I think I'm done for awhile...

The payoff for all of the questions I've been asking the fine folks here about footpegs, bags, and so forth - I think I've farkled out the GRiSO to my satisfaction.

It came to me with an Isotta screen and Agostini pipe installed by the previous owner. Perfectly happy with those, so I wasn't starting from bone stock.

First order of business was ergos, and after some inquiries here I settled on the Guzzitech bar risers and SSR lowered pegs.

Close behind was bags. I don't care what the bike is - convenient storage is a must. My days of bungeed duffles and backpacks are long behind me. I posted a thread on the subject and received lots of good info and pics - thanks to all who responded!

I was within an inch of going with the racks for the HB Juniors since I have a set on my EV, but wound up going with the HB C-bow / Orbit combo. While they're smaller, I reasoned that if I needed to haul more crap than their combined 42L, then I was on the wrong bike. I'm pretty happy with my decision.

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Still, something wasn't quite right...


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A rhino might be fine on your BMW Dakar Sport Anteater 800, but it has no place on a fine Italian steed such as the GRiSO!

Fine, I'll just yank that badge off of there and scrounge those internets for something more appropriate...

Thank God for the Chinese and their disregard for copyright!


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Oops - what's this? Things just got more complicated - good thing I didn't mangle the badge during removal!

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Those badges are screen printed with a substance that has some texture to it, so it took about 50 Q-tips and a quarter can of acetone to get down to bare metal. The result was smooth, but still streaky as hell. That wouldn't do.

So back to the internets and Amazon for a reflective Italian flag decal from some random marketplace vendor - attack with razor blade, combine with Official Chinese licensed Guzzi eagle!

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Which brings me to the final piece of the puzzle (for now anyway).

Years ago, I installed some caliper mounted auxiliary lights to my EV in an effort to make myself more visible to the Distracted Masses. Having been pleased with the results, I swore I'd put them on every bike I owned. Besides, I think they look cool.

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So with farkling complete and Beetle map installed, she's ready to be properly flogged!

Lookin' good, Mojo! I like what you did with the Chinese sticker and the conspicuity lights look great too.

Pete (Street)

Bike looks great. Love to hear your thoughts on the spot lights after a few rides. Not thought about placing spots that low down before.

great job making those panniers 'original' kit!!

Congrats. Nice GRiSO. Ready to travel 

Just installed a Philips Xtrem Vision bulb in the headlight. Almost as bright as a led.

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Nice. I like the luggage, especially with appropriate badging I've a VFR that used for carrying luggage and the wife but having the option for the GRiSO would be useful too.

Bravo! Looks like a well set up GRiSO!

GHTE wrote:

Bike looks great. Love to hear your thoughts on the spot lights after a few rides. Not thought about placing spots that low down before.

I've ran caliper mounted spots on my EV for about 12 years. Originally 20W halogens, since converted to LED.

You know how cars will pull up to an intersection or entering the roadway from a parking lot, etc, and you watch their front wheel to see if they're inching out to potentially pull out in front of you. I noticed a significant reduction in that inching business after fitting the spots. When I first started riding the GRiSO, I started seeing it again.

I believe it was back in the 90s that the Department of Transportation here did a study with the railroads to figure out how to reduce accidents at crossings. They concluded that the triangular arrangement was the most conspicuous, and that the diverging pattern of its approach gave gave the observer a better reference for closing speed than a single point of light. This is especially true at night when there is no visible background to track against.

Despite opinions and warnings to the contrary, I've never had any failure issues related to bouncing or vibration due to their being mounted at the bottom of the forks and therefore "unsprung". I would get 2-3 years out of the halogen bulbs, and failure was always due to water intrusion.

These lights on the GRiSO are astonishingly bright for their size - easily 2-3X brighter than the ones on my EV and appear to be very solid pieces. If I get a lot of people flashing their brights at me I'll just aim them down a bit. I haven't ridden it at night enough to conclude whether or not they provide any useful additional illumination of the road, but that's not their purpose.

What Brand are these caliper mounted auxiliary lights? I am in Illinois.

I found these for $50 on Amazon. I was looking for something that wasn't too big, would fit the GRiSO's style, and employ a mount that would be amenable to modifying.

I wasn't expecting these to be so nice or so bright. If they're as rugged as they look, they're an absolute steal at that price. The only issue is that the pigtail is rather short - maybe only 10", hence the need for the splice connection that you can see in the pics.

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Thank you very much I just ordered them.

Nicely done. Next for me will be the SSR pegs...old ya know.

Nice job mojo
Did the oem upper frt brake line work with the risers?

On'ya MOJO
Great work - thanks for sharing ......
Stay safe

Rushjob wrote:

Nice job mojo
Did the oem upper frt brake line work with the risers?

Yes. I was able to leave everything attached and just slip the risers in underneath.

Thks mojo. Got'em on today but the frt brake & clutch hyd lines are barely loose & want to ride in the space between the top triple tree clamps so I moved the rubber line clasp down to ther to help protect fm any chaffing. They still have a BIT of rom at either side full lock.

Good job, panniers look great.

Rushjob wrote:

Thks mojo. Got'em on today but the frt brake & clutch hyd lines are barely loose & want to ride in the space between the top triple tree clamps so I moved the rubber line clasp down to ther to help protect fm any chaffing. They still have a BIT of rom at either side full lock.

Look close to make sure the risers are seated and "spooning" properly. I had to take a file to one of mine because one of the corners was lacking a few thou of being able to bottom out squarely in the saddle. That was enough to make the brake line tight, otherwise I might not have noticed.

Will do. Thks again