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Griso as a Commuter?

pokeyjoe

High Miler
Joined
Sep 1, 2012
Messages
746
Location
Long Beach, California
How would a Griso do as a commuter? I know it's heavy (550 lbs?), but would that be a serious deterent? I had a Triumph Scrambler for awhile and it weighed 500 lbs. It wasn't horrible. I've been kinda spoiled by lighter bikes and wonder if its really that big a deal. I used a Street Triple for awhile and a V7. Those are both 400 lb. bikes. Real easy in traffic and moving around the garage. Anyone commute on a Griso?
 
John, there's a big handful here that commute on them, hopefully they'll speak up.

I've never commuted on a Griso, but in my experience, weight works in your favor when on the road unless you are low speed lane-splitting and the likes. The suspension on the other hand on the Griso... well, you know the drill.
 
I commute but it's only about 20 miles each way and not in the rain. I have a car for that.

I stay off the freeways, using the back roads that have more than a few dips to crouch-stand over and turns. My main concerns are wildlife in the morning which favors one route and whether or not to take that two lane road with the aggregate plants / belly dump semi's in the afternoon. After replacing 10 windshields over the years due to those belly dumps I have a fair amount of caution running that route on a bike.

Leave home 5:30 - 6:00 am. return 4-5 pm. It's nice and quiet in the morning.

I avoid most of the afternoon commuters by my route choice. I generally get some slow speed practice every day. I don't split lanes. "Filtering" wouldn't really help me and one of my rules is not to be first through an intersection. I see cars / pickups and semi's running red lights at 50+ mph to often.

You might call it my daily workout and I'm thankful for that.
 
I think commuting can mean different things to different people, it depends on the nature of your commute. I used to commute on my Griso all the time. First I had a 30 mile commute mainly on our Capitol beltway. That was cake. Often I would take the highway there in the morning and then take backroads home.
Later my commute became a 15 mile trip down Route 1. But, as before, I would often take the direct way in and the scenic way home.
Now my commute is 90 miles of mainly Interstate and I have not tried any of my bikes. The trip home could be good but the morning run in seems like zero fun.
If you commute into a major city the Griso may not be perfect, it is heavy and wide. But it is an easy bike to ride and could certainly handle any commute you want to throw at it.
 
Commuting is where the majority of my 30,000 per year mileage comes from.

Before my Griso 8V; I rode GSXR's.
The Griso makes a slightly better commuter than the GSXR in some ways.
And a slightly worse commuter than the GSXR in other ways.

The Worse:
Does not accelerate as quickly as my GSXR.
It was pure heaven with my GSXR when needing to pull out during rush-hour onto a crowded highway on which traffic was doing 70+ mph.
That GSXR did 80 mph in 1st gear. And I got up to speed quicker than most people could react.
While the Griso is no slouch; it does take a couple more gear shifts in the same situation.

Being a heavier bike; the Griso eats up rear tires more quickly than the GSXR.
And front and rear tires do not wear out equally.
With the GSXR I would average 9,000 miles per set of tires.
While with the Griso I usually get only 6,500 miles from a rear tire and the front will still have 2,000 miles remaining.

My GSXR (a 2000 GSXR-750) actually had A LOT more storage capacity than my Griso.
It had lots of room under the seat for tools and other small items.
It also had a large, flat metal gas tank. On which I could place my large, magnetic Joe Rocket Multi Tank bag.
Who's size was 18"l x 11"w x 15"h. Man that bag was huge !
The tail section of the GSXR could also hold Joe Rocket Expandable sport saddle bags.
They were huge also.
And it could also hold a tent, sleeping bag, and air mattress.

With the Griso there is no room under the seat.
It's plastic tank does not hold my magnetic Joe Rocket bag.
And since it has the Termi exhaust; I can't add saddle bags too it.

Being a little bit wider than my GSXR. The Griso requires a bit more room to lane split or filter.

Being a naked bike and having less of a humped gas tank.
I've noticed my Aerostich one-piece Roadcrafter suit actually suffers from wet-crotch in rain storms.
Never had that problem with my GSXR.

The Better:
The Griso has an alternator that can handle a full set of heated clothing.
Gerbing electric gloves, jacket liner, and pants liner.
Where as the GSXR with it's little stator could barely handle electric gloves and vest.

Griso being a 1200 CC V-Twin. It has more torque than my GSXR-750.
So a lot less shifting.

Although this never made a difference to me.
The Griso has more of a standard/upright seating position.
Some (most ?) people find that to mean it's more comfortable.

Being shaft drive, hydraulic clutch, and screw and lock nut valve adjustments.
Means the Griso is more auto like in in maintenance.
No drive chain to fuss with nor spend the last 20% of it's life with kinked/frozen links.
Now that I've owned a shaft drive bike. I will have to think long and hard abut going back to chain for a street bike.

At 85,000 miles. My Griso has been A LOT more reliable than my GSXR.
At this point my GSXR would have been on it's third stator, second STV actuator, second set of wheels bearings, 4th of 5th drive chain, second set of sprockets, and too many sets of brakes pads.

The Griso turns heads everywhere you go.
And appear to be accepted by all; ie. the sportbike crowd, the Harley crowd, and the car drivers.

It's just simply a joy to ride. :)


Let me add; that my commute is ~150 miles per day.
Being that I commute from Eastern PA to central NJ.
And depending on which route I feel like taking.
My commute can vary from all interstate travel, to all two lane country roads, to completely stop-and-go traffic.
With all those different types of riding; I very rarely notice the weight of the Griso.
I've only noticed it's weight once or twice under very hard braking.
While the Griso may be a 500+ lb bike; it really does handle like a much lighter bike.
 
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I ride 120 miles a day (45 miles of motorway, 10 miles of London's congested city streets) on a range of bikes from my 1200 Sport, a Fireblade, a GSX-R1000 down to a Yamaha 125cc scooter. Easc has its advantages and each it's drawbacks. No problem commuting on the Guzzi at all.

Strangely, the journey on the scooter only takes 10 minutes more than on any of the other bikes, despite having a much lower cruising speed. I think it makes up the time in the congested traffic.
 
I think it all depends on your style of riding, the distance and type of commute (and the weather).
I have taken my Griso into central London in the rush hour a few times. It's a round trip of about 120 miles, and I found that it's a bit too big for the cut and thrust of the rat race - the handle bars are too wide to get through some of the gaps in the trafic, but maybe that's just me being out of practice as I usually take the train and grab an extra 90 minutes sleep.
I am sure it's do-able, but maybe not too enjoyable.
 
I'm currently commuting on a Dorsoduro and the handlebars are 3" wider than the Griso's. That doesn't concern me. It's just the weight. Sounds like it's nimble enough when moving, but may be a bit of a chore to move around the garage.
 
Guzzi's are surprisingly light and nimble feeling while riding. I think part of that is the crank spinning side to side and part of it is the way the cylinders act as out-riggers.
They are heavy to push around in the garage.
 
I commute 42 miles/day most days of the week year round with no need for plug-in clothing (gotta love Florida for that; terrain not so much). I actually find the weight to be a stabilizing factor in almost all circumstances, Griso ergos are great for a commuter machine. As with any bike, stay away from the pack and clear intersections with upmost caution.
 
I commute on mine. Weight seems lower than my MV. So even though its 100lbs heavier its much easier to manage at low speeds. Once moving there isn't any feeling of weight.

I got the hepco and Becker bags.
 
Is it really that heavy? (250 odd kilograms) My GSX1400 is just over 200kgs with aftermarket exhaust system.

Wait I just founds some specs that quote 489pounds (around $220 kg)which is much closer.

Anyway I don't ride a Griso but the weight of my Suzuki has never been a problem in commuting including filtering etc. So don't worry on that count.

Just do it and if you don't like it buy a Yamaha MT-09 or -07 as a lightweight commuter bike -careful though - you might like it. :)
 
I am an urban commuter..

Previous recent bikes used: Ducati Monster S4RS, ST3... BMW K1200R...

All great bikes ...for various reasons.

My Griso is my favorite ....for me, perfect combo of style, power, looks, sound...

Weight? A non issue.
 
I commute the street of London (UK) without bother. The torque is great snd the low centre if gravity all work fantastically together.
I'm 175cm tall and 77kg and the Griso fits like s glove.
Size wise the bars give great leverage to twist in and out of traffic, but the long wheelbase will stop you filtering between the bumpers of stationary cars, tipical when you change lanes at red lights.
But then if that's important to you get a Monster or better still a scooter.
 
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