Moto Guzzi Griso

The Moto Guzzi Griso is a bike I've liked for awhile.  Actually, I've liked it since it debuted in 2006.  The recent Black Devil Special Edition increased my admiration for this bike.

Have a look:

This special edition is an appearance package and replaces the previous Tenni edition.  According to Moto Guzzi, the paint is matte black that's "interrupted by a sharp silver graphic pattern that generates a beam of light extending from the tank to the lateral ducts."  Look at the marketing department waxing poetic!  You guys rock on with your thin spectacles.  

Aside from the paint, the SE Griso gets special stitching on the seat and gorgeous spoked wheels.  The rims have Moto Guzzi in red, which I think is fantastic.  

The rest of the bike is standard Griso.  The big V-twin is there, still air-cooled and still putting out 110 hp.  The heavy duty twin-spar frame is there, as well.  The same press release calls the bike a "veritable scalpel on wheels."  I guess the handling dynamics are good, then.

Overall, I like the Griso.  It makes a bold visual statement, even if the press release makes it sound more lithe than it is.  Like every Guzzi, it's a unique bike.  Many claim their bike is like nothing else on the road but for a Guzzi, that's a fact.  As a Guzzi rider, you'll rarely come across another one and you'll also come to find the other guy is crazier than you.  

A Guzzi is a bike you have to understand to appreciate.  Sometimes it's difficult to do.  My Guzzi vibrates a lot, makes strange noises and gives me aches.  Yet I keep coming back to it.  

The Griso is the same way.  It's expensive, not very powerful and not very fast.  But it has a certain quality, maybe it's uniqueness, details or style, that draws you in.  It's a bike that has no trouble being itself, warts and all.

You have to admire that.

Velocette Thruxton

I'll admit it: I play the lottery. 

I know my chances of winning are slim but I can think of worse things to do with five dollars.  What spurs my desire to win, other than financial security, is the chance to do lots of traveling and other cool stuff.  More likely, though, I'd spend the money on bikes.  And one of the first bikes I would buy is a Velocette Thruxton. 

The Thruxton was Velocette's swan song, their one last encore before the show ended.  Between 1965 and 1971, 1,108 Thruxtons left the factory in Birmingham.  Production stopped due to the closure of the company in 1971.

The Thruxton was a hot version of the already hot Velocette Venom.  What distinguished the Thruxton was a unique cylinder head for the 500cc single, which was designed to accommodate large valves and a downdraught intake.  Bolted to the unique head was an Amal carb large enough to inhale small children.  The carb was so big, a notch had to be cut out of the tank to give it room.  Of course the carb had a large velocity stack and no air filter.  The combination of the big carb and unique head yielded a five horsepower jump over the Venom, taking claimed output to 41 hp.

Accompanying the changes to the engine were changes to the chassis.  Clip-ons and rear sets now appeared, as did a close-ratio four-speed gearbox.  The rims were also changed to alloy and a duplex front brake was added.

Don't think Velocette was just farting around.  The bike was developed with Thruxton 500 eligibility in mind (thus the bike's name), which required the use of production models.  So while you could walk into your local Velocette dealer and ride away on a Thruxton, the bike was born for the track.

And race it did.  A Thruxton won the 1965 Thruxton 500, which was strangely held at Castle Combe that year, not Thruxton.  Two years later, Velocette Thruxtons finished first and second in the Production TT at the Isle of Man.  In the same TT, Neil Kelly blitzed the course and the other riders on his Thruxton, averaging 91 mph.

The Velocette Thruxton holds a special place in my heart due to its racing pedigree and its rarity.  It's also a very nice-looking motorcycle.  I like the purposefulness of its stance and the big carb poking out from under the tank.  I also like the big, pumped up single and the glorious noise it makes climbing up through the rev range.

What I enjoy most about the bike, though, is inspiration it gives me.  When I look at some bikes, I admire them for their looks or for their engineering.  With the Thruxton, I see myself on it.  I see myself blasting down a country lane, whizzing past hedgerows, fields, and slower traffic.  I see myself whipping around corners and winding the big single out on the straights.  Few bikes conjure those feelings for me the way a Velocette Thruxton does.  It's not so much a bike I'd like to own, it's a bike I want to ride.

New Moto Morini

I'm a big fan of Italian bikes, which isn't news to the one person who reads this blog of mine.  I like Italian bikes because they're full of passion, desire and eccentricity.  They can simultaneously make you love them and hate them.  And they're so pretty, which instantly makes you forget that they'll only work when they feel like it.  That's the kind of stuff you just don't get in a Honda.

So when I read about the return of Moto Morini, I couldn't help but feel joy.

Moto Morini is back with the Rebello 1200 Giubileo, a limited-production machine built to celebrate the company's 75th anniversary.  The new Morini is powered by their 1187cc V-twin and puts out 130 hp.  Surrounding the V-twin is all-new boxy bodywork that's...interesting.  Brakes and suspension are from the usual suspects: Brembo, Marzocchi and Ohlins.

The Giubileo's party piece is an electronically adjustable seat.  With the push of a button, the seat transforms from a monoposto to a biposto.  Whether Also sprach Zarathustra plays while the seat is moving remains to be seen.


I have to say, I like the Giubileo.  The styling is boxy and different.  It looks a bit squat but it also doesn't look like anything else on the road.  The V-twin, which is something the Italians do well, is powerful and has been in production for a number of years, so it should be reliable.  The engine was designed by Franco Lambertini, the same engineer who designed the V-twin in the classic Moto Morini 3 1/2.

A big downside, other than the fact it won't be sold in the U.S., is the price.  It's priced at 14,000 Euros, which equates to $18,500.  In other words, it's expensive.

While the Giubileo looks like it was crafted by 1980's Volvo stylists, it looks good.  The electronic seat looks like the bum-stop from a classic endurance racer.