Bandit 1250S discontinued but ----!

[moddedtunnel]

The Suzuki JP site shows the 2009 Bandit 1250S as discontinued .

Here comes the GSX1250FA though !  I'm sure most know the fully faired bike is in Canada and the UK as 2010 models with rear shock and front spring  and dampening rate change with a new style oval outlet exhaust cannister.

In the UK , the 2010 GSX1250FA is right at have the MSRP of the Yamaha FJ1300 . I hope Suzuki can keep the price down here in the USA AND that they can bring the bikes in before end of October . The latter probably won't happen.

I'm ready for this new bike.

[rhithyn]

I just recently joined the bandit club with the new GSX1250FA and I love the bike!  My first full-fairing motorbike and my third Suzuki.

My last was the GSX1100G (a short-lived model, shafty drive that gave inspiration to the 1200 bandit basically) but I spent more time trying to keep it running than I did riding it.  When it was running, it was a real demon of a bike, but at about 120 kph it would feel like I was almost doing a superman more than riding the thing... you had to really fight to keep on 'er at that speed.

The new one I've had up to a fair bit more and it just begins to start to get a bit uncomfortable on those highly illegal speeds.  At regular highway speeds (or slightly higher), not a problem to find.

I did try out an '08 1250 and from what I remember, it's basically the same.  Although my toe kept on hitting the kickstand peg when I was going to up-shift and I was looking at my elbows a lot more than I wanted.  I don't have the kickstand peg problem on the new bandit and I don't see as much of just elbows as I did before, but I've got some mirror extenders coming in to put them out far enough for my personal comfort.

I would LOVE to see the GSX1250 make it south of the 49th parallel... partially for more company but also to see more accessories pop up in affordable markets.  Overseas ordering really sucks the wallet dry fast.

[Bandit1250]

The Suzuki JP site shows the 2009 Bandit 1250S as discontinued .

Here comes the GSX1250FA though !  I'm sure most know the fully faired bike is in Canada and the UK as 2010 models with rear shock and front spring  and dampening rate change with a new style oval outlet exhaust cannister.

In the UK , the 2010 GSX1250FA is right at have the MSRP of the Yamaha FJ1300 . I hope Suzuki can keep the price down here in the USA AND that they can bring the bikes in before end of October . The latter probably won't happen.

I'm ready for this new bike.

It's not a "new" bike......it's a Bandit1250 with a FULL Fairing and slightly different instramentation and luggage.

Same motor,(and HP) same tranny/same frame/shock ect.....

[Hotshot]

I have a new GSX1250FA and imported it into Uruguay where I have moved to from the UK.  UK ex VAT price £6,000 (US$9,780) total price when imported into Uruguay (it's the only one) US$26,000 on the road!!  The government takes 100% loading to import it plus road tax and insurance. Used bikes cannot be imported into Uruguay. Anyone stupid enough to try it has the bike confiscated and is fined.

The engine is not the same as the old 1250 Bandit.  It has new pistons which run in the new tungsten coated alloy barrels (no sleeves); the capacity is 1255cc which is what differentiates it from the previous engines.

Running it in (break-in) is difficult in Uruguay as the national speed limit on what passes as a motorway is only 110kph (68 mph) whilst at 4,500 rev/min maximum running-in engine speed it does 90.4 mph, so avoiding glazing of the bore needs to be considered.  To this end I am running mainly in 3rd or 4th gears and driving through the rev range with half-throttle and then engine braking back to 2,000 rev/min to let it cool off.  I have never laboured the engine or even loaded it below 2,000 rev/min. At 450 km (280 miles) the engine is starting to free off nicely.  Local roads have speed limits starting with 45 kph in built up areas through to 60 kph on local dual carraigeways and 90 kph on trunk roads.  All the locals exceed the limits.  Argentinian visitors are the worst offenders and regularly top 100 mph in their Mercs and BMW's (they know if they are caught nothing can be done).  So you have to be very carefull when riding a bike in Uruguay that someone does not hit you from the rear.

The upside is of course that at most times there is very little traffic and the roads are in good order compared with the UK.

[Bandit1250]

The engine is not the same as the old 1250 Bandit.  It has new pistons which run in the new tungsten coated alloy barrels (no sleeves); the capacity is 1255cc which is what differentiates it from the previous engines.

I met a guy recently who is an executive at SUZUKI headquarters here in Southern Califonia.

He told me the motor is exactly the same....same HP....same Torque ect....at least as far as the bikes sold here in the USA. They may be different in Europe or other markets.

And IF he's wrong and it's got different pistons, if the HP and Torque is the same who cares if the pistons are different?
WHY change a motor if you're not going to improve the hp or torque??

[Hotshot]

Why does it matter? 81lb.ft (11.2kgm, 110Nm) at a subterranean 3,700rpm. That’s GSX-R1000 torque at a third of the engine speed, or more relevantly, more grunt than BMW or VFR at that level.

Also the tungsten coated barrels with the machining piston material seem to offer even longer life to the engine: but only time and a correctly run in engine, will tell.

I have very little confidence in Suzuki Executives, at least the ones I spoke to in the UK before I left.  None of them seemed to know the specification of the GSX1250FA even though it had been on the market for three months.  I have a real suspicion they had never ridden the bike, unlike the dealer who sold it to me and was extremely knowledgeable.  Perhaps the ones in California are more competent?

In fairness I have never ridden a big Bandit before, only the 650 which was nice.  Whether Europeans bikes are different to the bikes you have I do not know but doubt it very much.

[Hotshot]

Correction to my previous post:  machining is of course matching - sorry out that.

[Bandit1250]

Why does it matter? 81lb.ft (11.2kgm, 110Nm) at a subterranean 3,700rpm. That’s GSX-R1000 torque at a third of the engine speed, or more relevantly, more grunt than BMW or VFR at that level.

I think you're confusing the old 1200 Bandit and the newer 1250. The old Bandit (before 2007) was a 1200, NOT a 1250, and it was air cooled not water and it was not Fuel Injected and it had a 5 speed tranny instead of a 6 speed like the 1250.

My 2007 Bandit 1250 (first year for the NEW 1250 motor) has those SAME torque numbers and makes FULL torque at about 3,500RPM.....the SAME as the GSX1250FA or whatever Suzuki wants to call the Bandit now!

My point is the 1250 motor hasn't changed since it's inception in 2007.

[Hotshot]

Thank you for the information: I stand corrected sir!

I have to admit to thinking the 'old bandit' referenced in the bike tests in the UK of the new GSX1250FA were the previous engine with carbs, etc.

Also, the carbide bore coating is in fact nickel phosphorus-silicon-carbide, not as I thought tungsten. This material should be an order of maginitude harder than tungsten.

Does you bike have the GSXR headlight assemby and the later integrated instruments? I certainly find the engine speed warning indicator light useful, it's set at 4,500 rev/min presently.

[smooth operator]

 Sport Rider did a comparison article (Super-Standards Comparo). The Kawasaki Ninja 1000 vs. Suzuki GSX1250FA vs. Yamaha FZ1.
 The test notes were +comfortable ergonomics and plush seat +best fuel mileage +only one of the 3 with ABS - on the heavy side -brakes tend to be a little mushy. + was the most comfortable of the bunch.
  Sounds like instead of comparing with the FZ1 maybe more like the FJR and instead of the Ninja 1000 maybe more like the conntie, or somewhere in between. Kawasaki and Yamaha went more after the hp numbers and a little more sport oriented. As where Suzuki went more towards someone who wanted to rack up some miles.(although a little more hp surely wouldn't have hurt it any ,94.6 @8750.)

[Hotshot]

My previous ride was a Triumph 955i ans did have a little more hp but not quite as much torque.  Bearing in mind I am only at 450 km and less than half-throttle I must say that the Suzuki has impressed me thus far.

The real decididing factor between a new Triumph 1050 and the GSX1250FA was the ABS: at age 65, riding in a new country on the 'wrong side' of the road, I thought I needed all the help I could get.  A well known UK bike tester (Google: Ash on bikes UK) compared the real world performance between a number of bikes including the 'new' Suzuki and concluded what an absolute bargain the Suzuki was at half the price of the Honda and BMW, etc. whilst still providing a spirited ride.  Even at half-throttle my bike pulls relentlessly through all the gears and promises to be a match with the 955i.  As a retired professional electrical-mechanical engineer I have long since learnt that sales numbers can lie, the real world requirement cannot use all the performance and I do not require 322 Km/h in a country with a 110 Km/h limit.

I just love my Suzuki GSX1250FA.

[Red01]

Sport Rider did a comparison article (Super-Standards Comparo). The Kawasaki Ninja 1000 vs. Suzuki GSX1250FA vs. Yamaha FZ1.
 The test notes were +comfortable ergonomics and plush seat +best fuel mileage +only one of the 3 with ABS - on the heavy side -brakes tend to be a little mushy. + was the most comfortable of the bunch.
  Sounds like instead of comparing with the FZ1 maybe more like the FJR and instead of the Ninja 1000 maybe more like the conntie, or somewhere in between. Kawasaki and Yamaha went more after the hp numbers and a little more sport oriented. As where Suzuki went more towards someone who wanted to rack up some miles.(although a little more hp surely wouldn't have hurt it any ,94.6 @8750.)

10 years ago, they compared the B12 to the then new FZ1 and ZRX1200.  That was probably a pretty fair comparison.  Now, the ZRX is gone and the Z1000/Ninja 1000 is its nearest replacement, both probably sportier than the Rex.  The FZ1 went a little sportier with it's 2nd generation and the Bandit leaned a little more standard with the 1250.  While the 1250S (& GSX1250F) makes a decent sport-tourer if you add baggage (or are fortunate enough to live where the factory offers a ST variant off the showroom floor), it's not really in the same class as the the FJR & Connie/GTR... with no shaft drive and down on power in that group, too. 
She's pretty much in a class of her own right now, not matter if it's a Bandit GSF1250(S) or a more sporty looking GSX1250F.
Now, if Suzuki would just build a S-T competitor based on a Hayabusa like Kawi did with the ZX-14/GTR (Connie)... I would have bought one!