Not Quite a new member

Hi

I've been lurking around as a member since about November last year so I guess that doesn't make me new but this will be my first post on this forum. I've been riding since the early seventies and I'm happy to say I've ridden some great bikes - Japanese, British and European. My all time favorites were a '72 Combat Norton and a 72 Ducati Sport. You think the GRiSO has mechanical problems. Try a 72 Norton Combat. The engine was a grenade but what a great ride. A wonder the factory didn't put the detonation date in the owners manual. Having said that I've still got two Nortons but last year I decided I needed something with an electric start that would let me cruise two up a little easier. I've never owned a Guzzi before but I saw a GRiSO at a bike show and I decided it was the one. I picked up a 2010 Tenni with only 7,000 klms. Loved it from the first ride. I couldn't understand why this bike was not a bigger seller.

A bit later I started to read about the cam problems and asked a few dealers about it. The replies were really odd. Kind of well we aren't denying but we aren't admitting to it either. After looking at what it would cost if I went through the process of having the dealer do it I decided to do it myself. A "B" Kit was going to cost 650 Euros landed in Australia so given the cost of labor for the initial inspection and then the full job I figured I wouldn't be too much out of pocket if I did it myself.  Job satisfaction and the challenge were worth the extra money. I've done a lot of work on Nortons and Ducatis so the mechanical side didn't worry me too much. In fact I thought it'd be nice to work on a bike that unlike the Norton didn't require three different sets of spanners.

Following the manual and the advice on this forum the whole thing went well. I was a bit worried about the left side cam chain tensioner but no problem. There was minimal wear on the cams and followers but you could see the beginning of the problem. I finished that and then thought well why stop there. Next was Guzzidiag and Beetle's map for a rollerised Zard. The overall result has been fantastic. It was good before but now I'm like a pig in "mud". Fuel economy is up and much smoother. Absolutely no popping from the exhaust and it sounds beautiful on over run. The only other thing I did was to disconnect the clutch microswitch. Maybe someone can give me really good reason why I shouldn't. Things like I can't start it in gear with the clutch engaged or I need it to increase the revs when the clutch is engaged for take off seem a bit lame. If you can't move off smoothly from 1100rpm on a 1200cc motor then you probably have the wrong kind of licence. I can't believe how much better the gear change is.

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After I bought the GRiSO my wife pointed out that the both bikes are green, have two cylinders and the exhausts exit on the left. Anything wrong with dressing to the left? She also pointed out that the Norton exhaust sounds kind of analog and the Guzzi more digital. I guess EFI makes it that way. This my first fuel injected bike and I have to say tuning with Guzzidiag is nice but I miss the smell of petrol in the mornings. Actually I'm blessed to have a wife who has an eye for a nice bike.
     
Thanks to the forum but particularly to Beetle and Peter. By the way I particularly like the red wine postings. The comments are so much better than some wanker wine reviewer. Tastes like piss tells me all I need to know.

Cheers

Welcome Brad. Many years ago I went from pommy bikes to a Moto Guzzi. Best thing I ever done. Still restoring my old Trident..... Yorta keep your eye on Beetle and Pete, theyll either make you a little more knowledgable, laugh or intoxicated. Best way to do that is at a cabal or rally. Cheers

Good on you Brad, Love that Norton, Is that a 750 ?

It's an 850 wearing 750 fastback gear and "S" pipes. Lovely to ride around town but the GRiSO is the one for the highway.

love the Norton. Yup, the Combat blows up every 5000 miles. Always preferred Dommis for that very reason.

Welcome Brad...like your back-story!

Welcome, Brad, from the other side of the pond.

BradleyM wrote:

My all time favorites were a '72 Combat Norton and a 72 Ducati Sport. You think the GRiSO has mechanical problems. Try a 72 Norton Combat. The engine was a grenade but what a great ride. A wonder the factory didn't put the detonation date in the owners manual.

Ha Ha. My first bike was a Combat Commando too. Loved it to pieces, but........

Welcome.

Welcome Brad, you can ride either of those lovelies over to Coopers Plains anytime and I'll make you a coffee.

Welcome Bradley, Nice bikes, the Zard looks great on the Tenni (my favourite colour), most of us here have gone through the rollerizing spanner work that is a requirement for ownership

No more Don Abbondio for you!

So I'm one of the Bravi now.

Hi Brad,
Awesome post, looks like I'm about to follow you and upgrade my 2008 8v GRiSO with the 'rollerizing spanner work that is a requirement for ownership', ha, I hope I measure up

Cheers
Terry

Good luck with it. The only thing i'd be really be careful about is tensioning down the bits and pieces. My tension wrench was a cheapy used for car axles etc. I had a good one years ago but lost it so I splurged out and got a Warren and Brown deflecting beam torque wrench for the guzzi. Peace of mind.