thekiwiguy has a new GRiSO - Ride Report

Hey guys! Trip report  Sarah and Dave an Moto International "asked" me to scrub the tires on their shiny new demo model yesterday, and i obliged!  I woke up at 7am and took her down that wonderful piece of backroad tarmac known as BEN HOWARD road  Then i took her up thru Sultan, and into Snohomish, before dropping her back at the shop nice and hot! I love that machine! So i traded my Sprint GT in on her, on the spot! The thing i love about it is that it has the fit and finish of Piaggio, but it still managed to retain its "Guzziness" It rides very well, but not so well that one can let the bike do all the work for you. You still have to be very much engaged in the ride, listening the rev's, thinking about your gear shifts, focused on your skills. This is why i love my V11 Le Mans, and why i know i will love my new GRiSO! I always tell folks who ask me "why Guzzi?" these things. They are riders bikes, and not at all forgiving of amateurs  So next steps? Well i have ordered some shiny new C-Bow bags, and a mud hugger from Skidmarx (thanks to Steak for the suggestion!), and i pick the new bike up next Friday, or maybe Saturday. I am doing annual advanced street skills (level 4) training on the track at Olympia on the 26th, and might just take her out there too  Thanks to you all for the advice, and i hope to meet you all in person soon!

Bravo Angus!!!

You are going to love the GRiSO!  If I weren't going to be out of town on the 26th I would be strongly tempted to join you in that Advanced Street Skills course! 

When you pick the bike up next week, we should plan a ride soon after to break your new bike in.

- Steve

Hey Steve - sounds good mate! regarding courses... i am also doing the "total control" course.. in August. I try and do a course or two every other year, just to keep my skills up...

Angus, are you doing the August 24 or August 25 Total Control course? I'm still thinking about taking it with you, if I've got my track bike sorted out by then. 
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Soooo happy for you!!!

Hey Sarah - i am doing Sat 24th!  You should join! Total control course isn't really a track day per-se. Its more a mix of track and parking lot stuff. Totally focused on cornering etc... i did it years ago in NZ. The only courses i have done here are total control 1,2,3

Aha, AUGUST 24th...  I was thinking June 24th for whatever reason.

So Olympia?  Is this a parking lot thing or a track day thing?  When they say Olympia do they really mean Shelton?

yeah, they mean Shelton... i think you got confused with the street skills course i am doing on the 26th of June. Total control is a mix of track and other stuff. Might take the GRiSO down for that..... Was going to take my Thruxton now that she has new Ohlins on her, but not sure i want to ride that lil Café racer down 1-5 slab...

Hey Elk-Steak, the "Quote" tool doesn't work right for me on this computer (running Windows 7 Enterprise SP1 and Google Chrome 27.0). It won't let me type outside of the quoted text box.

Angus, I took the Total Control 1 class back in 2006, followed by a track day that year and a track day in 2007. I took the Advanced Rider Skills course in 2010. I'm ready for another round of advanced training... I had a 16-week lapse in riding in 2011 after my wreck, and have only logged about 15,000 miles on the street since then (including two ~3500 mile tours). 

I've also read Proficient Motorcycling 1 and 2, Twist Of The Wrist, Sport Riding Techniques, and watched the Ride Like A Pro videos. I try to do skills drills a few times per year too. Nevertheless I would be very nervous to push my GRiSO on the track... what if I crashed it!?  My 2003 Bandit 1200S with the salvage title is what I'd plan to bring.

fair enough! I've done advanced street skills twice myself now, and i never push it hard during the course. I just use the opty on the track to really focus without worrying about semi hitting me  If i had as many bikes as you, then i might be more selective too  Maybe i should take my Thruxton out instead...I was planning to take my Sprint, but we know what happened to her Sarah

stsarah wrote:

Hey Elk-Steak, the "Quote" tool doesn't work right for me on this computer (running Windows 7 Enterprise SP1 and Google Chrome 27.0). It won't let me type outside of the quoted text box.

Angus, I took the Total Control 1 class back in 2006, followed by a track day that year and a track day in 2007. I took the Advanced Rider Skills course in 2010. I'm ready for another round of advanced training... I had a 16-week lapse in riding in 2011 after my wreck, and have only logged about 15,000 miles on the street since then (including two ~3500 mile tours). 

I've also read Proficient Motorcycling 1 and 2, Twist Of The Wrist, Sport Riding Techniques, and watched the Ride Like A Pro videos. I try to do skills drills a few times per year too. Nevertheless I would be very nervous to push my GRiSO on the track... what if I crashed it!?  My 2003 Bandit 1200S with the salvage title is what I'd plan to bring.

Hi Sarah, yeah quoting has a glitch at the moment. The forum hosts updated the interface a few days ago and are working on the problem. You can work around it as I did here by clicking on the "Switch Editor Mode" button in the Message body window (it's the last button in the (2nd) row). Hopefully they'll have the bugs worked out of this update soon.

- SD