Rennie Scaysbrook | April 27, 2016
Suitably fine-looking male (not Rennie) and the chunky lines of the Griso make for photographic gold.
Photography by Kit Palmer
Lately I’ve become more interested in what experience a motorcycle can offer me than what numbers it puts out. Numbers are a young man’s game and although I don’t consider myself over the hill just yet, it was refreshing to think after two weeks riding the 2016 Moto Guzzi Griso 8V SE I didn’t once look for the spec sheet to see how many horseies and torquies it took to put a grin on my face.
Funnily enough, the bike that put me on this train of thought was one utterly obsessed with numbers—the Kawasaki H2. That uberbahnstormfuhrer of motorbike is burned into my subconscious, poking my dreams with wild spinning impellors and manic madness. But the Griso, born of the impossibly beautiful lands of Lake Como in Northern Italy’s Lombardy region, is a different involvement. If riding an H2 is akin to chatting to the T1000’s two-wheeled spin off, riding a Griso is like sipping a Limoncello with Marlon Brando.
You can read the original magazine story by clicking HERE.
I noted during the H2 test that character was one of the most difficult things a motorcycle manufacturer could, well, manufacture. So it’s lucky that Moto Guzzi, with all its history, winnings, failings, ups, downs, lefts and rights, has more character as a company than the majority of the rest put together. And that personality trait has filtered to the Griso like the family Grandfather clock now in its fourth generational hands.
In 2009 Moto Guzzi changed a few things with the Griso—actually, 563 things—to turn the four-valve V-twin engine into an eight-valver (it’s called Quattro Valvole i.e four valves per cylinder) to produce a claimed 110 horsepower and 80 lb-ft of torque. But like I said before, those numbers don’t really matter. It’s the riding experience of a Guzzi that does and, like driving an old Alfa Romeo is a rite of passage if you’re a real car aficionado, the same is said for riding a Guzzi for the two-wheel equivalent.
Flat seat, single arm, transverse twin – the Griso is a statement bike.
If you’ve ever ridden a boxer BMW (and there are more of you out there than Guzzi riders), you’ll know about the gentle sway the opposing pistons create in the chassis each time you give the throttle a stab at standstill. Now times that by five, along with a fairly noticeable driveshaft snatch, and you’ll get someway to knowing the feeling of accelerating from standstill on the Griso. But whereas this would really piss me off on other bikes, it just seems part of the fun in riding a bike you very rarely see on the road.
The muffler actually looks better in the metal than it does in photos. It certainly does it’s job – the Guzzi is remarkably quiet.
Minimal dash is devoid of all but the required clutter.
But once you’re upright and going, the swaying cancels itself out (for the most part). And the Griso has a want of revs that’s surprising given its general aesthetics and demeanor. Nail the throttle at 65 mph on the freeway in sixth and there’s torque by the barrel, even if the gearbox is best used once and left to its own devices. The Griso can play the game at traffic lights well enough, but hammer the throttle hard at standstill and you’ll really know about the piston pull and push. Snatch second gear like you’re going for the win at Daytona and the right side of the Griso tries to rotate around the left as the power makes its way from the production end to the business end of the driveshaft.
Y’see, plenty of character.
The Griso is a mix of old and new aesthetics, blended together with unmistakable Italian flair.
But it’s not all about the engine. The Griso is graced with fully adjustable Marzocchi forks and shock, plus there’s Brembo radial-mounted calipers, a gorgeous single-sided swingarm and ergonomics that, if you don’t mind the plank-style seat, mean you can spend hours on board listening to that meaty thump of the 90-degree V-twin while contemplating the financial hardships that would befall you after you finally take the missus on that trip to Italy you’ve always talked about.
The Griso has that sort of effect on you.
It turns well enough and loves a rear brake midcorner to keep everything on its intended path—regardless of the hardware it’s far from sportbike or even sporty naked-bike-fast in the turning department, but the Marzocchis do make an admirable job of soaking up Cali’s many, many crappy roads on standard suspension settings.
One thing that struck me during my time with the Griso was the fact that the custom crowd has largely ignored it. With most people’s tolerance for poorly modified SR400s and CB750s pretty much maxed out, I can’t for the life of me think why, okay, maybe not a brand-new Griso, but at least the old four-valver hasn’t been at the forefront of the minds of customizers who actually know what they’re doing, because this is a unique machine in every sense of the word and a custom Griso bobber, café racer, hell, even ’70s superbike endurance tribute would look awesome.
Anyway, that’s an argument for another time.
I truly did enjoy my time with the 2016 Moto Guzzi Griso 8V SE. It’s not a bike that takes a while to love, it’s one you either immediately love or hate. Thankfully for me it was the former—it’s got character to burn, and an old world charm that’s so authentically Italian, yet it’s a current model machine. That’s no easy feat to accomplish.
|
SPECIFICATIONS: 2016 Moto Guzzi Griso 8V SE
|
|
Engine:
|
90 V-twin, transversally mounted, SOHC, 8 valve
|
|
Displacement:
|
1151cc
|
|
Bore x stroke:
|
95 x 81.2mm
|
|
Horsepower:
|
100 hp @ 7,500 rpm (claimed)
|
|
Torque:
|
80 lb-ft @ 6400 rpm (claimed)
|
|
Compression ratio:
|
11:01
|
|
Transmission:
|
Six-speed
|
|
Chassis:
|
High-tensile steel tubular twin cradle
|
|
Front suspension:
|
43mm inverted fork, adjustable rebound and compression damping and spring preload
|
|
Rear suspension:
|
Single shock absorber, adjustable rebound and compression damping and spring preload
|
|
Front brake:
|
Twin 320mm discs, four-piston Brembo radial calipers, ABS
|
|
Rear brake:
|
Single 282mm disc, two-piston caliper, ABS
|
|
Front tire:
|
120/70 ZR17
|
|
Rear tire:
|
180/55 ZR17
|
|
Rake:
|
26.3°
|
|
Trail:
|
4.25 in.
|
|
Wheelbase:
|
61 in.
|
|
Seat height:
|
31.4 in.
|
|
Overall width:
|
32.6 in.
|
|
Overall length:
|
89 in.
|
|
Fuel capacity:
|
4.4 gal.
|
|
Weight:
|
489 lbs (dry, claimed).
|
|
Color:
|
Red/Black, Grey/Black
|
|
MSRP:
|
$12,990
|
You can read the original magazine story by clicking HERE.
For more Cycle News Standard motorcycle reviews, click HERE.
For more Moto Guzzi motorcycle reviews, click HERE.
