Allow myself to introduce myself....Tasmania

Hi Everyone,

It is a pleasure to join the online community of the GRiSO Ghetto.

Just a couple of things first about myself:

• My name is Graham from Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
  

• I am pleased to say that I am the proud new owner of a white 2008 GRiSO 1200 8v.
  

• I am 43. I have a wife and three beautiful children: two boys 7 & 5 years and a 8 month old baby girl.
  

This is my GRiSO story

Close to 2 years ago I told my wife that I wanted to get my motorcycle licence. As if my guitar and amp collection weren’t enough of an indication that my mid-life crisis was well and truly in full swing.

I explained to her that my dream in high school was to one day tour across America on a motorcycle (my other high school dream of sleeping with Jennifer Connelly, I kept to myself). I wanted to go during my long service leave, which was at the time 5 years away.

I explained if I was going to do it, I had to start now, which meant getting my learner’s licence and learners approved bike etc. It takes 18 months to 2 years to get off a restricted licence here in Australia and I wanted to be an experienced rider by the time I was due for my trip.

I also wanted to tour around my beautiful adopted state of Tasmania (I am originally from Far North Queensland) and what better way to do it than on a motorcycle.

So, I bought my little 2011 Honda CBR250R, got my learners licence and about 9 months ago passed my provisional licence test.
Knowing my restricted licence was not too far off being a distant memory I started trolling the internet and bike stores for, not only my next bike but also my one day dream bike.

When I thought about bikes, for me at least, they really only fitted into two categories; Harleys or sports bikes.  I know that is not right and that there are adventure bikes and off road bikes and other brands of cruisers, not to mention café racers and scooters etc…. etc…..etc but they never really figured into my thinking.

I loved the Harley that Mickey Rourke road in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, I thought the Kawasaki GPX900 in Top Gun was raw and beautiful. I remembered the 2 stroke Pepsi and Lucky Strike RGV250’s of the early 90’s that my friends had ridden and that I had thought of them as being the coolest things ever. And I still remember seeing my first VFR750, CBR1000F and Ducati Paso 906 and falling in love.

So for all intents and purposes my next bike was supposed to be a nice clean CBR600F, Ninja 650 or something similar. They all looked terribly boring to me, but they were just going to be a stepping stone. It wasn’t until I had seen a Honda CB1300 that I realised that I had a thing for big naked muscle bikes.

So I hit the internet and online classifieds and came across the Moto Guzzi Breva 750. That was it for me, a nice looking naked bike that would be a sensible choice and there was a black one for sale right here in TAS, for a reasonable price. The only thing holding me back was that it would have to sit in my garage for 7 or 8 months waiting for my big boy licence. In the end, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t buy it, it was just too long to wait, so back to the internet I went.

That was when I saw my first GRiSO and I thought…..f@#k that is the most beautiful thing (other than Jennifer Connelly) I had ever seen. What a dream bike, no more searching, I had decided, one day I was going to own a Moto Guzzi GRiSO. Now I only had to decide what colour I had to dream about…well WHITE of course!!

But I reconciled myself back to looking at CBR600F’s etc, as that day of dreams was a long way off…....

So that brings me to today. About two weeks ago a saw a comment on a local motorcycle trader’s facebook page right here in Launceston asking if anyone would be interested in a GRiSO. I thought to myself what would be the chances, in this little state (about the size of Ireland) with a population of only 500,000 people, cut off by water from the mainland, that I would come across my dream bike and in white!!

It was worse than that, when I called he was in the next suburb over and less than 5 minutes away. Two days later the keys were in my hands and it is now only 93 days until I can legally ride her.

Some might say that is torture, but I look at it this way….. Imagine your new flat mate "Jennifer Connelly" moved in and in 93 days you knew you were going to……..    Well you get the picture

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Be careful. While it is heavy and not very powerful when compared to many motorbikes of similar capacity the GRiSO is a large, powerful and in many ways not particularly forgiving motorbike. As your first large motorcycle I advise caution, but welcome.

Pete

Pete Roper wrote:

Be careful. While it is heavy and not very powerful when compared to many motorbikes of similar capacity the GRiSO is a large, powerful and in many ways not particularly forgiving motorbike. As your first large motorcycle I advise caution, but welcome.

Pete

Hi Pete, Thanks for the welcome and the words of wisdom.

I am In full agreement. I only just had the same discussion with my friend who has been going through the same licence process with me. We both think it is crazy that you are limited to 80km/hr and for up to 2 years and the next day you can walk into a showroom and ride out on a Hayabusa. When I was at Uni up in Townsville in the early 90's I had a RZ350 (in 250 guise). In between moving to NSW, back to Qld and then onto Victoria I lost the provisional motorcycle licence part when transferring my licence back and forth. I hate to think what would have happened if I had kept it.

I did a track day with Stay Upright earlier in the year. It was fantastic and I had no idea before the day how much fun it was going to be and how much I was going to get out of it. So much so, I had full intentions of signing up to the Tasmanian Motorcycle Club to do ride days out at Symmons Plains. But that was before my daughter was born and my weekends disappeared for a while. My wife is now on her own long service leave so I will be joining in the new year.

I still may be getting a midsize bike or the like for those days, to have a blast around the track and get the skills up to speed. I have a little Townace and ramps to transport.

Cheers G

Welcome!

DAMN I love the white GRiSO! Welcome to the Ghetto

In the time before you can ride it you can start sorting the stuff the factory won't of done properly.

Obvious things are the shock linkage and Swingarm bearings which I can virtually gaurantee will be grease free. If you're lucky the bike won't of been out in the rain much and they won't be completely Donald Ducked.

Run the Vin# past me and I'll check out its history with the importer and find out if it has any outstanding recalls or updates.

I'd also suggest purchasing the cables for and downloading Guzzidiag. That way you can find out what map it's got in it and we can send you one that will make it run like a champ. If it's still got the GRS8V-01 map in it you'll take one ride on it and want to sell it. We can fix that !

DO NOT play with the throttle bodies or try and adjust the idle speed until you have read up on how the system works and what to do. If you start futzing with stuff you don't understand you'll open yourself up to a world of pain, really.

Pete

Welcome, congrats (on both bike and baby) and good luck waiting 3 months all at once!

A white GRiSO looks really great. I mean, "pics or it didn't happen!"

Tassiedevil71 wrote:

think it is crazy that you are limited to 80km/hr and for up to 2 years and the next day you can walk into a showroom and ride out on a Hayabusa

Move over here! You can get your license and buy one the same day, no waiting! I had a friend in Chicago who sold motorcycle insurance - he had a few "guy rode it out of the dealership, straight across the street, and into a parked car / plate glass window / etc. stories.

Pete Roper wrote:

Be careful. While it is heavy and not very powerful when compared to many motorbikes of similar capacity the GRiSO is a large, powerful and in many ways not particularly forgiving motorbike. As your first large motorcycle I advise caution, but welcome.

Pete

C'mon, Pete, the man has some idea he could handle Jennifer Connelly, so a white GRiSO should be pretty manageable even for a new rider.

Welcome, Tassiedevil71.

BTW, by "long service leave," do you mean army or what? Not everything translates well into English from Aussie.

You seem a blessed fellow; savor it all. Tempus fugit and all that. I was 43 yesterday, and now am a seriously senior citizen.

Bill

Bill - Long Service Leave - when you work for a company (inc Govt) for 10 years or more, you are entitled to long service  leave. Dunno 'bout Tassie, but here in NSW you get 13 weeks paid leave after ten years, then 6 weeks every 5 years after that. That's on top of your 4 weeks paid annual leave every year.


Steve - Seriously? You can pay for your license then throw yer leg over a Hayabusa and be dead 10 seconds later?



Graham - Welcome! I admire your gumption. 250 to GRiSO? Feerrk!

Welcome to Grisoworld, and thanks for the nice story!!!!  The white GRiSO is rare as a unicorn around my part of this world  - congratulations!!  It looks beautiful.

Bill, it's another bit of the dreadful socialism you would find so abhorrent about the Aussie way of life!

As well as having more paid public holidays than just about anyone else on the planet in Oz, if you work for the government or most larger businesses, (Unless the right has been foolishly bargained away!) after five years in a job, (It varies a bit from organization to organization.) you start to accrue long service leave which you can take after. (Once again it varies a bit.) after seven years.

This is on top of the four weeks of paid annual leave entitlement that every full time employee is entitled too.

For example. In July 2016 Jude will of worked for Animal Health Australia for seven years. At that she will of accrued almost seven weeks of long service leave. That means that she will in 2017 be able to take basically eleven weeks holiday at full pay and will continue to accrue leave while she is on leave! In reality that will be the end of it. She'll be taking that leave and pulling the pin and retiring. Yay!

While I know this sort of thing will probably make your head want to explode the counterpoint is that Aus pay rates tend to be significantly lower than those in the USA so it's all a swings and roundabouts type thing.

Needless to say I as a self employed tool-flinger get no such benefits. If I don't work I don't eat! It is partly these entitlements that have also led to a great rise in the 'Casualization' of the workforce. 'Casual' employees are paid a slightly higher hourly rate but have no leave entitlements at all.

Pete

PS. I have no idea who Jennifer Connoly is???

PS. I have no idea who Jennifer Connoly is???   BLASPHEMY Pete, she looks just like Daniel Day-Lewis.

Scroll down, it's true  

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Actually, she (Jen) is a stunner, just like the GRiSO. I would agree though with Pete. The GRiSO is my first road bike and can be bit a heavy for those just starting out with a fair bit of immediate get-up-and-go. Get to know her a bit before treating her like a one night stand!

Oh yeah, congrats & welcome! You have good taste in women and bikes....ENJOY.

1151, there's so much wrong with that website I don't know where to begin!

Robert Pattinson does look like a Troll doll though. They got that bit right.

Yeah, but they nailed the Paris Hilton / Big Bird comparison too.

Can't believe I never noticed that before...so obvious!

Btw beetle, despite Don Johnson being in the clip, it was goood. Have never seen that movie. Brought me back to the eighties. I think I first saw her in Career Opportunities....immediate crush ensued that lasts to this day.

One day she'll realize what she could have with me and my GRiSO.

The interesting thing is that apart from Robert Redford and Audrey Hepburn I recognise none of their faces and only a few of their names. I also have absolutely no idea what any of them do apart from Paris Hilton and Big Bird one of whom is a childrens' entertainer and the other one a 'B' list porn starlet but I've never been able to work,out which is which?

Pete

Just so you know Pete, Paris is the children's entertainer and Big Bird is the "B" list porn starlet.

At least that's how I see it.

Welcome to the ghetto. Ride it like you stole it!

Pete Roper wrote:

In the time before you can ride it you can start sorting the stuff the factory won't of done properly.

Obvious things are the shock linkage and Swingarm bearings which I can virtually gaurantee will be grease free. If you're lucky the bike won't of been out in the rain much and they won't be completely Donald Ducked.

Run the Vin# past me and I'll check out its history with the importer and find out if it has any outstanding recalls or updates.

I'd also suggest purchasing the cables for and downloading Guzzidiag. That way you can find out what map it's got in it and we can send you one that will make it run like a champ. If it's still got the GRS8V-01 map in it you'll take one ride on it and want to sell it. We can fix that !

DO NOT play with the throttle bodies or try and adjust the idle speed until you have read up on how the system works and what to do. If you start futzing with stuff you don't understand you'll open yourself up to a world of pain, really.

Pete

Thanks Pete, Will do.

Reading through this and other forums has started to make me a bit paranoid... So I will get onto it. I'll have a search for the Guizzidiag and instructions as well.

What is the consensus, are GRiSO's he's or she's? Anyway mine as just ticked over 11,000kms.

Thanks to everyone else for the welcomes .

Cheers G.

Welcome matey. I, having purchased mine only this month, am least qualified here to give any specific advice. Nonetheless, I wouldn't worry that it's your first big bike as long as you are sensible. It may seem like a long, heavy pig on paper, but it certainly doesn't feel like it. Also, don't pay too much attention to the spoiled drama queens on the net, most of them probably own cars that park them selves. Seeing that your '08 GRiSO has only 11000 km, it would be a good idea to go through it thoroughly. If you are a hands on type, you should do it yourself and get to know your Jeniffer Connoly intimately. But be careful, the GRiSO will be offended if you call HIM a she.

Cheerio

beetle wrote:

Bill - Long Service Leave - when you work for a company (inc Govt) for 10 years or more, you are entitled to long service  leave. Dunno 'bout Tassie, but here in NSW you get 13 weeks paid leave after ten years, then 6 weeks every 5 years after that. That's on top of your 4 weeks paid annual leave every year.

Steve - Seriously? You can pay for your license then throw yer leg over a Hayabusa and be dead 10 seconds later?

I like the sound of 3 months leave! Wow. Can someone call my boss and tell him about this?!?!

Yep - if you have your license and you have the cash (or credit) then you can get whatever you want. However, you'll be needing insurance and new riders are often surprised to find the insurance cost on large capacity bikes is greater than the monthly payments of the bike. This tends to keep new riders on smaller 600s and other low power bikes. I mean, a GSXR 600 only has around 100 measly HP to push it's 415lb (wet) bulk around.

Hey T/D71, look up RossoRicho here, another Taswegian with an 1100 GRiSO. As well as the 'puta adjustments he may go riding with you until you are up to speed, so to speak.
And don't bullshit about distance, we all know its only half days ride to do the whole island.

Hey Tassie,

Re. your question over the GRiSO's gender. Well, for me it's a she simply because it provides me with a more natural sense of relationship with anything I'm riding. She's got some great contours and has two big jugs sticking out the side which provide a good deal of grunt. I think of them as gorgeous, perky and assertive tits. Also like the way she responds when I give her the throttle....she's very willing, able and happy to go there!

Anyhow, it's yer choice. I am under the impression most here consider their Grisos to be male and fair enough, it's bad ass enough to give anyone that vibe.

Whatever works for you I say.

Welcome Tassiedevil71
As Mr Roper said
Run the numbers passed him and any thing else he may say.
I did and found, very little grease in the suspension and swing arm.
Fuel hose in tank needed replacing.
And I needed a recall on the Cark on my bike which he organise for me.

ghezzi wrote:

Hey T/D71, look up RossoRicho here, another Taswegian with an 1100 GRiSO. As well as the 'puta adjustments he may go riding with you until you are up to speed, so to speak.
And don't bullshit about distance, we all know its only half days ride to do the whole island.

Thanks Ghezzi, sounds like a good idea. I'll send him a pm. It would be great to see what life is like with his G and go for a few rides in this picturesque little State of ours.

Its funny you mention distance in Tassie. When I first moved down here I would jump in the car and head to Hobart at the drop of the hat. I went to a heap of State cricket games and would even do the 400km+ round trip for a hour in the nets with a ball machine. The longer I've been here the greater the distance seems to become. Same goes for buying a house, any further than 15 minutes from town and you either live in the sticks or have rocks in your head.

For me, one of the defining characteristics in choosing the GRiSO or any bike for that matter in Tassie, is the fuel range of Hobart to Launnie. I suspect this is the same for most Taswegian motorcyclists.

Cheers