Newbie trolling for GRiSO info

Never had a GRiSO but always had a jones for one.
Tell me the good, the bad and the ugly please.
Thanks
inditx

Read the experience and inspiration for the +

Read Grisology for the -

Welcome, GRiSO's are great Hammer machines.

Just some GRiSO porn help you understand why you have never owned one
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yikes!!!! Not only do they drive on the wrong side of the road, the entire flipping machine is backwards!!

Welcome Inditx! GRiSO is just like everything else with wheels, sooner or later gonna cost you some time and money. But overall, GREAT bike!
Flat/roller tappets are the biggest issue (not an issue on the 1100 btw)so do your research on that.
I'm about an hour and a half west of you, maybe when it's not freezin' cheeks we can meet for a ride,
with you on a GRiSO, hopefully.

While i've not had mine for long, i just did a 250km loop ride in a day here in Malaysia. The ride was mostly state roads, plus a short double track dirt road and ended with a highway run home.
What i can tell you is that i personally didn't like the highway stretch ride home. My bike only has a mini dash fairing and it was tiring after a whole day of riding to be riding above 110km/hr constantly fighting against the wind blast. Despite its rather long wheelbase, making u-turns within the confines of 2 lanes was not an issue. Riding on dirt roads can be a little sketchy but the low CoG made the bike quite manageable. Still getting used to the rather heavy clutch pull (an issue only in crawling traffic) and adjusting to the swapped position of horn & indicators(indicators is below).

My summary is as below :

Good
• Stock exhaust bass & orchestra tune
  
• Classic looks & V-twin Character
  
• Relaxed engine but willing sprinter ~5k rpm
  
• Relax riding position with some bias towards sport
  
• Tilts easily into corners and stable mid-corner
  
• Comparatively good rear brake
  
  Bad
  
• In stock form, not a great highway tourer
  
• Not great for passenger perspective
  
• Not that great in fuel efficiency (Stock map, 16km/L)
  
• Luggage carrying capacity & options limited
  
  Ugly
  
• Gas tank inlet is minimally small (hard to see well to fill till the brim upright)
  
• Rather heavy clutch pull
  
• Swapped position of Indicators and Horn
  
• Bike kickstand position makes it rather hard to tilt & turn bike around
  
  

Good list, but just because all other bikes have the turn signal/horn flipped doesn't make the GRiSO wrong

I think there are lots of folks who come to the GRiSO based on the look and the immediately try to turn it in to something it is not. It's not a very good tourer, it's not your typical "sports bike", it's not a good bar cruiser, and it's not a lightweight urban tool. Lots of people are doing some of those with them, including me, but those are not the strengths of the bike. It's just a great, fun, smile inducing backroad roadster that can handle some of the other chores with its own sense of style (and quirks).

I don't have a lot of negatives. My bike has 26k and has been super reliable when compared to other bikes I've own. The tappet issue is a bother for pre 2012 bikes but there are solutions (just buy a newer model is a good one). Most people will want to make changes to the comfort zones but that's been the case on all of my bikes. The rear shock is a questionable design but these days are plenty of solutions for not a lot of money. I would factor in $500-$1k to address the rear shock (many can live with the Showa front end), stay away from the flatties unless you have good support, and just listen to the advice given here on the other stuff. And jones away!

Pretty much agree with Tazmanian's perspective
particularly the heavy clutch, the limited range and the stupid transposition of horn and indicator (makes it hard in traffic as it is difficult to indicate whilst pulling the clutch).

However
Positive => my wife find the touring position fine for 4-5hr a day

Patlikestolean wrote:

Welcome Inditx! GRiSO is just like everything else with wheels, sooner or later gonna cost you some time and money. But overall, GREAT bike!
Flat/roller tappets are the biggest issue (not an issue on the 1100 btw)so do your research on that.
I'm about an hour and a half west of you, maybe when it's not freezin' cheeks we can meet for a ride,
with you on a GRiSO, hopefully.

Very cool, thanks!

I've had a few bikes, from a CBR-XX to a 1927 Henderson, and a sprinkling between. The GRiSO is the only one that makes me giggle in my helmet. Tweak the bar/peg/seat relationship, get a good shock and throw on some soft luggage and it'll do it all, pretty well.

The GRiSO is the ONLY bike I'd NEVER sell.

A bike that lives, an engine like a heartbeat, with soul...no, with two souls, an italian lady or a torgue hammer...big, heavy, loud, not mainstream...design, material, tradition...you love it or you hate it.

@Steak +1