Hello All, new GRiSO Owner In Florida

Hello All,

I've been reading up here and at a couple of other forums as a non-member in anticipation of the new 2016 GRiSO that I purchased a couple of weeks ago. My name is Rick and I'm located in the Tampa Bay area of central Florida. Now that I've had the GRiSO for a couple of weeks, I thought it a good idea to join the forum. I gotta say thou, I'm really lovin this thing. I'm a long time rider, but a proud first time Moto Guzzi owner. My current rides are a 2013 Triumph Trophy SE, and the GRiSO SE. Don't hold it against me, but my previous five bikes were also Triumphs, with a couple of Honda's thrown in there in between. Prior to those, mostly Japanese bikes. I was able to pick up a lot of useful information here on the Moto Guzzi brand and the GRiSO prior to making my purchase. Thank you all for that information, and thanks for having me here.

So far,
I've added a couple of accessories because the first thing I needed was a little storage for basic items. Don't need a lot of storage as I got this for local around town type of riding, I have plenty of storage on my long distance bike anyway. The first cheap addition was a cargo net for the rear seat. One of the things that drew me to this bike was the unique beautiful lines that this bike exudes. I was considering adding saddle bags as I had a set left over from my Bonneville. But before making brackets, I did a quick mock up. I decided against saddle bags as it took away from the beautiful lines of the GRiSO. I looked at the C-Bow system, but I didn't really like it either, they stuck out from the bike a little too far for my taste. I couldn't find any smaller low profile bags that I had in mind so I improvised. I purchased two 12" long x 6" high x 3" deep black leather tool bags for $20.00 each. Made up some brackets to tuck the bags in close to the bike, and I had the storage I needed without interfering with the great looks of the GRiSO. I've ordered a stainless steel oil cooler cover as mine started melting the first day here in sunny hot Florida, but it still hasn't arrived yet. I've been doing a lot of reading here and looking at other members bike photos for more ideas (there's a lot of great mods here).
Here's a couple of pics of my new GRiSO.
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Hi Rick,

Welcome to the madness.

Welcome.

Clever bag mod, tho I am always a bit troubled by talent like that.  

Buon Natale e Felice Anno nuovo!

Bill

Those black and red ones are stunning, aren't they! Congrats and welcome to the Ghetto!

G'day Rick
Welcome from us all down under in Tasmania
Great looking bike you have there, enjoy and stay safe
Compliments of the season to you and yours
Regards

Cool.
Another GRiSO in Florida...
Welcome.

welcome, congrats and enjoy

Welcome !
Nice to have another local GRiSO.
We will have to get together... I am in St Petersburg FL

Cheers.

Welcome Rick!

Welcome to the cult.

You will be contacted regarding the secret handshake and the special underwear.

Roper is in charge of the requisite headgear.

Pete was in charge of the special underwear, but let's just say that didn't work out and he was reassigned to the headgear section.

Bill

All the stories about the underwear becoming *Soiled* while in my possession were found to be totally untrue or at least greatly exaggerated!

Ahem!

Thanks all, its good to know that there are a couple of other Gris owners locally. Yep, one of the first things that I picked up on prior to joining was the unique sense of humor here, its only fitting considering our unique non-conformist choice of rides. I think I'm gonna like it here, thanks again.

Nice bike, and I like the bags. What's the bit behind the oil cooler, by the brake pedal? Mine doesn't have that.

Shes a beauti , i like the little bag would definitely come in handy..good thinking and welcome

Stu400 wrote:

Nice bike, and I like the bags. What's the bit behind the oil cooler, by the brake pedal? Mine doesn't have that.

Charcoal canister to absorb errant hydrocarbons.

Welcome to the ghetto, it's a pretty habitable place for the most part.

Stu400 wrote:

Nice bike, and I like the bags...

I like 'em too. Rick, I have a '15 that's the same color as yours. Could you give us your source for those bags? And give us a pic of the bike with a bag off so we could see how you mounted them? Thanks!

Welcome, Rick.

GNORTS wrote:

Stu400 wrote:

Nice bike, and I like the bags...

I like 'em too.  Rick, I have a '15 that's the same color as yours.  Could you give us your source for those bags?  And give us a pic of the bike with a bag off so we could see how you mounted them?  Thanks!

Got them at the local Cycle Gear store. They're on sale right now for $20 bucks a piece. (Sorry, new members cant post links for the first 7 days). They have two sizes, 8" and 12", I used the 12" bags. They're tool bags designed to mount to the front forks of cruisers, so they have two reinforced slits and straps on each bag that are used to attach to the forks. I just went to the local hardware store and purchased four 4" L shaped brackets, I painted them flat black (last step after bending and elongating the bolt holes). I slightly bent the brackets outward by about 5 or 6 degrees and slid them into the two slits on each bag. I then bolted each bracket to the bag towards the bottom (thru the rigid back panel on the inside of bag). I used a larger flat washer on the inside of the bag and a lock washer on the nut side. Prior to attaching the L-shaped brackets, I elongated the bolt holes in the rear of the brackets so that once I attached them to the bungee cord bolts under the fender, I could adjust them to where I wanted the bags before tightening them down. I used the bungee cord knobs and bolts as the fastener point.

This is a photo of the right side bag before bolting to the bungee cord bolts underneath the fender on the right side. In this top view photo of the bag sitting on a black seat, you can see the bolts at the bottom of the bag on the bottom of each bracket. The slits hold the bag tightly to the bracket at the top. You'll also notice that I elongated the rear brackets bolt holes more than the front bracket bolt hole. This is because the rear end of the GRiSO tapers inwards at the rear, I wanted to be able to compensate for this angle and pull the bag out a little at the rear (just looks better). Once bolted in place, they're solid as a rock and look the same on both sides. I also cut the straps shorter and left them on the bags. I then strapped them to the bungee cord knobs on each side under the fender. This isn't necessary thou, these straps can be removed and really don't do anything to hold the bag in place. The whole thing cost about $47 bucks, pretty cheap project.
Sorry, I tried to post photos and a link to the bags but received this message: New members are not allowed to post external links or emails for 7 days. Please contact the forum administrator for more information. So I eliminated the link and it wouldn't let me post a photo. Strange too because I've already posted photos.

Anh, that's because the web worked out your from Florida 
Sorry Rick, I couldn't resist , welcome to the madness. The bags look great, good job  I might do the same for day rides , I shamelessly borrow your idea 

Anh, that's because the web worked out your from Florida

Damn web.
Next day tried again, it worked!! Back of bag, view from top.
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Looks great Rick! Welcome to the Ghetto!

George in SC