Not yet bought - looking for advice

Hi to all you GRiSO owners out there - names Dave, & I live in Nottingham in the UK

I'm not yet an owner, in fact until a couple of weeks ago, I'd never even heard of the GRiSO. I've been riding Jap bikes all my biking life (since 1980), was looking for a change and stumbled across the GRiSO. Now I have to admit, my only experience of Italian bikes was my mates Jota & Duke 851 back in the eighties, then my brothers Aprilia RSV Mille. So this is a whole new ball game to me. I love the look of the SE & want to try one out, & ask owners opinions. So before I get my forum etiquette wrong, where's the best place to direct my "can you advise me" questions?

Looking forward to picking your brains - Dave

This is the place. Ask away!

Thanks beetle.

Usual stuff - what should I be looking for when I view ? What are the known issues ? What is likely to cause me trouble ? I understand there was a major issue with flat tappets which (I believe) was ironed out by 2012. As I'll be looking for a later model ('14 onward), will I be safe in assuming that the tappets are not going to be a problem ? Was there much difference between the '12 - '13, '13 - ''14 & '14 - '15 models - looking at the specs, they appear to be identical, even down to the colour scheme

Thanks again

The swap-over point from flat tappets to rollers was mid 2012 so to be safe go for a 2013 or later. Apart from that the 2015 and later models are built on the Cali 1400 crankcase so the sump and certain sensors and other minor parts are different but the actual *Important bits* are all the same.

The other main issue to address is the swingarm bearings and shock linkage bearings because these are rarely, if ever, greased properly on assembly at the factory.

Other than that they are pretty much stone axe reliable as long as they haven’t been fiddled with by a shaved ape. They can be improved significantly with remapping and suspension work but overall they are a superb and much underrated package.

Pete

Best advise would be to meet some GRiSO members. I believe Sidrat is near Lincoln & another member is around Grantham. Look them up. There’s a feature that shows who’s where on the site. Send them a PM ( personal message ) offer them beer & go say ‘Hello’. The worst that can happen ? They don’t like your beer

Hey Dave you are not far from me (45 miles) i am south of Lincoln.

post the questions here we all have experiences, and the bike is great :-)

Buy a late model so avoiding roller tappet issues. Get the bike serviced at Twiggers in Loughborough if not doing it yourself.

Thanks for the info so far guys. I'd read an extremely in-depth piece by Mr Roper which first tipped me off about the tappets issue. The bearings comments sound a little worrying - sounds like a rear-end strip-down ! Having never owned a bike with FI (all my previous bikes have been carbed), I wouldn't have the foggiest how to go about that, although the guy who ran my current bike on his rolling-road then fitted the Dynojet kit can do all that sort of stuff

I've found a couple so far within about 100 miles of me - a 2015 in red with 10000 miles & a 2014 in black with 4000 miles, both around the £7000 - £7500 region.

It'd be good to meet up with someone at some point to have a chat - Sidrat, I'll drop you a PM & see if we can sort something out

Dave R wrote:

The bearings comments sound a little worrying - sounds like a rear-end strip-down !

Yes it is a strip down. Don't worry too much, its not that dificult. Looks that you like being prepared, so, you'll find the procedure in the workshop manual before starting - its there: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The tricky thing is to lift and secure the bike to remove the rear end - you can find some solutions for that, as the description for the whole process posted by members of the forum...

Dave R wrote:

Having never owned a bike with FI (all my previous bikes have been carbed), I wouldn't have the foggiest how to go about that, although the guy who ran my current bike on his rolling-road then fitted the Dynojet kit can do all that sort of stuff

My first FI too, actualy what mutters is not the FI but the ECU that controls everything. Checking - cleaning the injectors is easy, there are many videos on youtube for that.
For anything that has to do with the ECU, GRiSO (and all Guzzi) are the easiest bikes thanks to the software "Guzzidiag" or "ScanM5X" for android.
With those you can see whats happening, read any errors, look for any sensor that its reading does not make sence, initiate commands to test stuf (like give a spark to a plug, operate an injector, ...). Most importand, you can send a "reset TPS" command, thats needed everytime you balance the TBs.

GRiSO is my first (and only) Guzzi, is the first bike I got "technical" with, and thanks to the people that made the workshop manual available, the people that worked for "Guzzidiag" and "ScanM5X", and the people of this forum, I believe I'm doing better than those "specialists" that I was paying to mess with my bikes for decades...

PS, "dynojet kit"... avoid any gizmos of that kind for GRiSO, if you want a better tunning get a map for the ECU, its cheaper, does not need to mess with the wires, its a 10 minutes job to save the original map and download the new one, and if you want to restore the original status is a 5 minute job to download the original map that you had previously saved.

Succinct and to the point!

I know it is not a major issue but do the later models have the same rubbish spark plug leads that came on the earlier bikes? If they do then be aware that these can fail and casue an issue with missfires as the spark crosses to the head. easy fix with instructions here in the forum.

Only other thing I can think of is the start issue (fixed on my bike by simply replacing fuse with 30 amp I think it was) just search startus interuptus on forums.

Thanks again guys. I've found what sounds like an absolute beauty - 2013, less than 2000 miles & only 50 miles away from me. Do I need the VIN number or engine number to check the tappets ? Cheers

Dave R wrote:

Thanks again guys.  I've found what sounds like an absolute beauty - 2013, less than 2000 miles & only 50 miles away from me.  Do I need the VIN number or engine number to check the tappets ? Cheers

I am affraid the only sure way is to take the covers off and take a look, i am sure the seller will oblige to sell the bike, it only takes a few minutes and you only need to check one side, as i can't believe there are any GRiSO's with flatties on one cylinder and rollers on the other!!

Is it a private sale or dealer?

If it's a real 2013, no. All 2013 and later models will have rollers.

As Keith says, is only a 2 minute job to check.

Unfortunately, it's private - always feel a bit funny about asking if I can start taking bits off peoples bikes in their driveways. However, it's about £1000 less than others with higher mileage - not sure whether that's an indication of a seller off-loading a potential problem. I'd assume that if he's a genuine seller, he'd be happy to let me whip the covers off - from what I've read, it's easy to do

I've checked the engine number - 13537, so only just past the rollerised point !!!

Guzzi engine numbers in relation to rollerisation are a bit rubbery. Your eyes must see rollers to be 100% sure.....

Dave, just ask him

or send me a copy of the advert and i will :-)

This one?

That's the puppy - already spoke to him. Very nice bloke called Ron, sent me a picture of the engine number. Unfortunately, he has no clue about the tappets. Anyone know what the official position is on dealers doing the modification on older ones ? At that price, I'm tempted to go for it & have the work done

with full service history, they will provide the parts, you just pay the labour.

If it is plated as a 13 it will almost certainly be a roller. The actual changeover date at the factory was April/May 2012 from memory. The problem will occur if it is an earlier build plated as a 13 but I’d think it unlikely.

Even if it’s a roller, (And it robably is.) it’ll still need the standard stuff of shock linkage and swingarm bearing grease and likely a proper tune up. That though is small beer.

Pete

Thanks Pete & Sidrat. Going to ask him if I can pop the cover off to check. Assuming he's OK with that, will any gaskets need to be replaced ? I wouldn't want to do something to someone else's bike & expect them to have to start replacing bits

He should know ! Else it's a couple allen keys and be very careful taking the plug cable out (best to ease it with wide blade screwdriver through underside of front exhaust pipe exit; narrow rope around rubber on plug end side of 90 degree bend also works for me). There are no gaskets to replace....