further info on new member

Hi people.my name is Patrick Mulvany and I am from England.  i am 58 (feel 68) and have ridden bikes all my life.
My current bikes are: black 1200 8v GRiSO, LeMans mIII, 1979 laverda jarama (jota spec), Honda cb175k6 and a 1968 Suzuki k11 which is in bits.  

i bought the GRiSO new in 09 and has been serviced by the shop I bought it from (forza italia).  It has done nearly 27k miles and is running great.  It has however not always been the case suffering three breakdowns, first dead starter (loose connection). Second.a tappet broke up bounced round the head and pushed a core plug out (didn't know it had one but that's what the mechanic said) this was apparently part of the cam probs which was at 6k miles and was all replaced.  Third at 24k noisy camshaft which sounded like the old ford Cortina camshaft rattle and would last 30 sec to a couple of mins then disappear for a couple hundred miles or so, again all the parts were replaced free even though it was out of warranty,this included rockerbox, cams, cam carrier etc. it was the right hand cylinder as you sit on the bike both times although I don't know if that means anything.it seems the first time they were replaced,it was  with old stock i.e. faulty.this I find to be completely believable as i"ve experienced Italian bikes before.  i suppose i'll just have to wait and see if it re-occurs but with the gap between mileages it could be a while.  Still I still love the GRiSO and I don't think i'll ever get rid of it. It"s one of the best looking bikes out there (subjective I know), handles great although I am a slow to moderately fast rider,fairly comfortable (sore arse after 150 miles), lovely throbbing engine (oweer), great sound from the Termignoni.  i could never make my mind up about the original silencer, one minute I liked it the next it looked to odd.just a note to pete regarding cold weather maybe causing the cam probs,ive only ridden mine short distances a few times and hardly ever less than 80miles when I go for a ride,i don't ride in the winter much(wimp)so I don't know if its that or not.anyway safe riding and talk again soon,regards pat

Welcome.

Been through Slough last year when you had the snow, on my way to Albermarston.

hi,had non stop rain this winter,floods everywhere.pat

You have a Jarama too???
I want to be as cool as you when I grow up.

DM

yes bought it in 1980 and its a great bike but after a 100mile ride I am knackered(its an age thing(mine).

Hi Pat,

I too have a GRiSO bought from Forza Italia. Sorry to hear about your problems, mine is 2011 and low mileage to date so fingers crossed. Agree with all you said though, fantastic bikes.

I work at Heathrow, so not a stranger to Slough. Took mine down the Ace Café last Sunday.

hi tony,hopefully your GRiSO being a 2011model will have the modified cams ect.i go to the H café in Dorchester on thames quite a lot as its a nicer ride and on a nice weekend the (large)car park will be full of bikes.safe riding, pat

Hi Pat
Nice range of bikes.
GRiSO's are a one of a kind bike, for a one of a kind of rider.

Enjoy and welcome aboard.

Harry

Thanks harry,and thanks to everyone for the warm welcome.i don't tend to ride the old bikes so much nowadays as their bloody hard work(get stuck in slow moving traffic on the laverda and you will need an osteopath).Also I cant resist picking up the keys to the GRiSO rather than the other bikes but I should make the effort to get out on them more.I do agree the GRiSO does seem to be attract riders with certain tastes in style but I think that goes for guzzies in general,people seem to love them or hate them and although I would love to see moto guzzi prosper I like the idea of being in a minority.it certainly gets attention one way or another.saw the photo of the GRiSO with the bellypan and I thought it looked really good but not £400 quid good.well the weather this weekend is supposed to be good so I am off for a ride to a classic bike show in ardingly on sunday.Roll on the summer,cheers everyone.pat