My Griso Scares Me

[Rough Edge racing]

Id hate to ground loop a Griso!

 Can a Griso pull a look at the sky wheelie in lower gears with just a snap of the throttle ?

[beetle]

Can a Griso pull a look at the sky wheelie in lower gears with just a snap of the throttle ?

Not without dumping the clutch!

[Moto]

Even my Griso 1100 could get me in trouble. Last fall I found myself drag racing some hot Audi, of all things, trying to pass him before the end of a merge lane. I was going over 90 in a 45 mph zone before I shut down. This could have resulted in a big ticket, for no rational reason. Later that ride I didn't see gravel on a tight corner I was blitzing and had to enter the opposite lane to get around it regain traction, without being able to see if it was clear of oncoming traffic. That could have been fatal.

My occasional recklessness is one reason I have never upgraded to a 1200 Griso. The other is all the modifications I made on my 1100 that I would have to transfer over to or repeat on the new one.

I don't think anyone is really well-served by the extra power of the 1200, on the street. But that's just my opinion.

Moto

[bpreynolds]

Even my Griso 1100 could get me in trouble. Last fall I found myself drag racing some hot Audi, of all things, trying to pass him before the end of a merge lane. I was going over 90 in a 45 mph zone before I shut down. This could have resulted in a big ticket, for no rational reason. Later that ride I didn't see gravel on a tight corner I was blitzing and had to enter the opposite lane to get around it, without being able to see if it was clear of oncoming traffic. That could have been fatal.

My occasional recklessness is one reason I have never upgraded to a 1200 Griso. The other is all the modifications I made on my 1100 that I would have to transfer over to or repeat on the new one.

I don't think anyone is really well-served by the extra power of the 1200, on the street. But that's just my opinion.

Moto

I�ve had a number of close calls in turns on the Griso and it doesn�t suffer fools kindly.  This is no fault of the bike I�ve found; rather, I�ve actually been fantastically surprised by how rail like stable it is in turns IF, IF I say, I set the turn up correctly.  It rewards good riders and respect but I�ve found it will smack you quickly if you try to be lazy with it.  My 950 Supermoto, the main bike I�ve driven in the last 2 plus years (over 20k miles), is a 420 pound hooligan machine that will, to some degree, let you make corrections and mistakes, ultimately making you think you are more in control than you actually are.  It probably made me �think� I�m a much better rider than I am and then I get on the Griso and try to be all sloppy like I am on the KTM.  Lots of occasions lately it has grabbed me by the collar and said, �Hey dumbass!�   

I will just say that over the years I've had (or have ridden) a number of bikes that tempted me to behave badly.

I decided it was smarter to own bikes that didn't do that to me all the time.

 :1: I was basically just saying in person the same thing I’m saying here in this thread to a fellow rider of mine the other day who has a gorgeous Heritage in his garage but used to race sport bikes.  He just quickly turned to me and said, “That’s why I don’t own bikes like that anymore.” 

[MikeW]

I've had two butt clenching moments on a bike and both of them were in my youth.

The first was a full on lock to lock tank slapper on my '75 Goldwing at 90mph. Nothing I could do but let off the throttle and hope for the best. Fortunately it settled once it slowed down. The culprit was a badly balanced front tyre on the bike from new.



The second was on an Egli Kawasaki with a hot Z900 motor in it. I went through a large flock of sheep grazing on both sides of the road at over 120mph. Scared the crap out of me.



These days I treat big bikes with respect but find that I ride tiddlers like a maniac, particularly two strokes!

Mike

[SmithSwede]

I will very likely sell my Triumph Street Triple for precisely this reason--I don't enjoy just riding it normally, and it constantly tempts me to do stupid stuff. 

This is another reason I like my little small block.  Enough power to do anything sensible, prudent and legal.   But not so much that you are tempted to do 120 mph banzai passes against logging truck uphill on two lane roads. 

A man's gotta know his limitations. 

[mjptexas]

Well, this conversation isn’t helping me a bit.  After an 18 month hiatus there’s another Griso in the garage.  I don’t remember misbehaving that much with my pushrod Griso.  The 8v isn’t broken in yet so I don’t know if it will truly be a bad influence.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PJPR01]

Sounds like we need a BBQ run to Lockhart on the Grisos!!

Prescott...time for an upgrade!!

[SmithSwede]

Are you trying to kill me Paul?

 

[inditx]

Yep, Aprilia 1000 for me.
I’ve determined that even though I’m passed middle age, I am still not mature enough for that bike.  :Beating_A_Dead_Hors e_by_liviu

inditx

[Huzo]

Well maybe it comes down to this.
Some blokes are acutely aware of the speed they're doing and no clue of the % of throttle.= (Long life)
Some blokes are acutely aware of the % of throttle they have set and no clue of the speed.=(Short life)
If your bike is sailing along faster than you intended, the problem is above the seat, not below..
Getting a smaller/slower bike, only serves to mask the real issue.
ie
You can carry the same level of ignorance and not pay the ultimate price so soon.

[pete roper]

Right at the moment, since Piaggio have decided to turn Guzzi into a joke factory, I’m seriously thinking that my next purchase, and probably my last, will likely be either one of these or whatever it evolves into.

http://www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/vitpilen/vitpilen-701/

I think it looks like crazy fun!

Pete

[Larry]

Right at the moment, since Piaggio have decided to turn Guzzi into a joke factory, I�m seriously thinking that my next purchase, and probably my last, will likely be either one of these or whatever it evolves into.

http://www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/vitpilen/vitpilen-701/

I think it looks like crazy fun!

Pete

That looks very OK.

[egschade]

Decided to downsize from my Griso 8V to a V7 III for two reasons: 1) The Griso's weight and ergonomics were a bit too much for my back and 2) I rarely rode the bike at anything close to its potential. Most of my riding is now commuting and shorter weekend jaunts and the V7 is much better suited to that job.

I do miss the 'stupid fast' fun you can have on a Griso and agree it takes some discipline not to get yourself into trouble. The bike never scared me as such but I would often find myself going faster than conditions would normally permit and I constantly had to remind myself to dial it back a bit. While great fun I often felt like I wasn't using the bike's potential - because I wasn't.

Like the old saying goes, 'more fun to ride a slower bike fast than a fast bike slow'.

[flip]

Well maybe it comes down to this.
Some blokes are acutely aware of the speed they're doing and no clue of the % of throttle.= (Long life)
Some blokes are acutely aware of the % of throttle they have set and no clue of the speed.=(Short life)
If your bike is sailing along faster than you intended, the problem is above the seat, not below..
Getting a smaller/slower bike, only serves to mask the real issue.
ie
You can carry the same level of ignorance and not pay the ultimate price so soon.

 

[Kev m]

A man's gotta know his limitations.

For many years I joked that I was waiting until I was "old" enough (read as mature enough) for a sport bike. Then I finally realized I will never be old enough for a sport bike.... and that's fine, like you said...

I don't begrudge anyone else who is (or thinks they are).

[Huzo]

Decided to downsize from my Griso 8V to a V7 III for two reasons: 1) The Griso's weight and ergonomics were a bit too much for my back and 2) I rarely rode the bike at anything close to its potential. Most of my riding is now commuting and shorter weekend jaunts and the V7 is much better suited to that job.

I do miss the 'stupid fast' fun you can have on a Griso and agree it takes some discipline not to get yourself into trouble. The bike never scared me as such but I would often find myself going faster than conditions would normally permit and I constantly had to remind myself to dial it back a bit. While great fun I often felt like I wasn't using the bike's potential - because I wasn't.

Like the old saying goes, 'more fun to ride a slower bike fast than a fast bike slow'.

Depends where you think your fun us going to be.
@ 300 km North of the Arctic Circle, or halfway across the Nullarbor Plain, there is a feeling of security and comfort in knowing your bike is massively within it's design brief.
Just the peace of mind, knowing that if one or more variables conspire against you at the same time, like wind, load, (lack of) luggage space etc.. the potential capability of your bike over and above what you are asking of it at that point, is a settling feeling to say the least.
Not decrying for one second your initial point, but if you're half serious about going somewhere, pushing into a 20 knot headwind, loaded to the gills with stuff, no room to swing a cat, pissing rain in 5deg C, passing a line of transporters in Eastern Poland or Trondheim in Northern Norway, there's not gunna' be much fun in turning the twist grip a bit and finding it hitting the stop as a truck is coming toward you the other way.
I appreciate the small bike fast thing, but it applies more when cruising between coffee stops than linking destinations together over vast distances.

[grebmrof]

To the OP, yes, I rode a friends ST1300 and found I was going 20-30 mph faster than I thought I was.  Owned a '99 ZRX that I couldn't keep under 100, so I sold it so that I could keep my license - but what a comfortable bike that one was!

[Huzo]

To the OP, yes, I rode a friends ST1300 and found I was going 20-30 mph faster than I thought I was.  Owned a '99 ZRX that I couldn't keep under 100, so I sold it so that I could keep my license - but what a comfortable bike that one was!

I accept that it's an "out there" notion.
But could there be a case for...
Ride at the speed you want and turn the handle appropriately,
Rather than,
Turn the handle and get a bloody great surprise when you see what it gives you.
It's a bit of a flippant point I'm making in a sense I know, because most of us old farts are still (more or less) alive, so we actually know what we're doing, but so many younger kids have said to me...
"Jeez, I should get a slower bike like yours, I had a ZX12R and I sold it 'cos it was too fast for me..."
Piss off.....!

[Kev m]

I accept that it's an "out there" notion.
But could there be a case for...

Who actually argued there couldn't be a case for that?

[Rough Edge racing]

.Most of my riding is on rural two lane roads with somewhat limited room for sustained acceleration...Bike s faster than I normally ride can get to that point in the distance a lot faster so I tend back off the throttle early because I have reach the speed where I become wary of going faster...generally around 90 mph...

[PJPR01]

Are you trying to kill me Paul?

 

Who me....just adding some spice to your commute? 

I've reserved the Griso for your next visit just so you can drink from the firehose of power!  I suppose though if I were riding as many miles as you do, I'd probably put a radar detector on it just in case! 

[Sheepdog]

The BMW R1200RS that I got last year is the most powerful bike I've owned at about 125hp. After exploring the edge of this bike's performance envelope, I realized that the Remus carbon fiber slip-on was probably a bad idea. The thing is, this bike is nice to ride at sane speeds, too. With the exception of an occasional blast on a long, straight, and empty stretch of highway, I normally ride the Beemer about like I ride the Vintage; just a little faster than traffic...

[mjptexas]

Sounds like we need a BBQ run to Lockhart on the Grisos!!

Prescott...time for an upgrade!!

Set a date & we'll meet!

[mjptexas]

Well, this has been an interesting and fun thread.  I've just spent 2 days and 600 miles on my new 8V Griso so let me share my musings.

First, I've only owned one bike that was a "hang on for dear life/crap your pants/OMG I'm going to die" bike.  That was a 2006 BMW K1200r, a naked 163 hp motorcycle. 0 to 60 in less than 3 seconds, on to 100 in just a few more seconds.  Would break any legal speed limit in the USA in any of its 6 gears.  Absolutely evil low end fueling that made it a miserable around town bike.  But get it out in the country and it was a delight to ride.  Unfortunately it gravitated to 90 mph as its most natural riding speed.  Had it for 5 years and sent it on its way.  Realized I had no business owning a 160 hp motorcycle, and have resisted the temptation since.  Chuck says 100hp is about right.  I agree - 100 hp +/- 10 hp is my sweet spot.

Now, I did not find myself inclined to ride the new 8V Griso any harder than I did the old pushrod one, although I will admit it spools up a hell of a lot quicker.  I did plenty of highway miles at speeds ranging from 65 to 80 mph - all within 5 mph of the legal limit (remember this is Texas we're talking about).  The Griso was comfortable and in its element at any of those speeds.  I think the reason is because it produces acceptable performance in the mid-rpm range.  I don't find the need to hit the rev limiter with every shift.  Solid midrange power is enjoyable, and having that little extra is really nice on those rare occasions when you need it. 

[jas67]

The BMW R1200RS that I got last year is the most powerful bike I've owned at about 125hp. After exploring the edge of this bike's performance envelope, I realized that the Remus carbon fiber slip-on was probably a bad idea. The thing is, this bike is nice to ride at sane speeds, too. With the exception of an occasional blast on a long, straight, and empty stretch of highway, I normally ride the Beemer about like I ride the Vintage; just a little faster than traffic...

I find this to be the case with my R1200RS.    My 87 HP Monster tempts me into behaving badly much more than the R1200RS.   Of course, the R1200RS is very happy to loaf along at 2-3000 RPM, where the Monster is kinda rough below 4,000 RPM, like a race horse chomping at his bit.   It just loves 5,000-8,000 RPM.

I started doing track days this year, on a Ducati 749, a bike that is a torture device on the rode, but, a precision tool on the track.    Riding at speed on the track with the safety net of run-off areas, no oncoming traffic or cross traffic, and no debris on the road, or at least if there is, corner workers will be frantically telling you about it.

I feel that I have less urge to behave badly on public roads now.     I save it for the track.

[twowings]

Don't be scared...read this book:

[rschrum]

When I get old, I'll sell my 200mph zx12r.

[egschade]

I appreciate the small bike fast thing, but it applies more when cruising between coffee stops than linking destinations together over vast distances.

Um, I think that's how I described my riding - cruising between places (commuting) and pleasant weekend rides. Battling the elements and 'vast distances' aren't the V7's forte - nor mine anymore.

[Huzo]

Who actually argued there couldn't be a case for that?

It's a bit of Aussie facetiousness Kev.