What if a GRiSO is not an option anymore?

knumbnutz wrote:

If I had to get rid of the GRiSO I'd choose either a Diavel or a rocket 3 or sportster roadster (with a decent tank capacity). They're the only sport cruisers.

I was following a Diavel the other day, and while looking at its rear tyre (240 45 ZR17) I was recalling with horror what the local tyre guy quoted for new Michelin R6 for my GRiSO, and figured the guy had shares in a rubber company.

beetle wrote:

knumbnutz wrote:

If I had to get rid of the GRiSO I'd choose either a Diavel or a rocket 3 or sportster roadster (with a decent tank capacity). They're the only sport cruisers.

I was following a Diavel the other day, and while looking at its rear tyre (240 45 ZR17) I was recalling with horror what the local tyre guy quoted for new Michelin R6 for my GRiSO, and figured the guy had shares in a rubber company.

My previous was a Diavel 1200 Carbon. Pirelli Rosso’s were circa £195 not sure on Michelin, maybe £240+/- As comparison a 180 Pirelli Rosso for my GRiSO cost about £180

Bob

@beetle, tyres.... Wait until you see how much a valve service is for the Diavel!
$2550 as half the bike has to come apart just to get to the valves and belts

Getting a Diavel serviced is not something I'll need to concern myself with!

The Michelin's Roads have gone up by $100 Australian Gofars each. Last set cost me $550. A set of Conti Road Attack's is only $580. It's a no brainer.

beetle wrote:

Getting a Diavel serviced is not something I'll need to concern myself with!

The Michelin's Roads have gone up by $100 Australian Gofars each. Last set cost me $550. A set of Conti Road Attack's is only $580. It's a no brainer.

Maybe.
I ran a set of the Road Attacks on another bike I have, they worked very well, but wore out faster than I expected.
I do have a set sitting in the garage for the GRiSO when the Dunlop RoadSmarts wear out.

Do I want another Piaggio bike or an Aprilia V100? No!
At the moment it would be a Triumph Speed Twin 1200 or a BMW R9T.

How bout a V100 GRiSO?

Duh, just looked a Streets pic.

Better than no G

Last week I bought a new 2023 Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE.  

I have to say, it reminds me of the visceral characteristics of the Guzzi.  It's not quite the extreme of the VTwin but it's there - AND- the quality level of the Triumph is several rungs up the ladder from the Guzzi.  I don't have to worry about tearing down the rear-end to lube any bearings or worry about rain getting in the ECU etc etc etc as I've dealt with  in the past with Guzzi.

I'm very much drawn to the dual-purpose style bikes since they offer a wider range of riding experiences. The fit and finish of this Triumph is nothing short of beautiful.  Paint is like glass. I know I'm going to be a little self-conscious once I take it out and cover it in mud and rocks as will surely happen - soon.

The Scrambler is still in break-in mode but I can tell it's going to be a heckuva great bike-for me.


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Congrats!

Really interesting ... it seems that the quality of e.g. chrome meanwhile really sucks, or at least at Piaggio - look at this:
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How is the quality behind the side covers or under the tank of the Triumph?

janguzzi wrote:

Congrats!

Really interesting ... it seems that the quality of e.g. chrome meanwhile really sucks, or at least at Piaggio - look at this:
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How is the quality behind the side covers or under the tank of the Triumph?

Everything on the Triumph looks first-class to me.  I have several friends with them and they say they've never had any problems. The paint colors and finishing is fantastic.  Looks like smooth glass.

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I hope Guzzi steps everything up a few notches with their upcoming V100. Aside from quality issues I have some fears that they may have sanitized the engine too much. I like that rough and raucous character of the older big blocks. Viva vibration!

As much as the lack of quality irritates me, I love the GRiSO. Flaky dash, wonky side stand, lack of grease in bearings, poor choice of materials in critical areas like fuel tank, dipstick wrong length, fasteners made of cheese, the list goes on forever. But then you swing a leg over, thumb the "go" button and all is forgotten.

rick pope wrote:

As much as the lack of quality irritates me, I love the GRiSO.  Flaky dash, wonky side stand, lack of grease in bearings, poor choice of materials in critical areas like fuel tank, dipstick wrong length, fasteners made of cheese, the list goes on forever.  But then you swing a leg over, thumb the "go" button and all is forgotten.

Yes. All is forgotten .............until something happens! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

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leafman60 wrote:

Yes.  All is forgotten .............until something happens!   [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

.

Thing is these bikes were in production, (The CARC series.) from 2005 until 2017. That's a twelve year window. During that time people like Steve and myself discovered the larger and more worrying, errr, 'Idiocycracies' and publicised them pretty widely. If you address the known issues the chances of 'Something happening' diminish by orders of magnitude.

There is also the fact that with some of the more serious 'Built in' problems, poorly greased swingarm bearings for example, there are probably large numbers of people, the majority even, who have no idea of the problem and are riding around pretty much oblivious to the fact that their swingarm bearings and probably linkage bearings are a mass of rust and are hovering on the point of failure. They also seem to be oblivious to the evil handling such failure inflicts on the machine!

No, I don't get it. I really don't. Yet people also seem to be willing to spend enormous amounts of money on bling for the sole purpose of making their bike pretty and even sillier, larger amounts still, on 'Tuning accessories' on the promise of stupid and unattainable boast about performance! All the time neglecting the mechanical basics.

Now I don't for a moment think that Guzzi owners are alone in this and I'll bet anything anybody likes that ALL manufacturers and models will have similar Achilles Heels in their design or assembly and that their owners as well are generally ignorant of them! Unless people with experience of a broad cross section of models publicise what they find then most owners will base their experience on a sample pool of one machine, their own! And those self same people will tend not to notice, or at least do anything about, a problem until something actually prevents the machine from running or moving!

I'm sure for example that your new Triumph is a great machine but I'm also sure that it too will have some 'Oopsie's' built into it. Why? Because they're all machines built down to a price! It's as simple as that! And to be honest, with the exception of the Flat Tappet fiasco, I really don't think the CARC series bikes, or for that matter the Cali 14's, were or are any worse than any other 'Modern' bike.

Now I've done all the preventative 'Fixes' on my Grisos and understand a decent service and maintenance regime for them I consider them to be utterly trustworthy. I do though keep a close eye on them and if I find something odd, (Or Michael does if he services them.) then it gets noticed and double checked next time. An example of that is that Michael found one of my inlet valves was very tight last time it was serviced. Next time that valve will receive special attention and if it has closed up further I'll whip the head off and stick a new valve in simply for peace of mind! And why not? It takes about twenty minutes to get the head off. Why risk a dropped valve when it's so easy and cheap to do? Far more so than just about any other bike in the last twenty years! I don't actually think it's an issue though, I think I just nipped it up a bit tight last time I adjusted them but you never know.