V11 with Ohlins or Griso 1100?

[Baldini]

If he had a broken steering dampener, that would explain why his bike was wobbling...

 

My take would be: All that wobbling put paid to his steering damper? The IOM is not like any kind of race track - it has lumps & bumps & flat out crests & dips that'd send a V11 into all kinds of shapes. I have ridden there (not raced), & to me it seems obvious that, functioning steering damper or not anyone trying to ride a V11 at racing speeds there, no matter how well set up, would struggle mightily to keep it pointed forward. But, no matter how obvious it seems to me, you don't have to accept that, & though I can't understand why you would want to disagree, you are obviously free to do so.

 

KB

[Skeeve]

My take would be: All that wobbling put paid to his steering damper?

 

Well, some here on v11lm would probably put their money on the steering damper being the problem! I'm not certain myself how necessary the damper is; the majority opinion seems to be that it needs to be backed off all the way & even then it slows the steering down.

 

Regardless, the Guzzi spine frame's greatest weakness isn't likely the spine itself, buttressed as it is with the great big block of a ditch pump we all love so well, but more likely the connection btw swingarm & frame running thru the bolted-up pork chops, etc. Ease of manufacture wins out over precision of steering almost every time, throughout the history of motorcycling, I think you'll find...

[GuzziMoto]

To each their own, you gotta go with your experiences in this matter and I have to go with mine. And mine is that I have NEVER seen a bike wobble so bad it "broke" the steering dampener, but I have seen a few broken steering dampeners cause bikes to wobble. I did have a Harley racebike wobble so bad it broke the steering stop, but it did not break the dampener. But we don't really know what happened, so it is just speculation.

All I'm saying is that my V11 handles sharper then my Griso, bumpy roads or smooth it does not matter.

Yes the IOM is like few other places and I would not race ANY bike around their. I do respect those who do but I do not wish to be amoung them.

[Greg Field]

Strange how perceptions are. The rides I've taken lead me to percieve the Griso frame as at least an order of magnitude stiffer. Bumpy Mt. St. Helens roads perhaps emphasized the difference, because the V11 feels pretty good until you hit sizable bumps while heeled over, and then she turns all wiggly 'cause that swingarm is flexing and the rear wheel steers the bike with each flex. Ohlins can't do anything about that.

[pete roper]

Strange how perceptions are. The rides I've taken lead me to percieve the Griso frame as at least an order of magnitude stiffer. Bumpy Mt. St. Helens roads perhaps emphasized the difference, because the V11 feels pretty good until you hit sizable bumps while heeled over, and then she turns all wiggly 'cause that swingarm is flexing and the rear wheel steers the bike with each flex. Ohlins can't do anything about that.

 

I hit a rather large road bump while 'Pressing on' a bit yesterday on the Griso and took about 20 feet of air! the CARC made a bit of a horrid noise when I landed and I bottomed everything out, (I had the throttle twisted in a 'Sportsmans-Like' manner at the time ) but it tracked straight and true and didn't feel at all put out. I have to say i was impressed. I dunno if my Scura would of been so forgiving.

 

Incidentally that Stelvio that got wrecked by a Journo in Oz? Turns out the idiot decided to do jumps with it and just kept doing it until he eventually endo-ed! What a 'Rhymes with Runt'? who tries to go berm-bashing ona 450lb motorbike???

 

Pete

[Baldini]

... Bumpy Mt. St. Helens roads perhaps emphasized the difference, because the V11 feels pretty good until you hit sizable bumps while heeled over, and then she turns all wiggly 'cause that swingarm is flexing and the rear wheel steers the bike with each flex. Ohlins can't do anything about that.

 

That is exactly my experience. We have some great roads here but many of them with uneven surfaces. Everything's fine on Scura whilst it's on a slotrack but chuck in a few bumps & look out. I hadn't figured out exactly what was causing it but your explanation sounds very plausible. I also suspect a lack of torsional stiffness between the s/a mounts & the steering head.

 

As has been said, one can only go by one's own experience but, even tho one hasn't experienced something, it may have been experienced by others in circumstances outside of one's own experience .

 

I'm no set up genius, but bike is set up OK. It's just a matter of where & how one rides. I think it is a fallacy that the racetrack brings out the worst in a bike - to find it's limits go push it hard on a climbing, bumpy, twisty backroad - TT course being a supreme example.

 

The sticky tyres on mine (Mich 2CT's) probably add to the stresses that input the frame.

 

It's to it's credit that the V11 will ride through some of the frights it gives, & I've largely got used to it moving about so much.

 

I've never ridden same roads on a Griso or pushed one that hard so I can't directly compare.

 

KB

[GuzziMoto]

Well, all this talk has motivated me to put both bikes (07 Griso 11 and 00 V11) to another back to back comparison. I have done it a few times already, but look forward to doing it again.

I will agree that the Griso chassis is more complient and forgiving. But a less rigid chassis is often that way, take for example MX chassis's. The move to a more rigid chassis was followed by a steep learning curve on how to set up the suspension and even a couple steps backwards to add flex back into the chassis to "improve" handling.

[rocketman]

I got a chance to ride a friends Griso 1100 (only 30 minutes). Very nice. It does what I hoped. You can either take it easy and enjoy the ride, or you can have fun goosing it up. Suspension felt good. I'm gonna get me one . Thanks for all of your input guys.

[Dimitris]

I would buy the Griso 1200 8V Tenni, and after some years I would focus on the V11 LeMans (Rosso Corsa, with Ohlins to make you happy).

 

Then I would be the happiest man in Greece. (So I need a Griso Tenni )

 

To be the happiest man on earth, I need also a MkI LeMans and a MGS01 corsa (I suppose I have to start playing LOTTO)

 

 

Hope I helped you

[rocketman]

Just to follow up and to bring this thread to a conclusion. The hunt is over. I just purchased a used 07 Griso. The suspension is pretty darn good (still fine tuning and learning more about it). Wow, and easy to work on!. Remove 3 screws and pop off the 2 rubber keeper gromlets and the side plastic is off and the valve covers are exposed. Pipes aren't in the way for getting a socket on the crank to turn it over. Everything is so accessible. The air cleaner is under the seat. How cool is that. Maintenance is a snap. I thought my V11 Lemans was a pain to work on. Thanks to everyone for your input. This is one cool bike. I think Pete Roper said it best when he said Moto Guzzi hit a home run when they made the Griso.

 

Rod

[Van]

Congrads with your purchase!

The Grisso is one of the very few bikes out there that could entice me away from my V11 Tenni.

The styling is just right, it is a very cool machine (hey that McGregor fellow rides one) and I even really like the look and sound of the stock pipe......

IMHO the V11 is the better (for me) bike, but the Grisso is a very cool ride.

Cheers

Van

[pete roper]

Very misunderstood bike the Griso. All you have to do is look at the hardware attatched to it and you can see its meant to be as close to a 'Sportsbike' as a Guzzi is capable of being. Thing is because it doesn't make you bend into the 'Dog Shagging a Hockeyball' riding position and isn't enveloped in acres of plastic it is pidgeonholed by retards as a 'Naked' or 'Muscle' bike or someother equally meaningless name. Their loss, not mine

 

If you want to really go hell-for-leather raising the pegs a tad will help but for most spirited road riding I just accept mine are going to grind!

 

Pete