gsp0702
8th February 2008, 12:50
Well I had a test ride on a rare beasty today at TSS in Lower Hutt. Ollie very kindly chucked the keys of the recently arrived Griso 850 he'd taken in part ex.
So i borrowed it for half an a hour for a quick blast out of lower hutt along the river via Taita and Stokes Valley and then back up SH2 to TSS. Not the longest of rides, but enough for a taster and was my first ride on any Guzzi, previous best being perched on a Griso 1100 with the motor running.
Visually looks the same as the 1100, Does from memory feel lighter than its bigger brother and sounds pretty much the same. The OEM muffler is way to effective. One definite difference is that blip the throttle on the 1100 and it sort of rocks from side to side i guess the mass of those big pistons coming into play, the 850 doesnt. Rearview mirrors are crap but then the Tigers are pretty good compared to most bikes.
Anyway on the move the 850 is light pretty nimble, nice easy throttle response for town riding, Second and Third gear roll ons are good and it makes a nice noise when on the throttle, bit bland when cruising at steady low revs (that muffler again), Over taking was a breeze and she handled really well, was good fun on the back roads, despite no wind protection was good on the motorway, sits happily at 100Km/h with the airflow onto your chest not a problem, no buffeting of the head which was good.
Also a thumbs up for the Brakes and Gearbox, which was positive and no false neutrals.
Now Ollie reckons the 850 is lighter than the 1100, obviously less torque but makes up for it being lighter slightly quicker of the line, wouldnt want to comment myself without a direct comparison.
Did I like it? A resounding yes, so I would definetly like a Guzzi. This ones probably a bit outside my price range unfortunately.
One question, I cant see anyone advertising the 850 version and so no idea what the new price would be to see how well priced TSS have it.
I will now try and stop smiling.
Oh and no Tractor jokes I read the Guzzi threads whenever they turn up and I think I've seen em all.
So i borrowed it for half an a hour for a quick blast out of lower hutt along the river via Taita and Stokes Valley and then back up SH2 to TSS. Not the longest of rides, but enough for a taster and was my first ride on any Guzzi, previous best being perched on a Griso 1100 with the motor running.
Visually looks the same as the 1100, Does from memory feel lighter than its bigger brother and sounds pretty much the same. The OEM muffler is way to effective. One definite difference is that blip the throttle on the 1100 and it sort of rocks from side to side i guess the mass of those big pistons coming into play, the 850 doesnt. Rearview mirrors are crap but then the Tigers are pretty good compared to most bikes.
Anyway on the move the 850 is light pretty nimble, nice easy throttle response for town riding, Second and Third gear roll ons are good and it makes a nice noise when on the throttle, bit bland when cruising at steady low revs (that muffler again), Over taking was a breeze and she handled really well, was good fun on the back roads, despite no wind protection was good on the motorway, sits happily at 100Km/h with the airflow onto your chest not a problem, no buffeting of the head which was good.
Also a thumbs up for the Brakes and Gearbox, which was positive and no false neutrals.
Now Ollie reckons the 850 is lighter than the 1100, obviously less torque but makes up for it being lighter slightly quicker of the line, wouldnt want to comment myself without a direct comparison.
Did I like it? A resounding yes, so I would definetly like a Guzzi. This ones probably a bit outside my price range unfortunately.
One question, I cant see anyone advertising the 850 version and so no idea what the new price would be to see how well priced TSS have it.
I will now try and stop smiling.
Oh and no Tractor jokes I read the Guzzi threads whenever they turn up and I think I've seen em all.