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.