Help me [virtually] check out a used GRiSO

Greetings, Guzzisti! And happy spring.

As you've likely read, I've been on the hunt for a GRiSO. Some didn't make the cut, some weren't priced appropriately, and like most things in life - timing didn't work. But fret not, I think I've found another suitable candidate. As such, I'm hoping to get a critical eye on the bike since it's not local, and will likely be a fly-and-drive for me.

The details:
2014 1200 SE
5.1k miles

The shiny bits:
Ipothesys exhaust system w/oil cooler relocator. No idea if the bike has any tune or engine map
Corbin gunfighter seat
Renthal Fatbar
Moto Guzzi flyscreen
tail tidy w/ unknown aftermarket signals
unknown aftermarket mirrors
Pazzo or CRG levers
Agostini (I think?) rear mudguard
Motodemic headlight (I think?)
No OEM parts go with the bike

Unknowns:
Number of owners
Service history
Engine map or tune
Tire life (a minor thing I can easily rectify)

As the bike is a 2014, I think it's safe to assume that it's rollerized.

The other thing; the forks may have been raised in the triple clamps? Can someone verify that, please? (pictures below)

All that said; what jumps out at you? Anything else I missed?


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A heckuva lot of personalized mods on that bike, most of which would not suit my tastes. I suppose it would be a perfect bike for someone of the same taste as the seller. OEM parts would be nice to have.

I wouldn't pay any premium based upon the modifications.

With that number of mods to major external bits carry out a thorough check for accident damage. Often no record with insurers.
On the other hand could have been owned by someone with just a lot of time and money. If so agree with previous advice re taste and price.

Steak wrote:

A heckuva lot of personalized mods on that bike, most of which would not suit my tastes.  I suppose it would be a perfect bike for someone of the same taste as the seller.  OEM parts would be nice to have.

I wouldn't pay any premium based upon the modifications.

I hear you. The flyscreen doesn't do it for me, but that's easily replaceable. The Corbin seat is 50/50 for me, but I've yet to sit on it. The rest seems about where I'd take the bike, so that's good.

Mainly, I was curious about the Ipothesys system and if the forks appear to be raised.

I always find it odd that people pour so much money into a bike and then don't ride it and/or sell it before they get to experience it properly.

I'd check it over very carefully for evidence of crap like sensor foolers, power commanders and other 'Performance' mods. It doesn't look like the suspension has been touched, apart from dropping the forks a tad, which would indicate that the previous owner put the cart before the horse.......

Sunbeam wrote:

With that number of mods to major external bits carry out a thorough check for accident damage. Often no record with insurers.
On the other hand could have been owned by someone with just a lot of time and money. If so agree with previous  advice re taste and price.

That's a great question about the mods. The last time I insured a bike, the carrier asked about aftermarket parts, dollar-wise - no receipts necessary. I'll need to verify that, but it may be a non-issue.

The price seems to be negotiable, so I'll need to work on that.

Pete Roper wrote:

I always find it odd that people pour so much money into a bike and then don't ride it and/or sell it before they get to experience it properly.

I'd check it over very carefully for evidence of crap like sensor foolers, power commanders and other 'Performance' mods. It doesn't look like the suspension has been touched, apart from dropping the forks a tad, which would indicate that the previous owner put the cart before the horse.......

Just what I was looking for. I figured the forks seemed a bit high in the triples. Likely due to a rider with a short inseam, I suspect.

What is a good spec for the forks in the triples?

As far up as you can get 'em! Mine are at six rings showing and I've got the back end jacked up as well in an attempt to get it to steer quicker. It's still a supertanker! GRiSO's steering geometry is very conservative and it's wheelbase is huge! It's one of the reasons they are such a good 'Road' bike but by golly you need to muscle them around to go round corners hard!

Bobcat Sig wrote:

Steak wrote:

A heckuva lot of personalized mods on that bike, most of which would not suit my tastes.  I suppose it would be a perfect bike for someone of the same taste as the seller.  OEM parts would be nice to have.

I wouldn't pay any premium based upon the modifications.

I hear you. The flyscreen doesn't do it for me, but that's easily replaceable. The Corbin seat is 50/50 for me, but I've yet to sit on it. The rest seems about where I'd take the bike, so that's good.

Mainly, I was curious about the Ipothesys system and if the forks appear to be raised.

Re. Taste

The only mods on this bike that I like (and have on my GRiSO) IS the bikini fairing/flyscreen (and the PAZZO levers)

To each his own.

Pete Roper wrote:

As far up as you can get 'em! Mine are at six rings showing and I've got the back end jacked up as well in an attempt to get it to steer quicker. It's still a supertanker! GRiSO's steering geometry is very conservative and it's wheelbase is huge! It's one of the reasons they are such a good 'Road' bike but by golly you need to muscle them around to go round corners hard!

Got it. Thank you. Good to know it wasn't done like that in order to shorten the stand-over height.

Steak wrote:

Re. Taste

The only mods on this bike that I like (and have on my GRiSO) IS the bikini fairing/flyscreen (and the PAZZO levers)

To each his own.

Agree, I just got a Corbin seat as well, love it!

See if they'll take a second to pop the seat and take a pic of the wiring of the tail tidy/turn signals...Might shed some light on degree of effort/care invested.

SMTCapeCod wrote:

See if they'll take a second to pop the seat and take a pic of the wiring of the tail tidy/turn signals...Might shed some light on degree of effort/care invested.  

Great idea! It may also tell me if a Power Commander was added.

If it has I can guess why it’s for sale!

A friend with an 1100 GRiSO has the MASS twin pipes on his bike, the headers & pretzel are as standard, and even with the db killers in it is loud.

Pete Roper wrote:

If it has I can guess why it’s for sale!

Ha! Let's hope not.

Nobleswood wrote:

A friend with an 1100 GRiSO has the MASS twin pipes on his bike, the headers & pretzel are as standard, and even with the db killers in it is loud.

I bet. I do like the sound of an uncorked twin. My air-cooled Hypermotard with its full Termi system sounds especially nice. The Guzzis have their own note, which I've come to enjoy. I suspect that this system isn't quiet. It's my hope that it's not ear-splitting loud.

I've had a chance to dig a bit more on the bike and it seems fitting for what I'm after. I'm hoping to get a handle on a fair price for the bike... I ask because the typical sources - NADA and KBB - don't have enough data for the GRiSO and I can't find enough comps. So I'm hoping the collective can suggest some ballparks.

The exhaust silencer and headers remain a mystery; I'm guessing Ipothesys until I hear otherwise or one of you know but looking at the pictures posted above.

No Power Commander is present. The seller was kind enough to send over some additional pictures and nothing under the seat. There's a video of the bike running, which I'll post shortly. No idea if the ECU has been mapped.

It's a one-owner bike with 5k miles. The tires are the OEM Metzlers and they're shagged, so those will be replaced. The vehicle history report is clean and no other issues.

What might be a ball park for the bike; $8k? $6k? Something else?

The video I spoke of... It's a cold start-up and at the end, you can hear some sort of pop. I'm not sure if that's a back-fire in the exhaust or something else.

Well it's had something done to the mapping. It's lambda sensor port is blanked off and the sensor removed. Unless the input has been turned off in the map it would have a dirty great 'Service' warning up on the dash.

The owner should know what's been done to it. If they can't tell you I'd walk away. Plenty of clean canvases to start from in the US.

6500-7500.

I just bought my superb condition GRiSO for Cdn $7000 or $5600 USD. Same year and 8k miles. I actually like all the mods on this bike s they are tasteful and minimizing. Can I get a full list of exact items bought haha.

Pete Roper wrote:

Well it's had something done to the mapping. It's lambda sensor port is blanked off and the sensor removed. Unless the input has been turned off in the map it would have a dirty great 'Service' warning up on the dash.

The owner should know what's been done to it. If they can't tell you I'd walk away. Plenty of clean canvases to start from in the US.

Thank you. If I’m reading this correctly; no service light means there’s likely a map of some sort?

I realize that I failed to mention that the bike is on consignment at a dealer, hence the unknowns around the map and exhaust.

Bobcat Sig wrote:

Thank you. If I’m reading this correctly; no service light means there’s likely a map of some sort?

Yes. If the lambda probe is disconnected, you'd get a service warning if lambda was not deactivated in the map. That means it has been remapped.

To me it sounds quite mechanically noisy - lightweight stuff like cam chains and/or tappets

lcjohnny wrote:

To me it sounds quite mechanically noisy - lightweight stuff like cam chains and/or tappets

Interesting. I would think that with low miles (5k-ish) and one owner, such things as tappets and chains wouldn't be an issue? From what I've gathered, these engines are somewhat stout and such problems aren't common at this bike's age or mileage. Could it be the cold start?