G'day from Northern New South Wales

This is my first post, so g'day All!

Looking to get back into motorcycling after a 5 year break, I bought a 2008,8v GRiSO 1200 in August 2015,  and put another 5000km on it, then  set about fixing the sagging suspension and fitting new tires. After the suspension was done and fine tuned to suit me  (new seals etc and  Honda spring for the rear) I had a issue with the bike refusing to start after a excellent ride, so I decided it was a good time to get new tires.

Then this 62 year old body broke down with some health issues and the GRiSO sat on my hydraulic bike work platform for ages, but I just finished putting it all back together tonight and after hitting the starter ... the GRiSO LIVES ... YAHOOO!
It took  about five tries with the starter ( all fuel had been drained, the injector pipes were empty), a 'SERVICE' warning flashed then vanished and it burst into life and sat idling at ~1200 rpm like it had only been running yesterday.

So how is the GRiSO ?
Well it's awesome, it sounds like a Ford Mustang V8 that's missing 6 cylinders, but the visibility is better ;-)

The bike ?
No, it doesn't have the roller cam followers, but after removing the rocker covers and sump I found the engine is clean as a whistle inside, so that's one less worry. I'll log the valve clearance adjustments and keep a *close* eye on the wear but at 35000km, there is plenty of follower visible still.
It had the  'Agostini' slip on muffler (with dbkiller) and a 'oxygen sensor modifier' unit when I bought it, but I took that off (kept the muffler) asap after reading Beetles comments/warnings/prophecies of doom and the bike seems the same.

Even with the stuffed suspension and tires I found myself gaining quickly on friends during  steep curvy uphills so I'm *really* looking forward to doing more of that now everything is fixed (famous last words I know).

That's all for now, first ride tomorrow after new tires and 'oxygen sensor modifier'  removal,  and I'll post  a update then.

Cheers
Terry

Welcome Terry! I'm glad you're enjoying your GRiSO - again!

How about a photo or two?

Terry, pull a cambox and check the tappets. There will be wear.

Pete

Welcome Terry. Sorry mate, but there's no such thing as a good flattie. Do as Pete says and check the tappets. More doom and gloom I'm afraid.

Welcome Terry, have fun on your GRiSO ....... Pics ? 
Unfortunately being clean inside isn't an indication all things are good. Mine was  Shiney clean inside but the tappets still showed signs of letting go of the coating. How did that add go, "It won't happen overnight, but it will happen"  

G'day Terry
Welcome from us all down in Tas.
Hope your body holds up for many years to come, take it steady, I just turned 64 so I know where your coming from, all's good out on the black but doing the 'slow' is challenging.
Take care and stay safe.

Welcome Terry!

Pete Roper wrote:

Terry, pull a cambox and check the tappets. There will be wear.

Pete

Hi Pete,
Thanks for the feedback, you've convinced me.

Would you have a kit for sale, are they still available ?
Any chance you could let me know the cost of all the parts if you have them ?

The bike has had a couple of previous owners, it's service history is unknown, although it's in good nick.

Cheers
Terry

Here she is in all her splendiferous sultry darkness

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For those with too much time on their hands, I started my GRiSO blog (with pics) when I bought it, but its a bit behind atm (up to the time it was waiting for the suspension to be rebuilt.)
The GRiSO history so far

And for those with no job, no life, and a broken Guzzi, my bike history so far.
Terrys Bikes

Many thanks for the kind welcome fellow GRiSO owners

I've wanted a Guzzi since I talked a ex girlfriend into buying a brand new Guzzi NTX 650 for herself back around 1994 so she could ride it with my Honda XLV750. The test ride was awesome, and the only time I rode it as within a week, she had sold it because she felt it was too tall and heavy for her .

Wimmin, were they a mistake or did God do it to us on purpose ?

beetle wrote:

Welcome Terry. Sorry mate, but there's no such thing as a good flattie. Do as Pete says and check the tappets. More doom and gloom I'm afraid.

Hi Beetle,
It's cool, forewarned is my preference, and hey, I'll have a new set of cams, followers etc when it's done

waterbottle wrote:

Welcome Terry, have fun on your GRiSO ....... Pics ? 
Unfortunately being clean inside isn't an indication all things are good. Mine was  Shiney clean inside but the tappets still showed signs of letting go of the coating. How did that add go, "It won't happen overnight, but it will happen"  

Hi Waterbottle,

I used to ride with a couple of Suzuki 750 'waterbottles' once, they were smooth and grunty, a bit porky but unforgettable really.

Thanks for the tip, I'm going to remove the cam boxes and get a roller conversion kit as I now realize that death, taxes and flattie cam follower wear is inevitable.

wardentm wrote:

G'day Terry
Welcome from us all down in Tas.
Hope your body holds up for many years to come, take it steady, I just turned 64 so I know where your coming from, all's good out on the black but doing the 'slow' is challenging.
Take care and stay safe.

Thanks wardentm,
I'm not complaining, I've ridden around Australia on a ST1100 and had a pretty full motorbiking life, and I'm at peace with the concept that "nothing lasts forever except 8v flattie cam/follower wear and herpes";-)

Before you lash out on a kit get it inspected and get a claim put in. You may still be able to get a freebie.

Look, I'm on a ferry about to leave Anglesea for Dublin. I'll PM you later.

Pete

Welcome Terry. Once you get the cams done, there is no better bike. It's worth the hassle.

Welcome Terry, Definitely check for cam wear but you may be lucky.  There are 2 bikes here in the West with 100,000 on flat followers. One had them changed very early (less than 2000k's IIRC) the other is original.

I just had mine rollerised after warranty replacement of the followers a few years ago.  The replacement cam and followers had no appreciable wear after nearly 20,000.

I got it done for peace of mind rather than noise or otherwise coming from the motor.

Welcome Terry from the Sunshine Coast. I've had my 850 for 4 years and love it. Once I got the leaking tappet covers solved :-( Gasket in a tube did the trick after 4 attempts with the stock gaskets.

Try the new gaskets from Valpolinni. End of problem.

Pete

Pete Roper wrote:

Before you lash out on a kit get it inspected and get a claim put in. You may still be able to get a freebie.

Look, I'm on a ferry about to leave Anglesea for Dublin. I'll PM you later.

Pete

Thanks Pete,
No rush, have a good holiday, get that CV system of yours all relaxed and let me know when you're back in au and I'll talk to you then.
In the meantime I'll have the cam boxes off and take some pics.

Cheers
Terry

LBC Tenni wrote:

Welcome Terry. Once you get the cams done, there is no better bike. It's worth the hassle.

Oh I love the bike already as it's *my* perfect bike

Cheers
Terry

techman-001 wrote:

Pete Roper wrote:

Before you lash out on a kit get it inspected and get a claim put in. You may still be able to get a freebie.

Look, I'm on a ferry about to leave Anglesea for Dublin. I'll PM you later.

Pete

Thanks Pete,
No rush, have a good holiday, get that CV system of yours all relaxed and let me know when you're back in au and I'll talk to you then.
In the meantime I'll have the cam boxes off and take some pics.

Cheers
Terry

Larry, the only *Urgency* per-se is that the importer is changing. There is a very good chance that my service agency will be shit-canned as the new mob decide, (Again, for the thousandth time... ) that small specialist shops aren't the way forward and that they'll get a big, flashy shopfront/box shop to sell the bikes and make them rich. This approach hasn't worked on any previous occasion but I don't expect it to be any different this time. If that occurs I won't be able to do claims on flat tappet bikes and you'll be at the mercy of the novice dealerships who will know squat!

I suggest you ring Michael, tell him I've been chatting to you, and send both him and me some pics of the damage. If I can I'll try and get the ball rolling before I'm drop kicked out of the system.

Pete