GRiSO Cafe Racer

I was just wondering, has anyone ever thought of going for the Café Racer look with a GRiSO.
I mean the full works.
Clip on's, rear sets, nose fairing, etc.
What got me thinking was the BMW R Nine T Rizoma conversion,
I think similar results could be achieved with the GRiSO.
It's a bike very similar in concept to the GRiSO, (I think).

Standard R NINE T

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Spendy Rizoma conversion,

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Oh God save us!

Pete Roper wrote:

Oh God save us!

No problem,
If I do it, I shall of course omit that hideous looking right hand monstrosity of a silencer I saw fitted to your bike
WTF were you thinking

I actually liked the look of the RH exhaust, it was really 'Organic'. Sad thing was it was like everything else I ever bought from that supplier in that it didn't fit and didn't work. It was also ear-bleedingly loud and put a bomb-crater sized hole in the midrange. Awful!

Look, anyone can do anything they like to their bikes but the whole 'Cafe' thing has become the second decade of the twenty first century's 'West Coast Choppers' only rather than fat, thick, talentless Californians with a steroid problem the bikes are being built by skinny beardies with bad tatts and a hugely elevated idea of their own 'Creativity'. I used to love what have now become 'Cafe' bikes. Nowadays every time I see one I want to run it over with a monster truck! I hate that because there are still some fantastic, creative, well engineered, 'Builds' out there it's just they are all buried in a swamp of tawdry, uninspiring, poorly modified shit built by talentless children who think they're 'Special'.

The GRiSO also doesn't lend itself to clip-ons or rear sets. The 'Wings' get in the way. Remove the 'Wings' and you remove one of the major styling cues that makes GRiSO 'GRiSO'! It's one of the reasons that the Millepercento bikes look like shit in my book.

Look, if you want to 'Cafe' a GRiSO? Be my guest! Just don't be surprised if I am critical of the results. I can dig out some pics of the clip-ons and rear sets my mate John made for his GRiSO if you like. They were nicely engineered. I think it's telling though that he no longer owns the bike. GRiSO didn't speak to him. Even with clip-ons and rear sets.

Pete

PS. Just wondering? Is there any reason you have the Norwegian flag in your avatar?

Shit I find myself agreeing with Roper. A GRiSO in it's natural state is a pure expression of menace. Café Racers are trendy, hipster friendly bikes that look well with skinny jeans and open face helmets.  That ship has sailed bub.

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It never worked for me but it might be helpful in your quest.

Pete

Well it's like everything else...
You run out of creativity and you'll bring back stuff that was done before...
Enter: the new Cafe Racer trend. LOL
Problem in that sentence is "New" cause well, there's nothing new about it.
Can't re-invent the wheel...

The GRiSO doesn't fit in any category (Except the generalization of "Naked" bike but that's it) and that's why the bike looks is brilliant IMO.
Sure, you can dress things around a bit and make it your own but if you erase the asymmetric exhaust look as well as the right side oil cooler and the gas tank area treatment, you just lost the GRiSO thing.
That R nine T is a good try from BMW to duplicate but no cigar. The boxer mill is plain ugly in any configuration I've seen it (past and present), so no mater how good the rest of the bike might look, that engine alone fucks up a wet dream aesthetically wise.
I wanted to do dual exhaust on my GRiSO and have a double exit under the seat like the 1198 Duc but it would require extensive modding of the tail section which I'm fine with but I'd loose the GRiSO thing that I mentioned earlier.
The BOS system is my favorite but it cancels side bags option and it's too pricey IMO.

What price satisfaction?

This piece of engineering cost me close to $5k (lots of design and development time) but I achieved my desired goal.

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So cut up your GRiSO and go for it, it's your bike. You can't force a women to lose weight and grow bigger tits without jeopardizing your real estate ownership. But there are no legality issues with the two wheeled mistress.

Pete Roper wrote:

Look, if you want to 'Cafe' a GRiSO? Be my guest! Just don't be surprised if I am critical of the results.

Actually, I don't intend too.
I was just curious to know if anyone had actually done it.
I wasn't expecting to be shot down in flames for asking

Personally, I am very much into people customizing their bikes, and doing something different.
I think most of us want something stylish that stands out in a crowd.
If we didn't, we'd all be riding around on Honda Deauvilles, and / or other such practical little motorbicycles.
Mr. Roper, I can see you are one of the experts on the forum, and I have read a lot of your enlightening posts with a great deal of interest.
You have my respect sir, however I do not seek approval from you or anyone else when it comes to my biking decisions.
Look at it this way.
I am a reasonably successful professional musician.
I'm mainly an instrumentalist, and play most of the brass family, as well as arranging and even a little composing.
In other words, I have an expert knowledge of the "mechanics" of music, so to speak, but would that give me the right to slam yours or anyone elses taste in music, if it did not meet with my approval.
I think if I did, you'd quite rightly tell me where to shove it.

Where the hell did I try to 'Shoot you down in flames'? Good greif! I even tried to assist with pictures of rather well executed clip on and rear-set applications! All I did was state that I think that the idea of 'Cafe-ing' a GRiSO' won't work aesthetically and that I think the whole 'Cafe' thing sucks balls!

I also stated quite clearly that you should do whatever you want with your bike. I'll also assist in any way I can with the rude mechanicals. I just happen to have had more than a few run-ins with fuckwits who think they are geniuses and whose mechanical and engineering skills are, *Lacking* but who still won't listen to forty years of experience because mechanics must be simple because it's traditionally a working class trade.

I will call a spade a spade rather than a 'Manually operated earth moving implement' and won't mince my words when offering opinions. Those opinions are worth exactly what you pay for them but they are mine and I won't be swayed from them. There is no animosity being expressed here. Simply my views.

Pete

Pete Roper wrote:

I will call a spade a spade rather than a 'Manually operated earth moving implement' and won't mince my words when offering opinions. Those opinions are worth exactly what you pay for them but they are mine and I won't be swayed from them. There is no animosity being expressed here. Simply my views.

Pete

Quite agree.
We all have our opinions, and none are more valid than others.
I have a friend who say's the GRiSO I'm buying looks like an anchor for someone's boat.
It's a very subjective thing,
What's interesting though, is that you have slammed the whole notion, then post up a photo of your bike with exactly the mods I was describing.

Go figure

Pete Roper: "PS. Just wondering? Is there any reason you have the Norwegian flag in your avatar?"

Maybe he's Norwegian, or maybe he's Icelandic...They're the same, only different...

Norway:
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Iceland:
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Sorry.
I never even noticed.
Now ammended.

The reason I asked was that the Scandinavian Guzzi community is relatively small and I know a few of them. I was wondering if you were an expat and we might have acquaintances in common.

Pete

I don't think anyone should be afraid to try something different, and add their "mark" to a bike.
Now if I'd suggested fitting a barn door fairing, high rise bars, a radio CD and forward controls, I might have deserved the descent..

although

Just as a frame of reference.  Maybe a year or two ago, some guy was showing up to the monthly Backfire Moto gathering on a cafe'd Centauro.  I'm not sure I would do that to a Centauro, but the thing was very well done and it ended up with a unique look, and not just a little bad-ass.  Those Centauro/Daytona cylinder heads look like big sledge hammers when left alone out there in the breeze.

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Like anything, it can be done well.  There are people who copy movements without talent, and there are creative geniuses who are very clever.  You can like some of it, all of it, or none of it...

That's actually pretty cool. However the Centauro would probably benefit from any styling modification IMHO. I just never "got it."

I know I am the OP of this thread, but the more I look into this and search for pictures, the more I go off the idea.
The GRiSO in standard trim is an awesome looking bike.
I've got some panniers for it now, and just need to source a Termig, and that'll be it I think.
Sorry for suggesting this, but please carry on with the Café Racer theme.
Just maybe not related to GRiSO.
I'm quite taken with the Guzzi V7 Racer.
Pretty little thing.

(gurgle!) Don't get me started on that horrid little whore's purse!

Pete Roper wrote:

(gurgle!) Don't get me started on that horrid little whore's purse!

Well I suppose I should have seen that coming.

I suppose you should have mate, you're learning.  But as a household that is on its second period of V7 ownership (currently a 2012 matt black Stone), I couldn't agree more strongly with Pete's assessment of the gaudy, over-priced styling exercise being marketed as the 'Racer'.   I don't mind the upgraded rear suspension, but that chromed tank with leather strap (what were they thinking?) and number plates are just plain hideous, and detract from what is a really sound and honest, if modestly powered, fun bike.  But I guess as long as there are buyers happy to be gouged for the 'whore's purse', Guzzi will keep churning them out - god knows they need the money to keep building GRiSOs for as long as possible.

Or perhaps you were just being deliberately provocative in the first place......?

The 'Racers' are surprisingly popular, I really can't understand why?

While the Smallblocks aren't my 'Thing', at least not in their current format, they are very popular and bring me in a lot of custom. Certainly the single TB engine is a joy as by adopting the MUI3G (or whatever it's called?) controller they have made it almost impossible for 'Harry Hometune' to fuck up!

One of the biggest banes in my life is people who don't have a clue deciding that they are going to 'Tune and improve' their bikes and while the earlier twin TB versions of the Smallblock V7 were like honeypots for fiddlers and fuck-up merchants I have yet to have had a single TB model come in that has been arsed about with. I'm sure that this is simply down to the inaccessibility of the MUI3G unit and the fact that even if Harry does excavate down to it it doesn't ave anything hanging off it that screams 'Please! Mess about with me! You know you want to! It'll be fun!'.

Accessibility is the curse! Look at Mike', (Madara's) 1200 Sport! It took me literally months to actually get to the root cause of his bike running like a bag of shit and it had been ruined by a dealer!

The Stone's are actually quite a nice little jigger. I don't want one myself as I prefer my Mana which combines fantastic city manners with a magnificent touring motor and mine has top notch suspension, something that lets the Smallblocks down severely. Mind you if they put the V7-II powerplant in a modern, well suspended 'Mini Stelvio' chassis with good 'Soft Road' ability all bets will be off!

Pete

Enzo the baker wrote:

That's actually pretty cool. However the Centauro would probably benefit from any styling modification IMHO. I just never "got it."

plus 1 that Centauro is actually pretty nice they IMO need alot of help , i once had a fellow tell me the GRiSO reminded him of the Centauro, i puked on his boots but then again at the time i was drinking Mexican beer ..

Cafe, bobber, chopper, what ever ....if it floats your boat go for it ,as long as we all understand that Black is the fastest color  

Centauro was stepfather of GRiSO. Fine piece of kit. I always loved them, especially in yellow and anthracite.

Pete

plantboy wrote:

Or perhaps you were just being deliberately provocative in the first place......?

WHAT !!!
How was I supposed to know the Racer was going to be treated with such derision

Actually, I love the V7 Racer.
I saw my first one, in the metal the other day, parked up in the high street, with a small crowd gathered around it, some taking pictures.
It was parked in a bike bay, and next to it were a couple of very high end new Harleys, and a very trick Aprillia Tuono, but no one was taking any notice of these.
The money needed to buy the Racer would probably just about cover the cost of the wheels on one of those Harleys.
I love that a bike costing so little (relatively), can stand completely head and shoulders above bikes costing 3,4, times as much.