Are You Serious? Griso vs V11s

[pShenk]

What? the poor man's R1? With one cylinder missing?

 

Go for a real thing and you'll have it made, it is not much more and easier accessible. Surely the most beautiful sportsbike in the world made outside of Apennine Peninsula.

Comparing the 675 to an R1? Bullocks! They have very little to do with each other IMHO, other than they are racing geometry. The 675 is a beautiful bike in it's own genre-bending right. If anything, I'd compare it more to the 748/749. Or at the VERY least a 600cc 4... BUT, it totally has more quirk, chutzpah and iconoclastic roots than anything in that camp. Triumph is up to good things, and MG would be well to follow their example.

 

I'd say it has a good chance of joining my Guzzi in the garage... that or a Sprint ST.

[ow595]

I have been admiring the Griso from a far for some time now. I'm a huge Guzzi fan from way back but as much as I liked my last 2000 V11 Sport (99 Jackal all apart for Cafe racer treatment) it stii left me a bit underwhelmed with it vibration, OK but not great handling, lacking egronomics and too much weight.

The Griso as it was being unvailed looked promising and I complement Guzzi for having the guts to build this bike. The looks are what the Centauro should have been (great motor but pretty ugly). Alos knowing how good a two valved Guzzi motor can be, the last renditions were again disapointing. So I have been mostly riding and owning Aprilia RSVR's, Triumph's and some Ducati's over the last decade. The V11 was even scarry on the track, which I have been doing much more of.

As my current naked I bought a 06 S2R1000 great bike and best Monster I have riden, but not exciting visually as it looks like most monster as from 1993.

BUt I had a chance to borrow a new Griso demo fro a few rides.

On my certified scales 524lbs with a full tank but with a lighter aftermarket silencer (so minus 15-20 real lbs., the stocker is HUGE). That's lighter then my 99 Jackal or my 2000 V11 Sport.

The Griso hides its weight very well, it feels like it a good 50lbs lighter just pushing the bike and sitting on it. Starts up nice and clean and is smoother then the past Guzzi I have owned or ridden that were over 850cc. My lightened and balanced 992cc Lemans/V7S was about the smoothest and this is pretty close.

Goes into gear pretty smoothly, nothing like the D675 but this is a different playing field.

Clutch pull is very light but take up in at the last 99.5% of full out and almost caught me off guard, thinking that it was still in neutral. Luckily riding at 2 stroke as of late has kept me on my toes.

The motor revs up very nice and the FI is very clean and glitch free. In fact the Griso motor tolerates lugging and handles very low RPM's much better then my 06 S2R1000 Ducati. The Ducati is probably still the better in town machine as it's smaller and lighter, hence the power is a bit livelier.

But motoring up Hwy 1 then over to Boone Doon Road, there is nothing like the sound of a well running Guzzi. Guzzi really did there homeowork on this frame and chasis. The bike looks like a V-Rod or V-Max and has a long wheelbase, so should handle like a train but the bike feels smaller and lighter then my 420lbs wet Monster. Its amazing how the Griso feels like its a bike half its size but still is stable on the freeway and very planted in corners but can change lines any time and is very nimble.

Up banked Boone Doon Road to tight and bumpy Martin Road then down tight, smooth and flowing Empire Felton. The Griso felt great. A quick gas stop, reverse and repeat. Empire Felton is the best up hill and on the throttle. then a left onto more open, faster Empire Grade then back to the Wrigley Building (the old gum factory). I was able to open the motor up more on the last leg and its again amazing that the forty year old aircooled two valved Guzzi motor can feel so refined and make pretty good power. This Guzzi is miles better then anything that has come before it!

Having a huge soft spot for Guzzis, I'm really thinking of selling the S2R1000 and picking up a Griso. With a bunch of weight trimming a bit of fine tuning and an under gearbox exhaust, Quat-D style, this bike would be pure raw motorcycle fun. I would even bring it to a trackday or two.

 

I bet the new 1200S will be a fun ride. Or a Griso with a 1200 motor!

 

Cheers,

 

William

Santa Cruz, Ca

06 Daytona 675

06 S2R1000

99 MG Jackal

78 Lemans I

06 Husky WR250

Others....

[Greg Field]

William captures the flavor of the Griso well, here. If you haven't tried it, you should. It is a better Guzzi. Almost as good as an Eldo, in fact.

[Alex-Corsa]

Having a huge soft spot for Guzzis, I'm really thinking of selling the S2R1000 and picking up a Griso. With a bunch of weight trimming a bit of fine tuning and an under gearbox exhaust, Quat-D style, this bike would be pure raw motorcycle fun. I would even bring it to a trackday or two.

 

I bet the new 1200S will be a fun ride. Or a Griso with a 1200 motor!

 

Cheers,

 

William

Perhaps you should consider this type of QuatD for a Griso.

 

(The description says that was an used in new condition pipe titanium....new price was 499..ect.ect.)

[ow595]

While that looks very nice, I like the look better with the silencer under the gearbox and and outlet or teo exiting just to the side of the rear wheel. I like the look on how it cleans up the rear and shows off the singlesided swing arm better.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

William

Santa Cruz, Ca

 

 

 

 

Perhaps you should consider this type of QuatD for a Griso.

 

(The description says that was an used in new condition pipe titanium....new price was 499..ect.ect.)

[ow595]

July 19th 2007, Just sold my S2R1000 with Quat-D Ex-box. Great bike and will miss but its allowed me to get some time back on my local shop's (Moto Italiano Santa Cruz) Griso.

Again what a great bike and I'm really getting the Guzzi bug again.

More to come!

 

Cheers,

 

William Ow

Santa Cruz, Ca

ow595@aol.com

[guzzi jon]

Well, I guess I can comment, owning a recently crashed, but previously fully sorted Lemans as well as a Griso. The Griso with a carbon Mistral pipe looks the business, and is more comfortable, and frankly, more fun to ride. The Lemans is faster, wheelies better (got a roper sloppage plate) but is less comfortable for the long hauls. I was riding my Griso more than my lemans or Cal SS combined, its just a fun bike to ride. Down a twisty road, I could probably go faster on my Lemans, but I felt faster and had more fun going fast in the twisties on the Griso...

Cheers,

[pete roper]

Well, I guess I can comment, owning a recently crashed, but previously fully sorted Lemans as well as a Griso. The Griso with a carbon Mistral pipe looks the business, and is more comfortable, and frankly, more fun to ride. The Lemans is faster, wheelies better (got a roper sloppage plate) but is less comfortable for the long hauls. I was riding my Griso more than my lemans or Cal SS combined, its just a fun bike to ride. Down a twisty road, I could probably go faster on my Lemans, but I felt faster and had more fun going fast in the twisties on the Griso...

Cheers,

 

Interesting you should make this comparison Jon. I've got a champagne LeMans in for some work at the moment and rode it and my 'G' back to back yesterday afternoon and I'd have to say I agree with you on all counts. Given the fact that the motors are to all intents and purposes pretty similar it's very interesting to see how different they feel. The change in the rod/stroke ratio is the thing that I think is most apparent but whether this is responsible for the lack of 'kick' at about 5,750 that the Griso has or whether this is simply the result of different and probably better, mapping I don't know. It would be interesting to Dyno the two machines back to back and see what happens where! Gearing in the two boxes is also a contributory factor too I'm sure.

 

While the V11 is probably quicker in absolute top speed I think that the 'G' is deceptive mainly because it doesn't have that 'kick in the pants' step at 5,750 but taking both of them out along the same road and doing full throttle roll-ons they both pull in the horizon at a perfectly acceptable rate especially in 3rd, 4th and 5th!

 

I'm really looking forward to getting the Scura back here next year. Then I'll be able to do some real comparisons to try and see what's what.

 

Pete

[callison]

You all might as well confess that the most esthetically pleasing Guzzis ever built were the Daytonas and the carb/FI sports. After that, I would consider it the MGS01. MHO. YMMV

[Pierre]

You all might as well confess that the most esthetically pleasing Guzzis ever built were the Daytonas and the carb/FI sports. ...

Yup. What he said.

[Skeeve]

You all might as well confess that the most esthetically pleasing Guzzis ever built were the Daytonas and the carb/FI sports. After that, I would consider it the MGS01. MHO. YMMV

 

[Guzzirider]

I'm looking around for a new touring bike (sold the Jackal, and am selling the R6) and decided to take a Griso out the other day at my local dealers to see what it was like. The bike was brand spanking new with only 1 mile on the clock- my dealer would not normally let anyone out on such a new bike, but he knew me so said it was ok. I can't really comment on the motor as I obviously respected its age and was running it in, but found the riding position and ergonomics great for city riding (I was dicing with all the uninsured and unlicensed Bradford drivers!).

 

As soon as I got to a main road, I found my body was very exposed because the seat is pretty much in line with the tank (in comparison with the V11 where you are sitting more in the bike) so decided it was not for me- I found the Breva 1100 much more comfy at cruising speeds, although its not as chunky and sexy looking as the Griso. The riding position on the 1200 Sport was horrible for me and it seems poor value compared the the Breva.

 

The Griso is for sure much better built than the V11 and has an air of quality about it that the V11 can only dream of.

 

But as I'm in no rush I'll probably wait and see if the Stelvio is launched at Milan, and may go for that depending upon price and spec.

 

Guy

[WitchCityBallabio]

I think the Griso is an interesting looking machine. I've seen them a couple of times at the dealership. The single gigantic pipe on the left side IMHO is an abomination however. The Griso looks like it would be a really fun bike to thrash for an afternoon, but I like the styling of the V11 sport more.

 

The only Guzzi I would consider trading or getting rid of mine for would be possibly the new 1200 Sport, or most definitely the MGS-01 Serie.

 

Speaking of the MGS-01 Serie...has MG decided to make a real production run of that bike yet? I'm thinking I might need to look for one in the Spring.

[slowkitty]

One of the things I love about all Guzzis is that they are hopelessly asymetric as one cylinder is further forward than the other and I personally find symetry boring but that's just me, it doesn't mean I'm *right* just different.

Pete

 

The Beemer's cylinders are also not perfectly opposite each other, plan view.

 

Cheers

 

Cat

[Steve G.]

I think the Griso is an interesting looking machine. I've seen them a couple of times at the dealership. The single gigantic pipe on the left side IMHO is an abomination however. The Griso looks like it would be a really fun bike to thrash for an afternoon, but I like the styling of the V11 sport more.

 

The only Guzzi I would consider trading or getting rid of mine for would be possibly the new 1200 Sport, or most definitely the MGS-01 Serie.

 

Speaking of the MGS-01 Serie...has MG decided to make a real production run of that bike yet? I'm thinking I might need to look for one in the Spring.

 

 

Totally absolutely agree. I'll stick with the V11, until the 1200 Sport is allowed into North America. This is the true replacement of the V11 in their lineup. The MGS-01 is way cool, but I own a bike somewhat like this, and they are somewhat limited in usage time because of their single use thought design. The Griso, while unique in design, is not a cafe racer like the V11's first mold, but enters the classification of 'power cruiser', one that can go around corners without leaving chunks of metal.

Ciao, Steve