Guzzi came out on top and they said a lot of the same things you spotted. I'm tempted m'self now

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MC022 mmmmmm......mandlebars

Might just add envy onto my "Whats my vice" list

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"Its easier to make a fast bike reliable than a reliable bike fast" Soichiro Honda.