Why a GRiSO ?

Wondering why others chose a GRiSO and where you'd prefer to ride.
Personally when I saw pictures of the GRiSO, being a boatbuilder who used carbon fibre a lot.
I thought "that exposed frame would look good sheathed in carbon twill"
I was riding a 900 Cagiva Elefant and wanted another Italian ( moody, fast and georgeous)

I bought an 8 valve GRiSO and spent many, many hours and $s doing all the mechanical and custom mods to get her how I liked.
I love the result. In my opinion the GRiSO is in a league of its own regarding a classic look.

The downside is every time I stop someone says "I like your bike" which makes me nervous when I leave her parked,
in case I come back to find her keyed, knocked off the stand or gone.

In this country there is a blanket 100 klm per hr limit.
Every bike has a speed they comfortably cruise at, with the GRiSO that's 140 kph, which here involves a 12 month loss of licence if caught.

So I bought a DR 650 dirt pig which I've deliberately kept scruffy for day to day riding.
The GRiSO mostly sits in the garage looking good but going nowhere.

I wish I was still working in Europe for me doing long trips on the continental motorways would be bliss.

Just curious why others chose a GRiSO and where they ride.

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The pig  

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I once had the perfect stable
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But one day stella became jealous, decided she didn't want to go back in the shed, and tried to kill me. As much as I enjoy helicopter flights, I'd prefer not to have punctured lungs / fractured ribs / shoulder / feet..... or a traumatised 12 yo daughter having to hand the injury list to the paramedics .

So I sold two guzzis, but still needed a taste of italy. Replacing the ktm with an swm wasn't enough, especially when the daughters sent pictures of her boyfreinds grandfathers mk 1 lemans. I needed something between stella and the v11 lemans, and it'll be on a truck coming south by the end of the week.

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I agree on the 140 KMH statement, except that here in the states thats 86 mph. Pearl does in fact love to settle in there. Rock solid and smooth. It's illegal here as well, but on most interstates/highways/expressways, whatever you choose to call them, 86 is the high end of 'normal' now, so you can indulge that without too much risk, if you don't mind riding on American interstate highways.

My Moto journey invovled a 30 year hiatus, bookended by 350 pound dirtbikes on one end and 550 pound Tonti's on the other.  I had two different friends loan me Corbin equipped GRiSO's on two different days two years apart. The latter event was a 200 mile day that involved heavily wooded twisties. I felt more connected to that bike that day than I ever had in all my years of riding. Some with a more sporting past might find that surprising, but with my frame of reference, the weight, the ergos, the torque...it was all perfect and the bike just went where I wanted it and the smile was tattooed in place.

within 8 weeks of that day I was an owner. I own 4 bikes but the GRiSO gets the attention. Yes I hit the ton (that 160kmh to you kiwis) regularly with her, given my proximity to a 6 lane wide, dead straight section of tarmac near my home, that is the final stretch of nearly every outing. But my favorite roads remain the wooded twisties. I'm not a knee dragger on ANY bike, and don't ride like one. I'm good with spirited riding on a torquey machine, and the GRiSO delivers in spades, and yes, she looks great doing it.

Here's hoping you'll find more opportunities to ride her, @evansnows

I was initially drawn to the GRiSO by the styling, but a test ride had me laughing out loud in my helmet.

My immediately previous rides were a CBR-XX and a R1150RT. Both do some, if not most, things better than the GRiSO. Neither made me as happy while riding.

Now, after 8 years of ownership, it still makes me grin to think about riding it. A good shock, Sargents seat, Stelvio bars, KD pegs and it is just right for this olde pharte.

BTW, if you like to ride fast, the Hill Country in Texas is hard to beat. Great roads, mostly empty of traffic, and 75 mph speed limits, which is just a suggestion. Woo Hoo!!!!

I've always wanted a Guzzi since I started riding and became aware of the brand. The GRiSO and 1200 Sport have been on my bucket list just based on styling alone so when the GRiSO came up for sale locally I jumped on it. I love the styling of Italian bikes, simplicity of air cooled motors with shaft drive, and the best part: two big ass heads poking out the sides. It doesn't hurt that it's fun to ride too.

@evansnows: The world is a village – my daily ride is a heavily modified 1996 DR 650 and my "beauty in the stable" is a 2006 black 1100 GRiSO. In Austria you can still enjoy spirited riding as long as you keep away from typical motorbike-roads on weekends and bank holidays; the twistier it gets, the more you can open the throttle. Exceeding 130 km/h on twisties the GRiSO becomes a handful upon braking, but the grin from ear to ear has to be removed surgically ;-)

My reason for the GRiSO? I had a perfected (suspension, brakes, tune, weight) Triumph 955i Daytona, which was part of the problem: You did not feel that bike unless you were going 170+ (km/h, about 105 mph), which is neither good for your license nor for your life expectancy. And I have to confess that my interpretation of "being fast" does not require 3-digit-horsepower. The good old sports-tractor still has the suspension to surprise riders of sportier bikes if you simply ignore what happens on the long straights.

My reason is simple. I thought it was a gorgeous bike with "style". Annnnd needed a replacement for my totaled Triumph Sprint.

GRiSO is best! Was working south of ATL when they came out. Nice riding but not like the next shop, in the GA mtns. I got to use all the models in heavy curves, you are to test ride after wrenching.
Got big feet & stuck under motor in a curve, from then on GRiSO's are ridden on balls of my feet.