Griso

[Baldini]

There's a Griso on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2010-MOTO-GUZZI-GRISO-8V-BLACK-DAMAGED-EASY-REPAIR-LOW-MILES-FULL-HISTORY-/261119498516?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item3ccbef5914

Looks very light damage until you check the pic of the lower triple clamp. I don't know circumstances of impact but pic surprised me. I never looked close at one but I always thought they appeared a really strong piece.

 

KB

[GuzziMoto]

That would certainly scare me away from it unless it was dirt cheap.

The amount of force required to do that could have bent the frame, broke engine mounts, or worse.

I certainly would not buy that expect to just be able to throw a few parts at it and be done.

Maybe it would be that easy, but I certainly would not count on it.

They certainly seem to think it is an easy repair. I disagree. Likely they expect too much for it since it is "easily repaired". Their starting price is about the most I would pay. And that would be assuming I could afford to take the risk.

[Baldini]

As you say you can't know extent of damage until you strip it. Could be a good buy at £3k. It'd be a gamble if you expected to put it on road without much work, but with such low miles the bike's going to be worth a lot as parts - I mean what does a 2k miles 8v motor go for, let alone trans, CARC etc?

 

Really nice, straight examples seem to be available at around £6-7k.

 

What puzzles me is the damage to the clamp relative to the overall condition of the bike. Obviously headlight's smashed, & it's clearly been down on it's r side. Could have clouted something hard. Could be tyre hit something straight on, but way the clamp is snapped I'd still have thougt to see more collateral damage.

 

Leads me to ask how strong is that piece, cos it looks massively strong at first glance, but is it just styling?

 

Which 8v production had cam problems? Was it only Grisos? Which year(s)?

 

KB

[pete roper]

Very early, as in 2008 and a few very early production '09's had the problems with 'Soft' tappets. While they were less hard than such parts usually are not all of them failed. My own bike, which was right in the middle of the bad run, went for 20,000km with the 'Bad' bits in as the importer forgot to send me my recall kit! Both the bike produced before mine and the one produced after mine failed at less than 5,000km. This to me indicates that while there was undoubtably an issue with the parts the bigger issue was with the servicing of the machines.

 

Any 8V should be stone-axe reliable. I have NEVER had a failure of an 8V motor. Certainly any machine that had the dubious bits replaced BEFORE they had a chance to fail should, if maintained properly, be bulletproof. If however the tappets have failed the factory's suggestion that all will be well if the parts are simply replaced and the engine 'Flushed' is patent horseshit as should be obvious to anyone who has any pretensions to mechanical aptitude.

 

As for the lower triple clamp? Obviously without knowing the circumstances under which the damage occurred it is hard to be sure what may of been damaged or how visible damage came about. Having said that Grisos, unlike V11's, seem on the whole to crash well. I've seen a few that have been tossed, some lavishly and with gusto! And they all scrub up OK with an application of money and elbow grease.

 

If this is a post 2010 model though all the major niggles will of been ironed out. Nastiest thing about any new CARC bike seems to be the ongoing grease phobia at the factory! The swingarm and rear suspension linkage bearings have bugger all grease in them and need packing as a matter of urgency if you want to avoid premature replacement. I'm awaiting a new shock for my bike. When it arrives I'll be rebuilding and overhauling the entire steering and suspension apparatus, steering head bearings, forks, wheels, shock, linkages, the lot. The poor old girl is five years old now. It's time to give her a tart up!

 

If you're considering it Keith I'd not want to spend 2K on it. It's a heavily crashed munter. Does it even run? With any modern bike you'll find costs for parts can mount up very quickly. If its done its ECU you've effectively lost any 'Saving' over buying a clean, original, straight machine.

 

Pete

 

As you say you can't know extent of damage until you strip it. Could be a good buy at £3k. It'd be a gamble if you expected to put it on road without much work, but with such low miles the bike's going to be worth a lot as parts - I mean what does a 2k miles 8v motor go for, let alone trans, CARC etc?

 

Really nice, straight examples seem to be available at around £6-7k.

 

What puzzles me is the damage to the clamp relative to the overall condition of the bike. Obviously headlight's smashed, & it's clearly been down on it's r side. Could have clouted something hard. Could be tyre hit something straight on, but way the clamp is snapped I'd still have thougt to see more collateral damage.

 

Leads me to ask how strong is that piece, cos it looks massively strong at first glance, but is it just styling?

 

Which 8v production had cam problems? Was it only Grisos? Which year(s)?

 

KB

[Baldini]

Thanks for that, Pete. Do you know range of frame or engine numbers for cam issue?

Not looking at buying, I'd have one I think - maybe look at that one - but I'm skint right now anyhow so it's academic. Griso & Bellagio are the only CARC bikes I can stand the looks of. I just thought clamp damage looked disproportionate to that on rest of bike & wondered if it is weaker than it looks (built for style not purpose?). If they crash well, seems more odd, unless I'm not seeing something on it. To break clamp like that, I'd figure front wheel impact & I'd pos bent forks & frame even. Griso frame does look strong tho. Would like one, but I'd probably be happy (happier?) with the 2v - they're a lot cheaper to buy.

KB

[pete roper]

Anything from 2008 through to mid 2009 manufacture. Not sure of the exact VIN range, I don't have access to it. It might be up on Guzzitech though? Not sure.

 

Personally, if I were in the UK I'd avoid anything from that period if it was unknown if the cams/tappets had ever failed. I don't know why but it just seems that in the UK and in certain parts of Europe repeated failures were common. I have no real idea why but my guess, based on the couple of cases I know of here, is that a combination of poor set-up and the "it's only a Guzzi, you can put anything in it." Attitude to the oil plus inadequate cleaning and inspection after the initial failure, (Crap will damage the oil pumps and builds up in and blocks the oil cooler .) leads to repeated failures.

 

A correctly set up 8V is a wonderful thing. The problem is that a very large number of them aren't. Why I don't know as they are delightfully easy to set up and hold their tune extremely well. It just seems that a lot of people still believe that throttle bodies are 'Just like carbs' and try and set them up accordingly. That, coupled with trying to change the idle speed by playing with the throttle stop screw, ensures that a lot of them run like hideous munters.

 

Pete

 

PS. As for the busted yoke? Grisos use Showa forks. Whether the yoke is supplied with the legs or manufactured separately by another supplier I don't know? Best bet would be to go and ogle an R6 or some such which would use the same, very high quality, components and see if the yokes are similar. My guess is they probably wold be.

 

As for strength? They seem perfectly strong enough for their intended purpose. Despite being supposedly completely unsuitable for such tasks mine gets ridden on a lot of quite rough dirt roads, (If you want to get anywhere interesting you quite often have to do some dirt around here.) and while my spine sometimes feels like it may crack and collapse I've never had any such concerns about the fork yokes!

[Guzzirider]

If anyone chooses to buy it, I think we may have a spare set of used Griso 1200 forks and yokes at work.

 

Drop me a PM if you need them.

[GuzziMoto]

 

 

PS. As for the busted yoke? Grisos use Showa forks. Whether the yoke is supplied with the legs or manufactured separately by another supplier I don't know? Best bet would be to go and ogle an R6 or some such which would use the same, very high quality, components and see if the yokes are similar. My guess is they probably wold be.

 

As for strength? They seem perfectly strong enough for their intended purpose. Despite being supposedly completely unsuitable for such tasks mine gets ridden on a lot of quite rough dirt roads, (If you want to get anywhere interesting you quite often have to do some dirt around here.) and while my spine sometimes feels like it may crack and collapse I've never had any such concerns about the fork yokes!

The forks are made by Showa, 99.9% positive the clamps are not. To my knowledge Showa does not make the clamps. Either way the offset and tube spacing are specific to the Guzzi. The Aprilia's that use the same forks have different clamps. Probably made by a local company. They do seem massively strong, and barring a defect in the clamp I reckon it took a massive impact to brake it. That energy may have went elsewhere like into the frame as well