Tell me about the Griso

[ITSec]

Eric (who posted earlier) was good enough to entrust me with the future of his 8v Griso. It shares a garage with a Norge and a Stelvio, and definitely gets more than its share of use. Each of the bikes has its own charm and character, but the Griso is the go-to bike when the goal is sheer joy in riding with no other considerations.

Well, maybe one other consideration - if I want to draw an extraordinary number of compliments, the Griso is the machine to ride!

[PhilB]

Howdy PhilB.  Good to see you on WildGuzzi.  I’ve followed your high mileage Ducati saga for several years.

Condolences on the loss of a tried and true friend. 

If you are looking for Italian iron that has character and can rack up serious mileage, you have come to the right place.   Guzzis can do that.  And the valve adjustments are stupid simple.

Thanks.  A good Griso is definitely among the top contenders.  I know that the bike itself will last forever.  Do we have any good feelings about Piaggio supporting the marque in the long term, though?  Owning an orphan has its drawbacks.

PhilB

[Moto]

I like my 1100 better than the 1200 I tried (admittedly with the early map). The latter just wound up too fast for me to enjoy the rush!

I've ridden mine long distances, out to the Rockies and back, for example. It's not a real touring machine, but it's comfortable enough I guess. I fitted two windshields, with the bigger one coming on and off over the smaller one as wind conditions dictated. Also an electronic cruise control, and reasonable luggage.

It is an incredibly beautiful, powerful design. When I return to it in a parking lot, I still can hardly believe I own it.

Moto

P.S. Grisisti don't need factory support. We make do.

[Dilliw]

Thanks.  A good Griso is definitely among the top contenders.  I know that the bike itself will last forever.  Do we have any good feelings about Piaggio supporting the marque in the long term, though?  Owning an orphan has its drawbacks.

PhilB

Going from Ducati to Griso?  I've ridden my brother's S2R 1000 back to back and they are quite different animals.  I certainly know which one I prefer 

[Rick4003]

I don't really have anything to add on the Griso, except that I would buy one in a heartbeat if I didn't need a house and a family car first. It is probably one of the only newer bikes that I would buy from Guzzi, I tried the 1200 sport in NZ and loved it, but I'm not sure I loved it enough to pay the price of it in Denmark.

First time I saw a Griso was this one in a German petrol station. I still think that is a killer paintjob!




-Ulrik

[boatdetective]

Well, in order to be fair- there should be another viewpoint. I'll take the heat for the following- I owned an 07 1100 and ended up having to do a LOT of work to it.  It was a fun, if quirky ride. Good suspension. However, really odd ergos.  The original build quality is pretty much shameful if you have to be honest.  You can expect to have to fettle with things, refasten things that fall off, or tear some things completely apart. If you enjoy the tinkering, great. One thing is definite- the support network here on the forum is outstanding.

My last Guzzi was a 1200 sport. I thought it was a better overall machine than the Griso 1100 (heresy!). For the money, it was a fun bike. However, I wanted to sell it before the dash decided to crap out. I bought a BMW R1200R last year and it has been wonderful. I have all the tools and all the manuals...and haven't had to use them once.

[lucian]

Have you ever loved a woman

[Huzo]

Well, in order to be fair- there should be another viewpoint. I'll take the heat for the following- I owned an 07 1100 and ended up having to do a LOT of work to it.  It was a fun, if quirky ride. Good suspension. However, really odd ergos.  The original build quality is pretty much shameful if you have to be honest.  You can expect to have to fettle with things, refasten things that fall off, or tear some things completely apart. If you enjoy the tinkering, great. One thing is definite- the support network here on the forum is outstanding.

My last Guzzi was a 1200 sport. I thought it was a better overall machine than the Griso 1100 (heresy!). For the money, it was a fun bike. However, I wanted to sell it before the dash decided to crap out. I bought a BMW R1200R last year and it has been wonderful. I have all the tools and all the manuals...and haven't had to use them once.

I had a ride on a nice 2 VPC Griso in U.K.
Couldn't wait to get off the bastard.
Never knew how good my Norge was/is...
Pissy little tank, electric toaster hanging off one side, shithouse looking exhaust system, 4' wide 'bars, seat like a barn door, suspension like a John Deere combine harvester and slower than my Beetled/ Ropered Norge.
Other than that it was nice..!

[Huzo]

Have you ever loved a woman

Yes but it only happened once and it meant nothing.
In my defence, it was very cold and it was a survival thing.

[molly]

I've owned a 1200 Breva (Norge without fairing), 1200 Sport and a 1100 Griso all 2 valve motors.
They were all are/were excellent machines with very similar performance, so it all comes down to ergonomics which is best for the individual. In a ideal situation I would have a Norge and a Griso in the garage. The Griso would be for day to day use and the Norge for distance work.

[PhilB]

I'm sure these issues have been discussed before on this site somewhere, but I don't know where.

a) Are there any significant design or build flaws with the Grisos?  I've heard about the valve tappet thing, and been told to get one after 2013.  Anything else?

b) What are some of the best options for that gawdawful muffler?

c) What are some of the best options for bags?  I don't need the full monty, just a decent pair of saddlebags would do nicely.

Thanks, all.
PhilB

[pete roper]

a.) The swingarm bearings and shock linkage need greasing, (See Cali 14 problems thread.). That's about it.

b.) Mistral Hi-Pipe is the best readily available pipe. Whatever you choose I suggest running it with the dB killer in.

c.) HB 'C-Bow' bags are popular and don't screw up the styling too much.

Pete

[PhilB]

Thank you!

PhilB

[Dilliw]

C- Bow bags with Guzzi tail bag



Sans bags

[bpreynolds]

I can�t add much to this thread that hasn�t been said already.  I joked they should rerelease the Griso and call it The Roper cause Pete is such a go to guy on all this stuff.  It�s one of the most gorgeous bikes ever manufactured IMHO. 

The first 8V Griso (�15) I owned didn�t light any kind of fire for me.  I stuck Onur�s risers on it, saddlebag racks, peg lowers, barnish screen, ceramic coated the headers.  Other money I threw at it but I can�t even recall all of it.  It still hurt my back to tour on and still didn�t have enough leg room in my harsh assessment.  I was shoving a lot of expectations upon it as I did with many bikes following the Griso even.  I happily sold it to Rosso Woody on here. 

Several years and many bikes later, I found a low mile �09 for peanuts on the dollar and decided I would try the Griso again, only this time I would just totally leave it as it is (minus fly screen and small tank bag).  I told myself I would only ride it up to 80 miles or so a day so I couldn�t/wouldn�t whine about it hurting my compromised back.  I made myself promise that if the bike started hurting me I would merely pull over, step off it a while, gaze upon it with loving eyes, and then get back on and proceed.  You would not believe how incredibly much more I am enjoying the bike and am enamored with it since these things 

And it is a surprising motorcycle indeed.  You can just ride it around town and it rewards you like any Goose will reward you.  Nothing too spectacular or shocking, just totally stable, solid, and soulful; yet, get it into the 5k-8.5k rpm range and whoa boy you will be surprised and smiled for sure.  I�ve owned some bikes with ooodles more horsepower and much greater top speeds and 1/4 times, but I seriously don�t know if I�ve owned anything that is that quick and charging in THAT mid to upper rpm range.