So what's wrong with Grimeca?

[nickst4]

I see a lot of negative comments on the Big G, and I wonder why?

I was really chuffed when I found out that a lot of the stuff on the Skorpion was Italian; Paioli, Paulo Tarozzi and especially Grimeca, because back in the 60's, my clubman racing chums would have given their right arms for a Grimeca front brake/hub. I don't remember hearing of Brembo in those days...

The front disc on my Skorpion is stunningly good, especially since I've modded the lever to bring it back towards the bar quite a lot. I got a new-old-stock one off ebay to replace the already-butchered one on the bike, and cut the operating pad back by several mm, while preserving the profile and operating radius. Then a wedge of alloy fitted beneath the abutment to compensate and maintain operation of the switch, and my fingertips wrap round it nicely to give superb control. Definitely the best single disc I've ever known, though I guess the lightness of the bike helps.

NickW, UK

[skorpi660]

HI Nick,
I totally agree, there are not many bikes out there that have adjustable bars & pegs as standard through their range....
The Grimeca four pot stopper is incredable.... So much better than the one on my old Divi...

I was in quite a shock when I first took the bike out ... After going down the Harleston by-pass to the first round-a-bout...
I allowed the distance I was used to on the Divi and the Skorpi pulled up much quicker,
it also dropped into the round-a-bout and out the exit so so soo much nicer....

When I returned to Weatherly's M/Cs it was hard to keep the grin off my face .......

Now the Skorpi is mine that grin is permently fixed there..... L O L....

Skorpi660..........

motorola phone pics 034.jpg (54.65 KiB) Viewed 3460 times

[DAVID THOMPSON]

here in the usa there are no spairs for big G and the levers on the brake on my saxon tour and rt125 are not found on any other bike sold here so must order spairs from the uk

the rt125 rear has always had an air problem can not get it bleed for some reason
front eat pads bad
dave

[Bill Jurgenson]

...Paioli, Paulo Tarozzi and especially Grimeca, because back in the 60's, my clubman racing chums would have given their right arms for a Grimeca front brake/hub.

I was riding back then too. I think you have a few names confused. The brakes to kill for then were the Oldani


and Fontana TLS


Toward 1970, the the Ceriani as well


the Grimecas drum brakes were never more than an inexpensive substitute and not a very good one at that.


Tarozzi rearsets were and still are very servicable and well thought out parts.


I am not aware of Paioli forks in use back then, not on the track. Marzocchi, Forcella Italia (bought up by Paioli) yes and above all Ceriani again. Practically all racers outside of England used Ceriani forks - or their own.

Be that as it may, the Grimeca stuff on the Skorpion is all high-volume low cost copies of Brembo parts made of cheap inferior casting alloy which is too porous. It corrodes very quickly as well. Grimeca makes high volume die cast alloy products of all sorts.
http://www.grimeca.it/
in all quality grades - you get what you pay for. There has been some serious restructuring there including renaming (was Bassano-Grimeca Spa) and moving the headuarters since the the crummy stuff for the Skorpion was made.

Definitely the best single disc I've ever known,

Which can only mean you haven't known very many.
There are real reasons why Skorpion riders change to Brembo parts: more dependable, better performance easily repaired.
Many throw out the crappy wheels as well which for all their weight, can't take encountering a curb at anything more than 5mph without denting.

The Skorpion prototypes had Brembo wheels and brakes, not the Grimeca crap. The preseries test machines had Brembo parts as well (they were also 15kg lighter) and that is how they were tested 1993 and these test machines were the basis of many many orders by MZ dealers - and there were a lot of very pissed-off dealers when they got their first deliveries ...
A couple I knew decided they wanted nothing more to do with MZ and that after having dealt with them all thru the DDR 2-stroke period.

light bike? with 185kg? come off it.
150kg would be OK considering.

You want to be stunned? Wait until the rear brake siezes up while at speed. Happens more often than I care to think about.

[srx600]

I found it the Grimeca to be to sharp on initial application, I have a fairly smooth riding style and found that lightly brushing the brake resulted in the front end dipping/diving excessively (at slow and high speed) and upsetting the bike. A change to Brembo caliper and Suzuki m/cyl, has resulted in a much more progressive front brake which allow me to brake smoothly without upsetting the front end, and hence progress through corners is much quicker.
And no, there is nothing wrong with my forks.

[nickst4]

I found it the Grimeca to be to sharp on initial application, I have a fairly smooth riding style and found that lightly brushing the brake resulted in the front end dipping/diving excessively (at slow and high speed) and upsetting the bike. A change to Brembo caliper and Suzuki m/cyl, has resulted in a much more progressive front brake which allow me to brake smoothly without upsetting the front end, and hence progress through corners is much quicker.
And no, there is nothing wrong with my forks.

Sounds as much as anything a pad compound issue, plus the wide span of the G lever didn't help sensitive application. Changing to the Brembo with Suzuki m/cyl may have given you a different hydraulic ratio, bore size to bore size, making the application effectively slower and more controllable. Currently, I'm still delighted with my Grimeca stuff, and am knocked out that there is so much Italian gear on this German bike. But then, my first love is Ducati.

Nick, UK

[srx600]

Sounds as much as anything a pad compound issue, plus the wide span of the G lever didn't help sensitive application. Changing to the Brembo with Suzuki m/cyl may have given you a different hydraulic ratio, bore size to bore size, making the application effectively slower and more controllable. Currently, I'm still delighted with my Grimeca stuff, and am knocked out that there is so much Italian gear on this German bike. But then, my first love is Ducati.
Nick, UK

I re-used the pads from the Grimeca caliper as the ones in the Brembo caliper were delaminating so that can be discounted. The m/cyl is the same diameter, not sure about the caliper pistons. If I hadnt tried it I wouldnt have believed the difference.
Theres nothing wrong with the Grimecas I just prefer the setup I now have. Its a similiar to the SZR system, which is my personal favorite single disc setup.