Griso

[Guzzirider]

ok Where can I get that £7,498.50?

 

I reckon five and a half grand will get you a low mileage second hand Griso- maybe cheaper over the winter. I have noticed that there are plenty nearly new ones appearing in the small ads.

 

What is the betting that the Breva and Griso will be manufactured with the 1200 motor soon?

 

It would make commercial sense by cutting down a production line, and would be marketed as an improvement to the range.

 

I was actually quite impressed by the comfort and practicality of the Breva- I only borrowed one for a day but it seemed like a serious mile eater, albeit not that sexy. Have never ridden a Griso but would love a go.

 

The Breva motor did not seem bad at all, but it was less torquey than my V11 for sure.

 

The only thing with all these new Guzzis is that I would have to sell my V11 to buy one- and I love it so much I have no reason to swap it.

 

Guy

[belfastguzzi]

I reckon five and a half grand will get you a low mileage second hand Griso- maybe cheaper over the winter.

The only thing with all these new Guzzis is that I would have to sell my V11 to buy one- and I love it so much I have no reason to swap it.

Aint you got a Ducati you could sell? It must be worth about £5k – if you haven't put too many miles on it yet.

[Guest Nogbad]

If the V11 Sport is Conan the Barbarian, the Griso is Liberace

[Guzzirider]

Aint you got a Ducati you could sell? It must be worth about £5k – if you haven't put too many miles on it yet.

 

The Duke is here to stay- even though it does frighten me silly sometimes!

[belfastguzzi]

If the V11 Sport is Conan the Barbarian, the Griso is Liberace

It's all falling into place –

the Buell is Barbie, right?

Mass centralisation and all that...

[Guest Nogbad]

Never noticed the mass of Barbie being particularly centralised. No, the Buell is a co-operative but potentially vicious troll. You have to like that sort of thing.

[DeBenGuzzi]

come now children play nice

 

I know bfg has a scura but thats no reason to pick on him.

[belfastguzzi]

So next month's (that's December in magazine land) Bike will have a Griso in the Big Test. Wonder what they're pitching it against? What do you think should be in the mix?

 

 

 

Looking further into Bike magazine, I see they have a Venn diagram type chart, showing what classification and overlaps new bikes fall into. From memory, they have the Griso along with Yam MT-01 and the Harley Street Rod. So those could well be 2 of the other bikes in the December issue Big Test.

 

I know bfg has a scura but thats no reason to pick on him.

In fact it's a mighty good reason not to – I'll send the Scura round to bite you.

[belfastguzzi]

It's out now – and the Griso is ridden over the 500 mile test route through England and Wales ( that includes Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground for performance) with Ducati GT1000, Kawasaki ZRX1200R, Triumph Bonneville T100.

 

In short, it comes out in the middle, with recognition that this bike is bought for 'different' reasons than most other bikes.

 

First it's uncomfortable (very, for some) with low seat and wide bars and comes last for motorway use (rider becomes a big wind-catcher; vibration; harsh). Two-wheeled torture. Truly bad. Crippling. Harsh. Cramped legs. Odd and awkward. Suspension is hard/harsh as if supplied from stock for the track (and has those semi-slick tyres), rather than the road.

 

And it's last for pillion.

 

It's top for build quality.

 

On the performance graphs it comes out very similar to the Ducati, but the big Kwak runs away.

Guzzi low rev limit brings in 80bhp (77.3 @7400rpm).

59.5lb.ft @6300

129mph

 

Braking graph is good: better than bike feels, as lowdown weight and sportsbike brakes lock the front tyre easily.

 

Good on big sweepers (not tight stuff)

and impressive roll-on, where it's graph is as good, pretty much, as the big 1200 Kwak. This test was kept down to 80mph top (from 40) rather the usual 120, given the machinery.

 

Quality build in a world of tack and 'unique appeal'.

 

[There's also a report on the 1200s]

[pete roper]

Over on the Griso board and elsewhere I've been bleating about how they are set up WAY too hard at the factory. Mine I've wound everything but the rear spring preload down a fair old way and it now handles great and is very comfortable. I weigh a robust 90Kg!

 

The Vibration thing I feel is a bit odd? Perhaps I'm just not that worried by it or *modern* motorcyclists expect turbine like smoothness but I can sit on mine at 90mph and vibration isn't a problem. Anything much over that and the 'Windsock' issue is obviously going to be a problem but for me the riding position is practically ideal. The wide bars? I hardly notice then any more, in fact riding customer's bikes feels weird 'cos they're so narrow .

 

I wouldn't think that the pillion perch would be great. As it is though I think I've only had one pillion, and that was only down to the shops or something so I can't offer any insight on that aspect.

 

For me the big 'G' is almost the perfect bike. It does what I want and has a lot of features, (Like smaller throttle bodies.) which I really like. If I'd wanted outright speed or a racing riding position I wouldn't of bought a Griso, or any other Guzzi. As a 'Road' bike though I reckon it's second to none, at least for someone of my stature who wants what I do. Before anyone writes it off from a magazine report I'd honestly suggest riding one. Who knows. You might even enjoy it .

 

Pete

[belfastguzzi]

Before anyone writes it off from a magazine report I'd honestly suggest riding one. Who knows. You might even enjoy it .

 

Pete

No, I think it comes out well from the report. The 'vibration' comment-thing we understand and the seating position and set-up is again clear to see and judge against personal 'build' and needs. The interesting thing is how well the 1200 comes out in the other report.

[Greg Field]

I love the way the motor delivers it's power and that may well be partly to do with the fact that the 'G' uses 36mm throttle bodies. I now that all the theorists, including some I really respect, will tell you that you should be able to use much bigger TB's wuith such a motor but the smaller ones deliver incredibly smooth, linear performance from nothing until the point where I'm quite happy to not go any faster. The bike ROMPS up to 100MPH after which things become a bit more relaxed, I don't care, it's rare for me to need to go faster than that and I can always knock it down to 5th if I'm in a panic, I've usually got 1,500 in hand at least Having said that a check of the on-board data logger often turns up maximum speeds of the 178-182kph mark so perhaps I'm suffering from advanced altzheimers

 

 

Pete:

 

I agree with everything you said here. I wish I had the money for a Griso but can't swing it now. My V11 is pretty well sorted, especially so in the last three weeks, but a Griso still ould outhandle it.

 

But please have a look at the etchings on the side of your throttle bodies. In the US, Grisos and Brevas both got 45mm throttle bodies. Did they get 36s for Oz?

[pete roper]

Pete:

 

But please have a look at the etchings on the side of your throttle bodies. In the US, Grisos and Brevas both got 45mm throttle bodies. Did they get 36s for Oz?

 

I'll double check and make sure. It wouldn't be the first time I've got it wrong but I'm pretty certain they are 36's??? I'd really be surprised if they made a different version for different markets. I think the 'B', 'G' and 'N' are all 'World' bikes.

 

I'll have a good squizz tomorrow at Wakefield while Rob and Bean are thrashing around the track, Rob's got 2 races in the morning then he's partnering Bean on his V4 Yammy stinkwheels in the 1-hour in the afternoon which should be fun. It requires a *slightly* different riding style to the Guzzi

 

Pete

[belfastguzzi]

Two Wheel Only have a similar line-up for a run to the Bol d'Or:

the GT1000, ZRX1200, Griso and the other is a CB1300 this time.

 

They had wanted a V.11 for the comparison trip, but then found out that thems ould bikes is dead.

So the Griso is a bit of an odd-one-out, as it's not a retro. Of course it's a lot of an odd-one-out, for the usual reasons.

 

Again the Griso comes out more than quite well. Praised for good handling (through bends), ace suspension and brakes – as well as the styling.

Performance let down, not by handling but by engine-transmission struggle when things get frantic – slow gearchange.

 

Same problem as the other report when it comes to motorway riding.

 

They made a bit of a story about the Griso catching and eventually passing a couple of Frenchies on R.1s.

 

Honda was best performer, but came last in the evaluation because it failed to engage / excite.

 

Wonder how a V.11 would have fared?

[pete roper]

I had a great dice a couple of weeks ago with a 748SPS, a CBR600 and a new Fireblade coming up the local mountain road. Only the Blade got by me in the twisties and then only by using brute HP. The reason why it's possible for a fat old git like me on an old shitbox like a Griso to do that has nothig to do with my skills as a rider but id DOES have a lot to do with other people not trying to set their bikes up properly. Partly this is because they don't know how and partly it's because they are scared to touch anything. The thing is any modern 'Sportsbike' should piss all over a Griso or V11, but they don't. It can't all be down to us being super-heroic leather-clad gods of speed

 

Pete