Griso vs. HD XR1200

[Larry Wiechman]

 Dave,
  Did you give up on the idea of an Aprilia hotrod?

[Dave Swanson]

Dave,
  Did you give up on the idea of an Aprilia hotrod?

Larry,  cooler heads are prevailing at the moment 😀

[SmithSwede]

Dave:

The XR appeals to me in a strange way, and I am by no means a “Harley guy.”’  Quite the opposite.  There is one for sale locally.  So tell me.  What sort of gas mileage do you get?  Range on a tank?   Does it really lean over pretty good?

Other than the heat from the pipes, what do you not like? 

What do you like the most?

[Frulk]

Swede. I'll jump in here. I bought an 2009 XR with 7.5K miles on it and it now has 16.5K. Bike has just been a hoot to ride. No, it's not the fasted or the lightest but there's just something about it.

Likes in no particular order:
Seating is fairly neutral. If you're 6.1 and under this bike's rider triangle should be relatively comfortable.
Torque, lots of it.
Styling (subjective I know but it really appeals to me). 
Looking at the rear of the bike with that 180 tire.
Some of the best instrumentation I've seen on a bike.
A digital speedo with numbers my aging eyes can actually read while on the road without reading glasses. 
Stable at highway speeds in strong crosswinds.
The grunt of the motor when you twist the throttle.
Reliability. Bike has given me no engine issues in the time I've had it.
Ease of 'some' routine maint.  Oil changes are quick and easy.
Numerous other little things that add to the overall satisfaction of owning one, not the least among them not seeing yourself coming and going several times a day (a trait it appears to have in common with Guzzi's). 

Dislikes:

Plastic gas tank. Mine hasn't given me any trouble but I prefer metal given the option.
Would prefer that tank be somewhat larger. When I let it get low the light usually goes on around 120 miles.
Hassle to change air-filter.
Seat surface is slick (that's an easy fix I suppose). Under hard braking I slide into the tank. 
Mirror stems are too short to clear my shoulders.
Having every Harley rider wave at me now.   

    General comments: I rode my friends XR with the upgraded suspension (X model) and truthfully I don't remember that there was that much difference in the ride. I see comments about these bikes being of potential collectors interest in a few years.  I don't buy rolling stock for investments. Having said that I've seen a number of XR's out there around the $4.5K-$5.5k in decent to very good condition. About 8 months ago in the Timpanogos Harley dealer south of Salt Lake and they had two brand new XR's on the showroom floor. A white XR-X with 240 miles and the upgraded suspension for $10.9K and a black one with the stock suspensionfor around $9.9K. Both bikes came from Harley corporate headquarters and were in "as new" condition. I  mention this only as a reference point in price comparative to the used ones out there.

   I don't do track days, have never riden a Hayabusa, and don't need to have the fastest or lightest bike on the market.  I just don't need the performance capability that is currently available out there.  That may be why I have three air cooled lumps in my garage whose perfomance I'm more than satisfied with. A V7R, a Honda CB1100 and an XR1200.  YMMV.



Instrumentation:

[JohninVT]

Both the 1100 and 1200 Grisos will run rings around the XR in both engine and handling terms. If you are changing to get a better bike there is no contest. The downside to the Guzzi is not the actual bike but the dealer network and rarity compared to the Harley back up and availability of parts.

Ummmnn...no.  No, they won't.  Neither are a "better" bike.  Nor is a 1100 Griso faster than a XR1200.  It's all about what you like.  I cross shopped the XR(and Griso 1100) when I bought my 1200 Sport.  What swayed me towards the 1200 Sport was the fact I could tour with it.  I didn't like the odd wheel size on the XR and it felt top heavy at low speeds but it's a good motorcycle.  It was surprisingly capable up to a 6/10th or 7/10th pace on a crooked road.     

The power characteristics of a Griso 1200 and the XR are different enough to warrant keeping both in your garage.  The Griso top end and how fast it races to redline is completely different than the XR.       

[Rough Edge racing]

The Griso is refined, where the XR is rough, and beastly. My son has one, that is parked in my garage, and I ride every couple of weeks. The XR is the only bike I have ridden that will bounce off the rev limiter in 5th gear, exactly at 122 mph. Its kinda weird...that thing just wants to GO,  it  sorta feels like a muscle car with 4:11 gears. 
I would keep the XR, and since its in a similar niche as the Griso, get a different Guzzi instead.
Rick

 What is the RPM limiter set at? Some here imply the engine is done at 5000-6000 rpm...My 97 Buell RPM limiter was 6700 rpm and if you weren't careful it was easy to hit the limiter in the lower gears.The engine still was pulling hard at the limit..Stock gearing was 3000 rpm at 60 MPH.

[pete roper]

The XR sounds like a complete turd to me but beauty is in the eye....etc.

[Dilliw]

The XR sounds like a complete turd to me but beauty is in the eye....etc.

Head to head with what looks like the pre-068 map.  The XR's torque makes it a hoot at legal speeds on the roads around here.  With Mark's map in my SE you get that plus the top end, however.

[Dave Swanson]

Great dyno comparison!  The XR's torque band is a fun place to be.

[ohiorider]

Niece Valerie had an ST3 and I loved that bike.
But.
It had serious vibration related issues. The header pipe breaking off at the head?? Seriously?? That was the worst of it, but there were more. Oh, "Not covered under warranty, you've been riding it too hard." Valerie? Give me a break. It soured me on HD and Buell.

Back when I was frequently attending a local BMW breakfast, I began taking notice of an especially nice looking Buell tube frame with factory bags, which I believe was an ST3.  Like your niece's experience, this owner had the exhaust headers replaced at least 2 times under warranty, due to cracking near the cylinders.  Also informed me that HD was not going to make additional repairs under warranty.  That ended any thoughts I had about buying one.  Bike was lovely, in a British Racing (or near) color.

Bob

[Rough Edge racing]

 How does the newest version of the rubber mounted Sportster engine feel to the rider.. My 97 Buell blurred my vision below about 2500 rpm, over that is was very smooth,..But it had a hard to describe isolated feel to the bike..Not that it din't handle great..When I bought the 96 Ducati Monster, I immediately noticed it had a whole different feel, more unified machine type of vibration, but never intrusive..

[Kev m]

How does the newest version of the rubber mounted Sportster engine feel to the rider.. My 97 Buell blurred my vision below about 2500 rpm, over that is was very smooth,..But it had a hard to describe isolated feel to the bike..Not that it din't handle great..When I bought the 96 Ducati Monster, I immediately noticed it had a whole different feel, more unified machine type of vibration, but never intrusive..

If I might...

That question is going to vary with the year/model, though maybe not as much with some. Though all of the rubbermount XLs got some new tuning (along with new suspensions and brakes) in 2014 so even the same model might feel a little different 2013 vs 2014.

That said, generally speaking the XR is a little unique to the rubbermount XLs as the motor is tuned for more hp (even though it's torquey) and is geared the same as an 883 (which is geared lower in the US, again for grunt).

So models like the XL1200R or CX are going to have even more torque and a little less hp. For instance the current CX Roadster dynos at ~69 hp @ 5900 rpm and 74 torques @ 3600 rpm.

And here's the kicker, the gearing on the US XL1200s is going to be higher. Though the rubbermount 883 and the XR handle the vibration well and isolate it nicely from the rider, they're still turning 300-400 more rpm for the same road speed. The XL1200 variants are nicely humming along at highway speed with very little intrusion from the motor. Maybe a very mild, low-speed feel at the bars. Certainly less than anything I've felt on any of my Guzzis (that's not a criticism, just a comparison).

[Dave Swanson]

Dave:

The XR appeals to me in a strange way, and I am by no means a �Harley guy.��  Quite the opposite.  There is one for sale locally.  So tell me.  What sort of gas mileage do you get?  Range on a tank?   Does it really lean over pretty good?

Other than the heat from the pipes, what do you not like? 

What do you like the most?

The XR can lean farther than I can.  Gas mileage is decent although I have never calculated it.  Tank range is farther than I want to ride without getting off.  Again I've never calculated the range.   

The heat from the header is not much of a negative.  If I rode it mostly in the city it would be more of an issue but not horrible.  There is nothing I dislike.  It wouldn't be my choice for a slab tourer.  But guys do tour on them. 

To me it is close to the perfect curvy backroad bike.  As much power as I ever really need with some to spare.  And I think they look great too.

[bigbikerrick]

Rough edge racing, I am not sure what the rev limit is set at, or if its adjustable, since it has a power commander, and  currently running a custom map the previous owner had loaded in it. I have tried the vance and hines map made for their black widow pipes, which the bike has, but it runs better with the custom map. According to the tach on the bike, when it hits the rev limiter is at around 7000 rpms.
Rick.

[SmithSwede]

Thanks for the detailed replies.   

[Fredrik]

I bought a Harley XR1200 -2008 used only 5.000km a few weeks ago. Looking forward to ride it as soon as it get hotter outside, i hope it will have better quality than my former Buell. 

[tazio]

 

[dave1068]

Thats the only Harley I ever really liked and of course, not well received here in the US. I see them pop up from time to time. They made it in silver but hard to find.

Any riders here in the 6'2 range and if so, do your knees/legs gert cramped and any mods to the seat or foot pegs?

Thanks-

[Kev m]

I bought a Harley XR1200 -2008 used only 5.000km a few weeks ago. Looking forward to ride it as soon as it get hotter outside, i hope it will have better quality than my former Buell. 

Nice! Enjoy... 

[lucky phil]

The XR sounds like a complete turd to me but beauty is in the eye....etc.

It could be bike of the century in every way but with aesthetics like that well, no. Looks like the way Harley designers would style a sporting motorcycle. Or the way a sporting motorcycle would look if you gave the job to the work experience kid
Styled to look like the offspring of a flat tracker that had intercourse with a Road Glide.

Ciao
 

[kingoffleece]

Say what you will, but if Dave is selling I'm looking HARD at buying.

[Bulldog9]

Tough call....... Similar yet different bikes.  It has been a while since I rode an XR and mere hours since riding a Griso 

Back in 2015 when shopping for a simpler naked sport standard, the XR was on the top of my list. I had a buddy who had one along with a couple Buell's. Buell was kind of 'out there' styling wise (though I would have loved a Ulysses), but the XR was right in the ballpark looks wise. There was a used XR at a BMW/Ducati dealer, and I rode it back to back with the R9T, a R1200R, Duc Scrambler (new) and an older Monster. The XR was a total hoot, but a bit to raw and unrefined for what I wanted as an al day or multi day bike. I rode several other bikes at different dealers to include the Griso, and the Griso was love at first ride, still is, and I am glad as it introduced me to Guzzi, but I still would love to have an XR in the stable.

Lot's of good feedback on the Griso and XR so far, and all I can add is that while they are similar in their 'slot' the Griso is a better all day and potentially multi day bike, where the XR is not (for me). It is a hoot, and fun to thug around, but I'd never consider throwing bags over it for multi day trips. The Griso gives you all the character and thuggishness and presence of the XR, but with much higher refinement and IMO better rounded performance. With C Bow racks and bags, the Griso keeps its looks, but has the ability to take multi day trips if packing super light.

I have a 1200 Sport, and a Griso for the same (though inverted) reasons. The 1200 Sport is basically a naked sport standard, but better and preferred for all day or multiday touring capability. Just as the Griso is better at all day/multi day rides compared to the XR, the 1200 Sport is better than the Griso at that. I don't think I'd be as satisfied in an either/or proposition, and think it would be the same for you with the XR and Griso.

The XR is a rare beast, and a hoot, I wouldn't be looking to sell it, almost impossible to replace, and find.