Under The Hood
The new engine is, as you'd expect, a 90-degree V-twin, but it's lighter, smoother and cleaner than previous incarnations. This 1100cc version of Guzzi's familiar 90-degree transverse arrangement is said to produce around 88 hp, but the ingegnere of Mandello del Lario have imbued it with other improvements as well. For one, the alternator is no longer in front of the crankshaft-it's now nestled in the groove between the cylinders, making the engine shorter and more compact and improving weight distribution. In fact the whole engine bay has gone on a diet; the connecting rods are lighter to reduce mass, the piston rings are thinner and the pistons have shorter skirts and improved profiles. The metal cylinder head gaskets are new too, designed to improve heat transmission and to ensure that pressure from cylinder head studs remains even. Finally, the rocker covers are fresh, and play a big part in the visual appeal of the Griso's profile. All this is married to Guzzi's new single-sided swingarm (first seen on the Breva 1100) via a rejiggered six-speed gearbox.
Seat Of The Pants
On paper, the Griso's specs offer little to suggest it can compete with true hooligans like Yamaha's V-Max. Still, the pulses that issue forth after you thumb the starter are more appealing without all the agricultural rattling that accompanied older Guzzi models. You can thank a stepper-motor control and electronic fuel injection for damping some of the previous quirks.
In the fairly plush saddle, the bike's 88 horses were more impressive than expected, feeling like the most usable power I've encountered in a long time. The engine is closely patterned after that of the Breva 1100, which we liked a lot when it came out earlier this year (see Motorcycle Cruiser, August 2005), but the Griso adds a few percentage points of power and torque, and 8 percent shorter gearing.
As a result, the merely willing engine is transformed into a punchy, responsive one, and along with a light-action throttle, allows the Griso to drive hard out of the corners and shoulder its way past traffic handily. In the mountains, the bike sashayed through the hairpins with that familiar big twin throb in full howl. The updated engine, with twin spark ignition and fuel injectors in the inlet manifolds, produced smooth power delivery with nary a hiccup, and Guzzi claims emissions and consumption are reduced to fully meet the Euro 3 standards.
The lighter, redesigned six-speed gearbox made gear selection a much smoother (and easier) affair, which is worth a mention because on older Guzzis it isn't. On the downside, there was a bit too much lash in the transmission, which makes riding at low speeds jerky unless you're content with constantly feathering the clutch to compensate. Along with a slightly grabby clutch, it made tight urban maneuvers awkward. Still, shortening the primary drive has allowed Guzzi to up the torque a bit on the Griso, and it suits the bike well.
Otherwise, the mechanics are well-sorted and the new CARC shaft-drive system was downright sumptuous. That classic Guzzi design has been modernized and now integrates the final drive inside a single-sided aluminum alloy swingarm, leaving the bevel gear and shaft free to oscillate. The drive shaft also incorporates two universal joints with torsional shock absorbers, and the result was surprisingly jerk-free, with almost none of the anti-shaft effect associated with conventional shaft drives.