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2009 Moto Guzzi Griso 8V - V11 owner Chris Cattermole ignores the technical stuff and tells us what this bike is like to ride... which is the important thing really With thanks to Scooterazzi for the loan of the bike

2009 Moto Guzzi Griso 8V... a retro for the 2nd decade of the 21st Century "...There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: good music and Moto Guzzis..."

In this review, I’m not going to go into all of the technical specs of the Griso 8V, more what it was like to ride, and opinions of potential ownership.

Riding position is very relaxed, wide high bars almost like a big trailie with pegs a lot further forward and lower than the V11.

Key in, tacho needle sweeps around to only 6.5K rpm telling you this is all you’re allowed to rev it to for now and then a jab of the starter. You don’t have to pull the clutch in like my V11.

Engine note is quiet with a nice whine coming from inside the motor (alternator perhaps?) but still has the classic ‘Guzzi rumble to let you know it’s alive.

Put it into first gear, gearbox smooth with just a wee clunk also telling you she has a big shaft drive back there. A few revs (yup, a little of the swing-to-the-right torque reaction but not as much as the V11), indicate and a HUGE BLAAAAAAAAAHPPPP from the horn !

WHAAAATTTT ?

Yup, why did they put the bloody horn button up where the indicators should be and the indicators down really low? Is this the new trend for bikes and I’m behind the times??

Anyway, second go at this, indicated successfully and off we go. Like I said earlier, great riding position for around town, lots of leverage on the bars and the brakes are absolutely superb, these being radially mounted Brembos.

Engine – this motor had around 500kms on it so I wasn’t going to redline it of course. First thing I note is that it doesn’t quite have the pull in the low and mid-range like my 2-valve V11 has. Whether this is due to the motor still being a little tight or not, hard to know, but despite this it’s still impressive, very torquey.

HOWEVER... once you give it a little berries, at around 6000rpm, she really comes alive and takes off like no 2-valve Guzzi does ! Sure it’s no GSX-R1000 but it doesn’t pretend to be either.

2009 Moto Guzzi Griso 8V... with an engine like this, you just know it is a 'Guzzi Big strong induction noise plus pretty decent engine braking like normal.

On the open road at 65mph and 3500rpm-ish where the V11 Sport has a really nasty buzz and renders the mirrors useless, the Griso is completely smooth. Top marks, Moto Guzzi, on this. Basically the whole motor is a lot smoother than the V11 Sport so this must have been something they worked on.

Handling ? Since this Guzzi was not mine, I wasn’t going to push the limits of its handling but I did get an impression. You feel like the bike is longer when you’re riding it, however this makes for a very stable feel especially when tipping into the corners. The suspension is excellent, soaking up the bumps and keeping it tracking straight and true.

If I was going to head for the twisties, I would probably prefer the V11 Sport for the fact that it lighter and shorter making for a slightly more nimble feel. Given time to get used to the Griso 8V though, who knows?

The only really complaint if I really had to think about it to the Griso’s handling is that it would benefit from a steering damper. I say this because on more than one occasion the forks gave a headshake when changing gears under acceleration due to the front end being very light. Also, it feels a little top-heavy when crawling along at slow speeds.

As for the ergonomics – well I talked about the bars and riding position earlier. Well suited to around town and surprisingly good on the motorway at 70mph, the small instrument binnacle acting as a little mini-fairing. I probably wouldn’t want to be cruising at 90mph all day but then that’s illegal anyway ...

The feeling is of sitting on top of the bike rather than into it. The seat is very comfortable, not too wide but supports your butt just right but the true revelation is the pillion comfort. The report from Mrs Cattermole was that she loved the back of the Griso with the nicely padded seat and low pegs.

The levers and controls fall into place nicely (to use an old bike review cliché), apart from maybe the aforementioned horn/indicator positioning but I got used to that anyway.

The digital speedo and analogue rev-counter and nice and easy to read, plus for all of the techno-geeks you can play around with 2 trip meter combos which also display average speed, highest speed, battery charge, fuel consumption, lap scorers would you believe, temperature and a clock.

2009 Moto Guzzi Griso 8V... Italian stying shines through For me the styling is a real winner – she’s a gorgeous machine; long, lean and mean is how I would describe it. The cross-over headers ending up in the 2 barrelled silencer are awesome. Add this to the lashings of chrome and alloy that sits nicely with the deep black paintwork and this is Italian style at its best.

So all in all, Moto Guzzi has continued their classic theme with the air-cooled v-twin but with 21st century touches. The Griso 8V is very refined – possibly too refined, but that is open to debate.

Verdict I very much enjoyed my two days with the Griso and I thank Scooterazzi for lending me this beautiful exotic machine. Would I buy one? Well, I love my V11 Sport to bits but at times it can be a really pain in the butt (literally!!). The Griso would be the softer option (especially for my behind!), but no less enjoyable a ride for that.

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