Greetings from Central Victoria

Hi. I've just bought an early GRiSO. It's a repairable project that will keep me busy (and poor). I've been a Guzzi rider since 2000 starting with a Le Man's 1000 then Breva 1100 and Cali EV. The V7 didn't last long. Too much like like my Shiver, fun for 15mins then bloody uncomfortable. I hope to read some good stories and get good advice from the GRiSO family. Cheers all.

It’s not the red one that was on Bikesales a few months ago is it? I hope not because repairable or not it can never go back on the road. Is this the 850 sold as an 1100?

Not wanting to be a Debbie Downer but the GRiSO community in Oz is pretty small.

Welcome.

Yes it is red...as for the rest I cannot answer you. I have already assumed the family is a small community so you may be right. My investigation tells me it's an 1100 and able to be registered. Watch this space.

Good. I hope so. Does it have an oil cooler on the right of the block? Secondly, does it have damage to the left hand *Wing* beneath the tank?

No oil cooler and yes the 'wing' is damaged.

Welcome to the Ghetto, Will. Here's hoping your GRiSO is a sound one. You can post pictures here - that might help to put the looming question to rest. Good luck!

Pete (Street)

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Morning Pete. This is I welcome I was hoping for. To me the answer is simple, I don't care either way. I love Guzzi's and I love riding. I'll keep everyone guessing.

Welcome Will. Sounds like you have an 850 (no oil cooler) I've got a black one not many around

Thanks for the welcome. As I say any Guzzi is a good Guzzi. Men might lie but my verniers don't, it has a 90mm stroke which makes it an 1100. Also the frame is silver, not black.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Will Skid wrote:

No oil cooler and yes the 'wing' is damaged.

Why you’ll need to do WRT it’s status is take the Vin# to your local motor registry and ask them.

Now if it is the bike I think it is, and this is from memory but I think I was asked about it before, it was advertised as a ‘Repairable write off’ in Western Australia a while back. It was bought by someone in NSW, (I think?) and the problem was that because it was on the WOVR, (Written off vehicle register.) there was no way it could be registered in NSW unless it was put back on the road in it’s state of origin and it had to be registered for a year there before it could be transferred back to NSW. After this it could be re-registered in NSW. Yes, mindlessly bureaucratic and irritating but such are the joys of living in a country made up of federated states all with their own rules.

I know exactly how tedious this is because my Red Bike was a ‘Repairable write off’ in Queensland. It had absurdly minor cosmetic damage but I had to go through this whole silly rigmarole. Luckily I had my mate Peter in Qld who I gifted the bike to. He then got it re-registered in Qld and after a year I was gifted it back. It used to be that you had to have a $700 bullshit technical inspection in NSW so I was astonished to find that the NSW transport mob had abolished this and they accepted the Qld documentation with no spurious extra charges. That bike is now legal in any jurisdiction in Oz.

Now the bloke who owned the bike I think you own only found out about this requirement after he purchased it and the bike having last been registered, and written off, in Western Australia stymied the whole thing because a.) He didn’t know anyone in WA to help out with the re-registration and b.) The simple tyranny of distance!

Now, you are in Victoria which will no doubt have different rules again but I would suggest you make absolutely sure you can register it without a lot of jiggery-pokery before you embark on any serious and/or expensive repairs.

On the subject of its capacity? No oil cooler would suggest it’s an 850. You can of course find out from checking the VIN# but other things to look at are whether it has a black frame, (The 1100’s had silver frames.) and also if the cylinder heads have two spark plugs per head. The 850’s only have a single plug on the outside of the head. The 1100’s have another 10mm plug in a corresponding position on the inside of the head on the side facing the valley of the motor.

Let us know what you find.

OK, just saw your pics. It’s certainly a bit of an oddball. Black motor case, silver gearbox, (Unless it’s a trick of the light?) and brown swingarm and final drive. And no oil cooler! It’s almost like it’s a bitza. Nothing wrong with that. It’s just intriguing.

Thanks for all that, short novel for sure. 2 things that make me believe it's not the bike you think it is...firstly Peter Stevens sold the bike originally and they confirmed its an 1100. Secondly, it was registered in Vic until it was no longer registered. Vicroads confirmed this. It is not listed on any WOVR or PPSR. I paid to have this confirmed and have the reports on my desk. In Victoria we have the 15 year rule. Even if it's written off once it's 15 yrs old it can be put back on the road without anything more than a RWC. In loose terms ,that is. I've been caught before so I think I have a fair idea of what it's all about.

Sounds like you’re good to go. Probably a different machine then. I’m not trying to be a doom-monger, simply trying to ensure you don’t waste time, money or energy and end up in a sea of frustration.

The lack of an oil cooler really isn’t a problem I don’t think. My feeling is that it was overkill on the 1100’s and anyway it’s thermostatically controlled. With the 8V’s it’s more of an issue but to be honest I think I worried about it too much.

Do a good deep dig into this board and you’ll find most of the things you’re likely to need to address but swingarm bearings, shock linkage bearings and drain hoses are probably the big ones.

Will, welcome. Nice workshop!

iIs "central vic " close enough that we can catch up at, say, the top of falls creek in summer?

Did you buy this from Campbellfield?