Proud owner!! Doubling horsepower, nbd right?

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Just did 11 hours of driving today to make this swap! I've got a lot of thoughts about it so far already.

The Stornello actually had a much more aggressive exhaust note. I might miss that a bit, but I've heard that the stock exhaust is actually the best one for the bike and going aftermarket can cause power loss even with a map on it. The v7 was also much more vibey and rough,  it felt like it was trying to tear itself apart sometimes with how much it shook and rattled.

The GRiSO... It feels like sitting on top of a purring tiger. The engine is gorgeously smooth and builds speed more cleanly than any bike I've ever ridden. It is also very wide, with what feels like a powerful sitting stance. I twisted the throttle and I was going 80 before I even realized it. The front brake feels like a light switch, after having to squeeze the v7 brakes quite a bit to get it to stop it'll take some adjustment.

All in all, I'm chuffed and couldn't be more pleased! I'll have the winter to check valves, grease all the things and get a beetle map loaded. So excited for next season!

Congrats with your new bike! Hopefully you can ride it a bit before winter sets in? And welcome to the Ghetto!

bioman wrote:

Congrats with your new bike! Hopefully you can ride it a bit before winter sets in?  And welcome to the Ghetto!



 

I'm riding it today already XD I definitely want to lower the foot pegs a bit, and the handling feels a bit weird so I have to get used to that. It feels like it doesn't want to lean over, then once I get past a certain point, it dives almost too fast and I feel like it's going over.

How many rings on the forks showing above the triple clamp? What tyres & pressure you running?

beetle wrote:

How many rings on the forks showing above the triple clamp? What tyres & pressure you running?

I've got 3 rings showing above the triple clamps, and the tires are Metzler Sportec M7-RR. Didn't check tire pressures though, that's definitely something to keep an eye on since I remember hearing these are known for leaking from the spokes.

Tyre pressures haven't been checked??? Well chances are the weird handling is down to flat tyres. Try 34/36 for starters then use the 10% rule.

Set the forks to 4 rings showing.

I dislike Metzler tyres, so cannot tell you my thoughts on the Sportec, but I would go 36/39 PSI.

Tire pressures can make a world of difference. That said, that pressure is dependent also on your weight and riding style. My bike, with some weight in the saddlebags and 10# in the tankbag, and my large butt in the saddle, handles best with about 41-42 psi, both front and rear.

Whew, so I checked my pressures and they were both around 30psi D: that'll teach me to pay better attention to my tclocks haha

Welcome to the Ghetto!

Pete (Street)

Increasing tire pressure to 36 front 39 rear made a huge difference, it leans over amazing now! I've been doing lots of reading here though, and I did notice one thing that I don't know if I should be worried about. I read that the idle is supposed to be 1250ish rpm, but when I'm in neutral with the clutch out, the needle shows barely above 1k. When I pull in the clutch to shift, it goes up to around 1250,which is why I'm not sure if it's behaving right or not. I've got the guzzidiag cables and I checked that all of the throttle body screws are unmolested, but I don't have a Mano meter or the budget to get one right now.

It's fine. The idle rise when the clutch is pulled is quite normal. Give it a proper tune up and balance the TB's and it'll probably be golden.

Got stuck in some unfortunate stop and go traffic today for 10ish minutes. After about 5 minutes, the engine started clicking with RPM, and a couple minutes after that the oil light and warning came on the dash. I pulled off to the side and gave it a few minutes to cool off, checked that it had oil in it with the dipstick, and everything was fine. It came back on after another minute of stop and go, but right after that I was able to actually get moving, immediately after which both the ticking sound and the oil light went away and stayed away.

Is this just what happens when the engine or oil overheats? What can I do to narrow down the cause and prevent it from happening again? The bike is totally stock with 22k miles on it.

If it's a pre 2015 model it will be the sump spacer gasket having blown out. Don't ride it again until it has been checked and replaced with a better gasket.

Pete Roper wrote:

If it's a pre 2015 model it will be the sump spacer gasket having blown out. Don't ride it again until it has been checked and replaced with a better gasket.

Do you have a part number or link to where I can pick one up?

You can either use the Cali 1400 sump gasket or a thicker aftermarket gasket sold for the old pre-CARC bike motors. MG Cycles will have something I'm sure.

This is what we use.

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Note that this is NOT the sump gasket on the CARC bike engines, it is the gasket between the spacer and the engine block itself.

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This link looks like the right one for USA. Are there any other gaskets or parts I should replace while I'm doing this job? This will be my first time doing an oil change on the GRiSO so I'm not sure which parts are reusable and which are consumables.

*EDIT* Actually on further reading that one says it DOESN'T fit the CARC bikes...this one does, but it's out of stock, and it's not the "extra thick" version I've seen people mention. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The second one is the Cali 1400 gasket.

Yes, they say it doesn't fit the CARC bikes, and it doesn't as the sump gasket but it does as the spacer gasket.

You will need an oil filter and a sump gasket as well.

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Replacing the spacer gasket requires removing the exhaust, sidestand and bracket and, once the sump is off, the oil pick ups for both circuits. I'm sure someone has documented it here before with photos.

What Pete said……
When I did mine, which is a 2014, silver like yours, I also replaced the exhaust gaskets at the head and behind the header pipes. Also, you may want to change the nuts that hold the header pipes on as the originals will rust. AF1 Racing in Austin sent me stainless cap nuts as a replacement.
Regarding your tire pressure: some of us use Fobo Bike 2 tire pressure sensors and their app that connects blue tooth to your phone so it makes them easier to check and keep an eye on.
Good luck with the new GRiSO.

Welcome aboard mate!