It's a good thing my fingers cannot smile

otherwise I would not be able to type.

Beautiful day today in Santa Rosa Valley.  75* at 09:30.  Decided I needed to go for a ride.  Picked up the bike with 5 mile on it.  Came home today with 300 on the clock.

Before I begin, I want to go over the negatives, IMO.
1.  The bike came with Metzlers.  I thought they came with Pirelli Angel GT's
2.  Cheesy turn signals
3.  No fuel gauge.
But as the honey badger said:  "I don't give a shit."  

This is the 3rd modern CARC Guzzi I have owned.  I had an '06 Breva 1100 with basically the same engine as the G11.  Moving up to the Stelvio NTX was a huge move engine wise.  However, I must say the G12 engine, by my butt, is a much more refined donk.  The engine feels as if it is already run in.  I am trying in the run in period to modulate the RPM's.  I was doing some country roads and slab.  I would try and keep it at a max of 4,500 RPM's, but in 6th on the slab, I would drop down to about 55 MPH (3,000 RPM's) and on it acceleration it pulled like a freight train.  

Talking about slabing, not having a fly screen was not a problem.  The air around my helmet was quiet. I had a Das Motec fly screen on the Breva, which moved the air around me quite nicely.  The stock screen on the Stelvio was fantastic (for me.).  However, doing 80 on the 101 with the G, I was quite comfortable.  

I have been very fortunate.  All 3 Guzzi's were perfect out of the box.  No vibration, no low end stumbling, and the suspension worked well for me as well.

For those that followed the turn signal/side mirror debacle in the US, I changed out to the Euro turn signals with the Tuono mirrors.  They worked great compared to what was OEM-US.  Let me say this, if shaving were legal while driving, I could shave at 2,500 - 4,900 RPM's,  Not a shake of the mirrors.

I know I am preaching to the choir, but this bike makes me look for an excuse to go out.  Oh honey, is there anything I can get for you at the store.  Oh honey, I forgot to buy something.  I'll see you in a few hours.

Leafman inspired me to get the Stelvio.  Our host, Steak, inspired me to get the big G.

Thank you.

There's really no way you can't like this bike. It goes, it handles and it stops really well. And it's eye catching. People will want to know what it is...and they will ask you. Congratulations.

Preach on, brother!

The GRiSO is a joy to ride fast or slow. And as hard as it may be to believe, that engine will break in and rev easier after a few thousand miles.

My only area of disagreement concerns the flyscreen. To me it made a noticeable improvement at 70 and above by taking pressure off my chest and reducing helmet buffeting. As always, YMMV.

I'd say enjoy yourself, but to a GRiSO owner that really goes without saying, doesn't it?

Peace Marx!

This choir is chock full of preachers.

Reverend!

Amen.

Great report, Oca!

Yeah, my G came with Metzlers, too. They weren't terrible, but they didn't last very long (a blessing in disguise, I guess). I'm now running Michelin Pilot Road 3s and love them.

I agree about the turn signals, and have replaced the rears with a LED license plate. So far I've left the fronts in place... still deciding what to do there, but I have bigger fish to fry: bike is ready for it's 6k service.

I saw some interesting turn signals at the Rock Store yesterday on a Tenni green GRiSO.

One would not even know they were on the bike. Very cool. I am going to find out about them from Todd on Guzzitech.

What time were you at the Rock Store? I was tooling around Mulholland between 3 and 4 but decided to head for home without going all the way to the Rock Store. Would have been cool to see another GRiSO. The only Guzzis I saw were a couple of V7 Racers on PCH.

I was there from 11:00 to 11:30. There was a Tenni green one owned by a bloke named Garth. Sweet bike.

Funny, on my way home, I stopped the Simi Valley HD. They had some Husky's I was interested in.

Go back to the parking lot, there was a V7 Racer and an Aprillia Mana.

After I got my GRiSO I stopped in the HD dealership in Victorville and one of the staff came running into the shop nearly yelling "Who owns the Guzzi??"
Tony turned out to be a real moto-head that loves all motorcycles.
I was very pleasantly surprised to find such a guy in a HD shop. In the High Desert. Full of rednecks.

DM