Bandit 600's V the world

[Kemics]

at the moment i've got a bandit 400 and while it's got plenty of speed/power i would like somthing a little more so. I've had some much fun with my bandit, a 600 seems a good choice, but i'm really only going on the the fact they are fun to play around with and you can do some great stuff with the styling.

what i wanted to know is how well do they hold their weight aginast other 600's. gsxr's, r6, zx6r, cbr 600 etc. On the road, on a bandit 600 can you give most sport bikes a run for their money?

[smooth operator]

I never road a 600 Bandit, but they are heavy compaired to the sport bikes.(gsxr,zx,ect.)The SV650 is also a good choice,probably not the zip of the inline 4,but light weight and lots of ground clearence.
  Many times,it just depends on whos on the bike.

[txbanditrydr]

On the road, on a bandit 600 can you give most sport bikes a run for their money?

Rider ability is going to figure into this... a good rider on a Bandit will whoop up on a poor rider on anything else.   SmoothOp is correct about the 600 being heavier than other 600 cc "sport-bikes".  It is also debatable whether the Bandit (of any size) can be called a pure sport-bike.  With that said... the 600 Bandit is comfortable, easily worked on, modifyable (is that even a word?), costs less to insure and otherwise one of the best bargains out there.

[dsartwell1]

I love mine but it is not a supersport. It does everything well but nothing exceptional. With the power to weight ratio is probably not a huge step from a B4(although I've never ridden one). A good commuter or weekend blaster but not a killer. Great all around mount. Day in day out a very good choice.

[SHREDDER]

You definitely won't get bored with it easily, I've had mine for 6 years and I still love it!

[Red01]

Thinking in car terms, the GSXR600 is a Corvette and the Bandit 600 is a Camaro... Sport vs Sporty.

The repli-racer 600s will run away from the B6 in the straightaways, maybe even the B12, too. In the twisty bits, the rider is a MUCH larger factor, but the boy racers are better handlers, too.

If you're going to ride all day long though, most people will be much more comfortable at the end of the day if they're on the Bandit.

[Kemics]

bandit 600 it is, i reckon  

is there an archive of pictures of peoples bandit 600's, i know there is for the 400's but cant find one for others? just want to see how people have modded them and how they turned out, google image search is usless atm

[Red01]

We've never put up a gallery thread like that for the 600/1200.
Anything that you see done to a 1200 can be done to a 600 and there's plenty of threads of individuals modding their bikes. You can also go look at sites like http://www.bikepics.com or http://www.streetfighters.nl and see plenty of Bandits.

[PitterB4]

There's hundreds of pics over at Bike Pics.  You can also look at 1200 pics as they are very, very similar.

[PitterB4]

We've never put up a gallery thread like that for the 600/1200.
Anything that you see done to a 1200 can be done to a 600 and there's plenty of threads of individuals modding their bikes. You can also go look at sites like http://www.bikepics.com or http://www.streetfighters.nl and see plenty of Bandits.

Jinx!

[Red01]

Damn Rob, you're slow today...  

[PitterB4]

Story of my life!  

[billybandit]

at the moment i've got a bandit 400 and while it's got plenty of speed/power i would like somthing a little more so. I've had some much fun with my bandit, a 600 seems a good choice, but i'm really only going on the the fact they are fun to play around with and you can do some great stuff with the styling.

what i wanted to know is how well do they hold their weight aginast other 600's. gsxr's, r6, zx6r, cbr 600 etc. On the road, on a bandit 600 can you give most sport bikes a run for their money?

Well, I haven't ridden the 600 but from reading the specs, it's really not much of an upgrade.

Yes, it's down to rider ability, but with a sports 600 you won't have to worry about your bike bottoming out when gunning it, and being overtaken.

I've just moved from a Bandit 250 to a 2001 ZX-6R, and I have to say the ZX-6R feels about 5kg heavier (if that), and turns in even quicker in the bends.

Each to his own, but I personally wouldn't go from the 4 to the 6 without trying some other bikes out first

[todius]

I've owned both so I'll give you my take on it...

I've had a '01 Bandit 600 for about 4 yrs now.
Had a '92 Bandit 400 for a year (which I sold to a friend but still ride fairly often).

To me, there is a world of difference between the two bikes.

The Bandit 600 is pretty smooth and refined.  Nice on the highway (though maybe a tad buzzy).  Torque down low is lacking, especially for two-up riding, but it pulls nicely from 4.5k onward.   Seating postion is MUCH MUCH roomier on the Bandit 6 and suspension is more plush.  The 6 has quick turn, but is not as flickable as the 4.    The longer wheelbase gives it more of a comfortable high-speed tourer feel.   The fairing does a good job of protecting you from the wind blast.  In addition, the 6 gets better gas mileage (45-50mpg vs 35-45mpg for the 400) and it has a larger tank (~5gal vs ~4gal) so the Bandit 6 makes a better long-distance (4hr+) bike.

The Bandit 400 feels like a mean little racebike.  It vibrates more and howls to redline.  The power curve also feels more like a racebike.  It lacks low-end grunt, but is geared really low so it revvvs up quickly.  There is no fairing (or limited choice) to protect you from the wind.  The pegs feel like they sit up much higher, though it may be that the seat is just lower.  The B4 is much buzzier and more high-strung.  The suspension is harsher and the shorter wheelbase kinda throws you around over bumps.  The B4 is very flickable and quick to turn-in.  In high-speed sweepers, the B6 is more stable, but in tight switchback situations, the B4 is a dream.  

Power-wise, the Bandit 6 is definitely an upgrade.  It gets up to speed much more easily and quicker.  The Bandit 4's power feels like it starts to trail off around 80mph, while the 6 gets up to 100 quickly before it starts to trail off.    Top speed I believe is approx 110 for the B4 and 130 for the B6.  

Either way, neither of the bikes is going to keep up with any of the supersport 600's or better.  I've even had smaller guys pull away from me on SV650s, but then again, I could care less about how fast I can go in a straight line.  

In everyday life, the B6 is more refined and comfortable, but a whole lot heavier and definitely physically larger.

[PitterB4]

Good write-up Brent.  You are right, the B4, at least MY B4, isn't the smoothest, most effortless bike to ride.  To make good, fun power, you have to be up in the revs.  It's an absolute scream to go ripping around with but for cruisin' I'm sure there are better choices.  I have never ridden one but I'm sure the additional weight and length make the B6 much more pleasant in that regard.  I will disagree with the power trailing off at 80.  At least with my perf mods and the way it's geared, 80 is right in the power for me.  I've got another 15+ before the curve begins to flatten.  IIRC, the mag tests back in the day topped the B4 at ~115.