• Ciao Guest - You’ve landed at the ultimate Guzzi site. NEW FORUM REGISTRATIONS REQUIRE EMAIL ACTIVATION - CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER - Use the CONTACT above if you need help. New to the forum? For all new members, we require ONE post in the Introductions section at the bottom, in order to post in most of the other sections. ALWAYS TRY A SEARCH BEFORE STARTING A NEW TOPIC - Most questions you may have, have likely been already answered. DON'T BE A DRIVE-BY POSTER: As a common courtesy, check back in and reply within 24 hours, or your post will be deleted. Note there's decades of heavily experienced Guzzi professionals on this site, all whom happily give endless amounts of their VALUABLE time for free; BE COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL!
  • There is ZERO tolerance on personal attacks and ANY HYPERLINKS to PRODUCT(S) or other competing website(s), including personal pages, social media or other Forums. This ALSO INCLUDES ECU DIAGnostic software, questions and mapping. We work very hard to offer commercially supported products and to keep info relevant here. First offense is a note, second is a warning, third time will get you banned from the site. We don't have the time to chase repeat (and ignorant) offenders. This is NOT a social media platform; It's an ad-free, privately funded website, in small help with user donations. Be sure to see the GTM STORE link above; ALL product purchases help support the site, or you can upgrade your Forum profile or DONATE via the link above.
  • Be sure to see the GTM STORE link also above for our 700+ product inventory, including OEM parts and many of our 100% Made-in-SoCal-USA GTM products and engine kits. In SoCal? Click the SERVICE tab above for the best in service, tires, tuning and installation of our products or custom work, and don't miss our GT MotoCycles® (not) art on the BUILDS tab above. WE'RE HERE ONLINE ONLY - NO PHONE CALLS MADE OR RECEIVED - DO NOT EMAIL AND ASK QUESTIONS OR ASK TO CALL YOU.
  • Like the new V100, GuzziTech is full throttle into the future! We're now running on an all-new server and we've updated our Forum software. The visual differences are obvious, but hopefully you'll notice the super-fast speed. If you notice any glitches or have any issues, please post on the Site Support section at the bottom. If you haven't yet, please upgrade your account which is covered in the Site Support section or via the DONATE tab above, which gives you full site access including the DOWNLOADS section. We really appreciate every $ and your support to keep this site ad-free. Create an account, sign in, upgrade your account, and enjoy. See you on the road in 2024.

Turning in problem

nghawke

Just got it firing!
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
Messages
4
Hi Guys. I'm a new Griso rider. Just got an 09 Griso, with 4k on the clock. I live in Dubai in the UAE, and there are only 2 Grisos in the country! So I'm struggling for a bit for advice!!

So, I love the bike, but I'm having handling issues. In higher speed turns the bike seems ok, but not great. In lower speed turns, the bike does not want to countersteer, and seems to want to steer around the corner. I have a large pressure on the inside bar from the steering trying to turn in, and I obviously cant get the bike over into the corner and roll the throttle on. Its very unnerving, and the end result is running wide.

I havent touched the suspension settings, and I'm assuming they are stock.

Any thoughts?

Neil.
 
Quite exciting to have a Dubai Guzzi owner here on the Forum. Welcome and congrats on the G8V!
So, simple things first... Tire pressures and wear? Typically suspension settings aren't high on the list unless you are an extremely light or heavier rider.

Post again.
 
Hey, thanks for the reply.

So, I picked the bike up yesterday. Tyres look ok, only 4k on them, but they are the original stock tyres. I'll check the pressure later today and post again.

Thanks

Neil.
 
My pleasure Neil, please do and post again. Tire pressures are far too often overlooked, even by dealers when new.
 
I raised the forks through the yokes / triple trees and it made it much faster to turn in on twistie roads. Stock I think it had 3 black rings above the yokes & I raised the forks a couple more. I thought about trying even more but didn't want to compromise high speed stability which someone told me might the case.
 
Neil,
I was going to wait until you came back with your tyre pressures before mentioning the suspension settings, but seeing as Will has started...

I raised my forks so that 6 notches are showing, and also increased the rear preload, both helping to tilt the bike down forward from stock.

I also checked and set the suspension - you assume the settings are stock, but they might not be, and mine were hopeless at stock anyway! All those adjustments available, it seems churlish not to use them.

Check out the various Griso suspension threads for more details. Mine was transformed.

Regards
David
 
Adjust the suspension, did it on my Griso and it transformed from a slug to a swallow! The best invested two hours ever. Just rode around and tried different settings to find what suited my riding, ended up on the hard side with a lot of preload and redampening but what a difference it made in the turns. Comfort suffered but I did not buy the Griso to get a comfy ride, there are other bikes that does that job better! Still did 3500kms in nine days on it(two up)! Go bananas with the settings and fork height and you will see that it is really revarding. Oh, and tyre pressure is very important. I ran mine on Metzler and Pirelli and I was happy with both.
 
Guys

Thanks very much for all the advice. Weekends coming up (Friday and Saturday here), so I will have a look at the suspension settings and see what I can do!!

Will post after I have had a fiddle around.

Thanks

Neil.
 
Suspension settings are important. But tire pressure comes before suspension settings.
The symptoms you describe can be caused by incorrect tire pressure settings.
Some people have dropped the front end to gain more rake and reduce trail, some have not needed to (including myself). Most have had to adjust the suspension settings from stock to achieve the ride they desire, but that should be done AFTER making sure tire pressures are correct. Too low a pressure can make the bike reluctant to turn in and too high pressure can make the bike too tippy, wanting to fall in and requiring bar pressure to keep the bike from turning more then desired.
Step one, set tire pressure to either stock settings or a pressure that works well for you.
Step two, set sag. That is the baseline for any other suspension settings.
Step three, adjust the suspension to achieve a desirable ride.
Step four, if required raise or lower the front or rear to adjust the geometry to suit your tastes.

It sounds like your tire pressures are low, but I may be miss reading what you are saying. Descriptive words to describe motorcycle handling are not always universal.
 
nghawke
Before you start adjusting suspension make sure you get a base setting to work from.
Having gone through this exercise I would recommend that you return all of the settings to those recommended in the owners handbook and set the suspension sag as per normal convention to around 30 to 35 mm for both front and rear.
Once this is done and you have confirmed that the tyre pressures are correct you can start experimenting.
I would only make one adjustment at a time and test it, then move on to another and test again.
If you make multiple adjustments at the one time you will never be able to evaluate which has improved or caused a deterioration in the performance.
Contrary to the experiences of some others I do believe that you can also get a reasonably comfortable ride and good handling with experimentation. I know this because on our roads in OZ hard suspension is not always a suitable option.
If you have a cast iron arse and are happy to have a hard ride then disregard the last comment.
Also be aware that everyone has an opinion on settings (many already discussed on this site) as they will no doubt have totally different criteria and roads to those which you experience, so it is probably best to come up with your own preferred options.

Goodluck and be patient this can be time consuming initially but if done methodically should reap major improvements.
 
As we are discussing adjusting the suspension, or not, I noticed this recently.

These are quite old photos, maybe from the launch of the 8v:


What I spotted is the amount that the forks are sticking through, seen clearly on this zoomed in section:



Maybe they should have been like that all along, and some fool changed them before launch!

I also noticed that the spring appears to be yellow: mine is definitely red. But then again, I have never understood why my headlight bulb surround is black when I thought they were supposed to be red.

Regards
David
 

Attachments

  • Griso 8v Large.jpg
    Griso 8v Large.jpg
    312.8 KB · Views: 370
  • Griso 8v zoom in.jpg
    Griso 8v zoom in.jpg
    102.9 KB · Views: 370
gulveal
If these are factory promo photos I think the more likely scenario is that this has been done to lower the overall height of the bke to artifically enhance its appearnace.
This is done particularly on cars where lighting, location and suspension options are chosen to give the vehicle a lower, sleeker and sporty appearance.
I have also noted this on many motorcycle manufacturer photos over the years particularly on the sports models.
Conversely on the serious off road versions of cars and bikes they tend to photograh them in a way to enhance their height off the ground to reinforce their more rugged appearance and off road capability.
Happy to be corrected on this but I wouldn' necessarily use this photo as the basis to set up my suspension.
I still think the best start point is the suggested setting in the handbook and then modify to your individual taste from there.
Everyone has different priorities and road conditions and I'm sure what works well on high quality roads in Switzerland for example won't be the best option on country roads in Australia. I know this from personal experience.
The same thing applies to tyres and tyre wear which will vary significantly depending on where you use your bike.
Mark
 
Good point, Mark.
I can believe your idea about it being done just for the photos. I don't want to suggest that anybody should take this as a starting point.

I know that my bike's handling was transformed by tweaking the suspension. I did mine from first principles following the general suspension advice I could find, as well as the experience of others on this forum. It makes sense that any bike would at least need adjusting for a rider's weight.

Regards,
David
 
Hi Niel,

please check your tire pressure first!! Do this on very regular basis (every week, changed temperatur and so on).
After that set your suspension settings at the standard ratings and go for a decent test drive.
If you are not satisfied or think: This must be better, go change your settings. Write down every change...
:idea: :idea: Can we create a topic in witch we write our suspension setting AND our weight (!!!).
No further comments, just the your personal settings, just the numbers.
Better, I will start with it, just for the Griso (that's all I have... along with my lovely wife... :whistle: :p )
If sombody of the moderators change that topic in that way that it keeps at the nearly top of this chapter,
everybody can read it, put his (her) settings and weight in it and all can profit from it.
If you drive an other type of Guzzi, please create your own "Suspension settings" topic in "your own chapter"... :idea:

Go have some fun with that finest bike, your Griso... :mrgreen:
Ad B
 
Ad B said:
If sombody of the moderators change that topic in that way that it keeps at the nearly top of this chapter, everybody can read it, put his (her) settings and weight in it and all can profit from it.
If you drive an other type of Guzzi, please create your own "Suspension settings" topic in "your own chapter".
Done.
 
hi guys

Thanks for all the guidance.

In fact the tire pressures were low. But when I was filling the front up I noticed air leaking from a gap between the valve and the rim. the valve actually spun around. Couldn't get air into the tyre, and ended up with a flat front.

I also noticed oil leaking out of the right hand side cylinder too.

To add to this when I talked to the guy at the guzzi dealership he told me I had bought his personal bike and not a bike through the dealership, although the bike was in the showroom. So its got nothing to do with the dealership!!!!

Anyway, he's taking it back to sort out and hopefully when I get it back I can give you an update on the handling.

Great bike, but it seems like the dealer here is dodgy, and I got taken for a ride. No pun intended!

Cheers

Neil.
 
Back
Top