Bandit Alley
GENERAL MOTORCYCLE FORUMS => GENERAL MOTORCYCLE => Topic started by: LowRyter on June 12, 2007, 11:35:31 PM
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"What kind of motorcycle do you ride?"
"Suzuki 1200 Bandit."
"Is that one of those Crotch Rockets?"
"Ahhh, yeah, more or less."
....shakes head
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Just hard to educate the unwashed masses..... :stickpoke:
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"Is that one of those Crotch Rockets?"
"Ahhh, yeah, more or less."
....shakes head
I respond with "About like how a Camaro is a sports car."
It's usually something they can understand. :wink:
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"What kind of motorcycle do you ride?"
"Suzuki 1200 Bandit."
"What kind of bike is that?"
"Awesome!"
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The Official Quebec Sportsbike Checklist.
Answering yes to these questions means you'll be shelling out $1400 to register your bike in 2010. (And you don't want that. Noooooo)
Aerodynamic fairing covering the sides of the engine with a low windscreen;
Forward-bent riding position;
Short, low handlebar;
Footrests located high toward the rear;
Muffler directed toward the rear and upward;
Double front disc brakes and single rear disc brake;
Chain powered rear wheel;
Ratio of horsepower: weight above 0.50 hp/kg;
Absence of a central kickstand;
Oversized frame
My Bandit says yes to three of the above, but having disc brakes, a chain, and a slightly angled muffler are pretty damn common.
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The Official Quebec Sportsbike Checklist.
Answering yes to these questions means you'll be shelling out $1400 to register your bike in 2010. (And you don't want that. Noooooo)
Aerodynamic fairing covering the sides of the engine with a low windscreen;
Forward-bent riding position;
Short, low handlebar;
Footrests located high toward the rear;
Muffler directed toward the rear and upward;
Double front disc brakes and single rear disc brake;
Chain powered rear wheel;
Ratio of horsepower: weight above 0.50 hp/kg;
Absence of a central kickstand;
Oversized frame
My Bandit says yes to three of the above, but having disc brakes, a chain, and a slightly angled muffler are pretty damn common.
Bend the exhaust down and remove one of the front rotors and caliper, that should take care of two more.
I think your government is not working for you as far as insurance prices go. Do you have an organization like AMA to help fight the politicians on issues like these?
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The Official Quebec Sportsbike Checklist.
Answering yes to these questions means you'll be shelling out $1400 to register your bike in 2010. (And you don't want that. Noooooo)
Aerodynamic fairing covering the sides of the engine with a low windscreen;
Forward-bent riding position;
Short, low handlebar;
Footrests located high toward the rear;
Muffler directed toward the rear and upward;
Double front disc brakes and single rear disc brake;
Chain powered rear wheel;
Ratio of horsepower: weight above 0.50 hp/kg;
Absence of a central kickstand;
Oversized frame
My Bandit says yes to three of the above, but having disc brakes, a chain, and a slightly angled muffler are pretty damn common.
A dual-sport could be saying "yes" to three or more of those pretty easy.
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It was pointed out to me that we ride a "Gentleman’s Race Bike. The term Crotch Rocket is demeaning and best left for the children.
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It's not so bad as it sounds. For one, they have an official list (Here's the pdf (http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/insurance_contributions/document/provis_list_moto.pdf)), which is full of Ninjas, Gixxers, CBRs, etc...
Second, registration in Quebec includes the personal damages part of your insurance. That goes for all drivers, or anyone hurt by a motor vehicle.
Yeah yeah :boohoo:
There are a couple organizations that are lobbying for lower rates, or to at least make this ridiculous hike a little more justifiable. 4,000 bikers rallied last month outside the legislature, and that got a promise to re-evaluate the proposal to take driver education and experience into account.
If you ask me, they have two real reasons. First is that everyone who got any kind of license before 1970-something is allowed to drive a motorcycle -- so we now have lots of boomers getting bikes and they don't know what the hell they're doing, they crash, and they get a cheque from the govt for rehab. So they're doing this to convince people to give up their motorcycle certification.
Second is there are way too many squids on the road in Quebec. About once a week I'll spot someone popping a wheelie/lane splitting at 110kmh/riding on the shoulder. And many of the more sedate riders wouldn't know proper gear if they had their noses rubbed in it. (Yes, I'm talking about the guy in khakis and a t-shirt wearing the shortie helmet without the DOT sticker).
Third is when you say 'biker' in Quebec, most people think :bomb: thanks to our lovely biker gang war of the 90s. But that's not a real reason though -- that's just why the govt thinks it can get away with it without too much public fuss.
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I own a '94 Z-2 6 speed. It used to spank 911s, but after 130k miles the optispark coughs a lot I am afraid to check- again)....It still steers & shifts better than a Boxster
The B12 has 57k miles
"Is that one of those Crotch Rockets?"
"Ahhh, yeah, more or less."
....shakes head
I respond with "About like how a Camaro is a sports car."
It's usually something they can understand. :wink:
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I own a '94 Z-2 6 speed. It used to spank 911s, but after 130k miles the optispark coughs a lot I am afraid to check- again)....It still steers & shifts better than a Boxster
The B12 has 57k miles
"Is that one of those Crotch Rockets?"
"Ahhh, yeah, more or less."
....shakes head
I respond with "About like how a Camaro is a sports car."
It's usually something they can understand. :wink:
I put the MSD pro billet opti in mine...picked up 14 rwhp and 12 rwtq- sure it is 450 bucks- but well worth it in my opinion....and yes, newer F-bodies were very much a sports car. Though most still consider them a 'tweener: somewhere between a sprorts and muscle car.
The Bandit a Crotch rocket....more so than any other type of bike....but still in a class of it's own.
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See now,.. I'm confused,... do I or don't I ride a "crotch rocket"?? It's not on the list, but....
Forward-bent riding position; (changed the bars to clubmans)
Short, low handlebar;
Muffler directed toward the rear and upward;
Double front disc brakes and single rear disc brake;
Chain powered rear wheel;
Ratio of horsepower: weight above 0.50 hp/kg;
Absence of a central kickstand;
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I think of a crotch rocket as a Gixxer or R1 or any of the race-based bikes.
To me, the Bandit is more of a "muscle bike". It's a big engine with wheels and handlebars. :bandit:
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For me the "super-sport" class equals the true definition of crotch rocket, which like Zen said would be an R1, CBR, etc.
I think of the Bandit as a "sport standard." All the fun of a super-sport, but without the leaning over. I've always felt that in the insurance compaines' minds that they see the more upright riding position as a "slower" bike. Which is fine by me that they're fooled :wink:
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True- for the above..BUT regular people classify bikes as Crotch Rockets or Cruisers or Tourers.
of those three- our mostly matches the CR. My dad calls mine a crotch rocket...well more like- "he went off and bought a damn cratch rocket!"
Only when you get into the motorcycle community do people rally know the different classes of bikes.I know that down here in the south, all the sportbikes and naked sport bikes and called a crotch rocket. Any thing with a fairing(even half fairing) is considered a sportbike. The Standard class of bike has largely disappeared from the USA- we just don't get them.
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I think you make a good point, the standard class is disappearing everywhere. I don't think of the Bandit as a crotch rocket. Crotch rockets to me are the super sports.
I've always owned bikes that didn't really match any of the traditional pegs on the board.
The reality is that motorcycling is just exploding with new riders right now. And while there are always some that do it for the pleasure of two wheels, there are more and more that simple do it for image. Those guys either go for true crotch rocket, or the chromed up cruisers. I know you've seen them, they need to get their tires changes because they are OLD, not worn out. They sit in the coffee shop parking lots in their full leather race suits all evening and then drive home for 10 min. Maybe pulling a wheelie alongside a family in a mini van.
I love the bandit exactly because it doesn't fit in a predetermined mold. Just think of this board, half of them are putting in GSXR cams while the other half (and sometimes the same person) is talking about hard luggage. To me that sounds perfect, I can't afford to keep all the bikes I want, so the Bandit has to be able to pull double and triple duty. With everyone being an average rider I have had no problem keeping up to R1 and GSXR1000 on my old 82 GPZ 550 mind you I was working the revs a little but they can only loose you on a straight. And yes when you pull in to the gas station to fuel up and the boys look back and a mere girl kept up with them on some ugly old bike...well that look is all worth it. The 550 wasn't much fun on the highway though, it was decent but not something I'd want to do for over 5 hours a day. Haven't taken the bandit on a long trip yet but I will, and with the help of a few mods from this board it should be comfortable.
Image is nothing, the ride is everything.
...this is a lot longer than I thought it would be
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True- for the above..BUT regular people classify bikes as Crotch Rockets or Cruisers or Tourers.
of those three- our mostly matches the CR. My dad calls mine a crotch rocket...well more like- "he went off and bought a damn cratch rocket!"
Only when you get into the motorcycle community do people rally know the different classes of bikes.I know that down here in the south, all the sportbikes and naked sport bikes and called a crotch rocket. Any thing with a fairing(even half fairing) is considered a sportbike. The Standard class of bike has largely disappeared from the USA- we just don't get them.
+1! And I think that's the idea behind what was originally posted.
OTOH, even WITHIN the m/c comminity, espcially in the cruiser crowd, the Bandit (S model) is looked on as a "crotch rocket." I hear it from those types all the time. I was showing my bike to a HD riding co-worker and he immediately dismissed it that way. It wasn't until he actually sat on it that he realized it was sporty looking, but didn't make you feel like a monkey humping a football. Then I told him to take it for a ride and he came back with a big grin and an understanding of why we like our Bandits. He didn't sell his bagger for one, but did say if there was to be another bike in his garage, something like would fit the bill quite nicely.
Sportbikers tend to know that a Bandit is "sporting standard."
Maybe that's because the read a more well-rounded media, where cruisers tend to read the media dedicated to their niche? :shrug:
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Interestingly enough, I met a Bandit rider in town the other week, and he said he thought the 919 was a cruiser!?!?! :shock: when he first saw it. A lot of non-MC people that I've run into will ask me if it's a crotch rocket. (To which I usually answer -sort of-, then explain why it's not technically, but why it has similarities - like the fireblade heritage in it's blood) I find a lot of MC people curious about the 919 here. I get stopped a lot and asked about it. The GM ( a former MX racer, who rides an RC51) at my local Honda dealer -finally- took one for a ride about a week ago, he can't stop raving about it.
Most people who stop me to talk to me about the Bandit say things like "what a pretty little bike"... I'm talking little old grey haired ladies :lol: :motorsmile: Which is a lot of what I liked when I first saw her, and still do. She's so not intimidating. A real ice breaker for the MC community here.
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ya 'know I was thinking about getting one of those.......that's cheaper than a opti-crap..and I've gotten two in the last 3 years.
Also, have you done a the throttle body? I am really not sure if it's the Opti or the butterflys are a little notchy.
I've never dyno'd mine. It's a great drivin' car when it's clicking. You can steer that solid back axle with the right foot.
I own a '94 Z-28 6 speed. It used to spank 911s, but after 130k miles the optispark coughs a lot I am afraid to check- again)....It still steers & shifts better than a Boxster
The B12 has 57k miles
"Is that one of those Crotch Rockets?"
"Ahhh, yeah, more or less."
....shakes head
I respond with "About like how a Camaro is a sports car."
It's usually something they can understand. :wink:
I put the MSD pro billet opti in mine...picked up 14 rwhp and 12 rwtq- sure it is 450 bucks- but well worth it in my opinion....and yes, newer F-bodies were very much a sports car. Though most still consider them a 'tweener: somewhere between a sprorts and muscle car.
The Bandit a Crotch rocket....more so than any other type of bike....but still in a class of it's own.
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if Webster's Dictionary had a picture under "motorcycle" it would be a Gen 1 Bandit S.
That would have replaced the photo of a '65 Sportster or a '67 Triumph.
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I always thought the dividing line from standard to crotch rocket was the handle bars vs clip-ons.
.....but that is really hard to explain. Of course, I always thought my Camaro WAS a sportscar....dunno 'buot the B12.
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Clip-ons and bars can be changed so easily that it wouldn't make sense for it to be the only deciding factor. Another difference is also the rpm of the motor, and it's "tuning", for instance, the "crotch rockets" tend to rev to what,.. 15+ K rpm? (I don't think I've ever looked),
Then the Bandits, and the Hornets, while still using the engines of the Gixxer and the CBR (Fireblade), are typically detuned engines. They make less HP, and less torque, BUT, they tend to make it lower. The engines are not as high strung, making them more pleasant and manageable to ride. Then of course there's the seating position. More upright, and feet more underneath you, than up and back. A nice easily controllable position. (An excellent position for learning to ride a bike too.)
They also tend toward slightly more naked looks, concentrating on more "Tank and Engine" styling.
As for the Camaro/Firebird/Mustang being a sportscar, in the traditional sense, IMNSHO, I don't think it is. It's a pony car, not firmly in the high price, high performance, no back seat category that the corvette, Porsche or the exotics live in. More like a reasonable facsimile for the "rest of us". That's not to say that they can't be played with and made to run as fast as the "true" sports cars, in fact, I think that was part of the appeal of them. People expect(ed) to buy them and mod the hell out of them.
Now before you jump on me for that, I learned to drive on a Camaro, bought (and still own) a firebird as my first car, and own a new Mustang. Long before I belonged to, or ran this forum, I was a regular on the Fbody ( Firebird and Camaros) forums, and this was a regular point of "discussion" on there.
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WOW !!!!!!
You must be a popular gal!
Clip-ons and bars can be changed so easily that it wouldn't make sense for it to be the only deciding factor. Another difference is also the rpm of the motor, and it's "tuning", for instance, the "crotch rockets" tend to rev to what,.. 15+ K rpm? (I don't think I've ever looked),
Then the Bandits, and the Hornets, while still using the engines of the Gixxer and the CBR (Fireblade), are typically detuned engines. They make less HP, and less torque, BUT, they tend to make it lower. The engines are not as high strung, making them more pleasant and manageable to ride. Then of course there's the seating position. More upright, and feet more underneath you, than up and back. A nice easily controllable position. (An excellent position for learning to ride a bike too.)
They also tend toward slightly more naked looks, concentrating on more "Tank and Engine" styling.
As for the Camaro/Firebird/Mustang being a sportscar, in the traditional sense, IMNSHO, I don't think it is. It's a pony car, not firmly in the high price, high performance, no back seat category that the corvette, Porsche or the exotics live in. More like a reasonable facsimile for the "rest of us". That's not to say that they can't be played with and made to run as fast as the "true" sports cars, in fact, I think that was part of the appeal of them. People expect(ed) to buy them and mod the hell out of them.
Now before you jump on me for that, I learned to drive on a Camaro, bought (and still own) a firebird as my first car, and own a new Mustang. Long before I belonged to, or ran this forum, I was a regular on the Fbody ( Firebird and Camaros) forums, and this was a regular point of "discussion" on there.
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Huh?
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Does it really matter? I think the Bandit is a nice middle of the road bike. However , chromed V-twins have their appeal and scary fast bikes have theirs. Either way, it's more fun on 2 wheels. :bigok:
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Where it matters is when the ins companies lump you in with all the GSXR600 and CBR 600 squids, and charge you accordingly. :sad:
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I tell them, not really, its listed as a standard motorcycle,but it can be anything you want it to be. Its trully a do-it-all motorcycle. It can be tailored to fit the bill for tour duty,comute duty, horse play duty,track duty. Wichever you most enjoy. Dan
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Where it matters is when the ins companies lump you in with all the GSXR600 and CBR 600 squids, and charge you accordingly. :sad:
That was one of the main selling points for me... insurance. :clap:
A good rider on a Bandit can keep up with, or even beat, an average rider on a "crotch-rocket", and still pay only a fraction of insurance for what the squid pays on his Gixxer.
And as it's been said here, flexability is key. You can't easily take a Gixxer and make it into an excellent sport-touring machine without a lot of expensive mods.
The Bandit lends itself to so many directions of modification... streetfighter, track bike, drag racer, touring, etc. without any radical alterations to the basic machine... i.e. frame, engine, front end... just a few tweaks here and there is all that's needed.
Love my Bandit! :bigok:
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Although I do ride a Bandit I am the least mechanically inclined person that you would meet. I hear a lot about "tuning and/or de-tuning" a bike and to be honest, I don't have a clue what that means in specific. If it is not too much to ask, would someone mind explaining to me what all this means as far as what you can do to improve the Bandit. And oh yeah, what would be the difference in tuning one with carburators and one with fuel injection? Would it help the bikes performance? Horse Power/ Torque... What are some of the things that you can do to improve the Bandits performance? Weight/H.P.... I would like my Bandit to be the best performimg Bandit out there but there is no way that can get it there on my own...Banditone1250s... :shock:
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The Official Quebec Sportsbike Checklist.
Muffler directed toward the rear and upward;
...as opposed to it pointing forward? Man, if Oregon politicians get wind of this, we're screwed. They'll come up with something like, "Any two-wheeled, motorized vehicle that that has two wheels and a motor will be assesed a tax...all other two wheeled, motorized vehicles are exempt."
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Hey Banditone1250s...I'll take a short stab at this.
Engines tuned for racetracks are usually tuned for max horsepower. Since torque is the work done and horsepower is the rate of doing work, a bike that creates its torque at higher rpms results in more horsepower. Higher horsepower tends to result in more acceleration and top speed.
A "detuned" bike, usually means the manuafacturer has altered things like cam lift and duration, carb or fuel injection throat size, length of intake, size and length of exhaust, etc. to make the max torque occur at a lower rpm, meaning LESS horsepower. Why? It make the bike way easier to ride in most situations. Better low rpm acceleration, or better roll on performance. Emissions can play a role as well.
Specifically to the 1st, 2nd and 2.5 SACS engine Bandits, they are basically altered GSXR 750 and 1100 engines origionally designed in the mid to late 1980's. On this site you can find lots of guys who have "retuned" their Bandits to make more horsepower. One of the easiest and largest benifits has come from "de-resticting" the intake and exhaust and perfecting the jetting. On either the 600 or 1200 this tends to add torque across most of the rpm range, meaning more horsepower everywhere.
For guys that want even more horsepower, it is usually easier to get by moving the max torque up the rpm band. For example, after a pipe and jet kit, a change to different cams in the 1200 allows it to rev higher, usually in conjunction with additional airbox/air filter mods to allow more air in.
Other ways to make more power are:
1. Increase displacement, usually via a big bore kit. Larger engine usually means more torque, espcially at lower rpms.
2. Higher compression, via different pistons. Bigger bang can result in higher torque.
3. Porting & valves. Smoothing/reshaping intake/exhaust ports can decrease friction/increase air flow. Special angles on the valve face/seats can do the same. Larger valves can allow more air in/out.
For your 1250 Water cooled, the empirical data is not there yet, though coming fast. Typically an lower restriction exhaust combined with adjusting the fuel mixture will result in more high rpm power. This will be done with a "chip" or software change to alter the fuel injection. May or may not need a change to the air filter/air box. Don't yet know if this will change any of the existing low rpm characteristics, but with the massive torque rise at low rpm of the Bandit 1250, you likely would not notice a slight shift.
I hope this helps...
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Here's a fun one...Once upon a time ago I was considering a SV 650. I about choked when I saw the insurance for a NAKED SV...it was 5600 a year. I was 26 w/ no tickets or accidents at the same time. A Duccati Monster 600 was 700 bucks a year to insure. The SV was classified as a sports bike while the Monster was considered a standard by progressive. Figure that one out. I'm still baffled to this day by that. My Bandit, even if it was new, with 2x the CC's and a fairing would have cost more on the Monster side of that equation as well.
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Whew! Paul, You just saved me a lot of typing. :grin:
I'll add two things here:
the "detuning" of our engines also serves to prolong the life of our engines, all things being equal. Our engine won't take as much stress ( high revving, etc) as a sport tuned bike. More horsepower usually equates to higher stress on engine parts.
Bandit1250s, Not knowing what your level is with engines, I'll also make a small parallel for you. The cams and camchain are essentially the same as your timing chain in a car. So, in effect, the cams in the bandit are creating different timing than it's gsxr 1100 counterpart would have, thus creating the detuning. This also changes the fuel requirement, hence the diffferent carbs, or fuel mapping with the FI systems. Different sparking needs changes the requirement for fuel.
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The Official Quebec Sportsbike Checklist.
Muffler directed toward the rear and upward;
...as opposed to it pointing forward?
Nah, as opposed to pointing toward the rear and level like a cruiser. Or ending halfway like the Versys (http://www.kawasaki.co.uk/versys/default.asp?Sub=654AAA5)
The SAAQ came out with its 'final' list. Scroll down on this page (http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/insurance_contributions/)
Looks like they removed the SV1000.
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Why doesn't Canada just make everyone get a Motorcycle endorsement regardless of when they got their license. That would be easier and cheaper for everyone involved.
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Why doesn't Canada just make everyone get a Motorcycle endorsement regardless of when they got their license. That would be easier and cheaper for everyone involved.
Because that would make perfect sense! When was the last time politicians had that?
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pmackie, Thanks for the info but in all honesty, I have to tell you that you know a whole lot more about that stuff than I do. You were way above my head with all that stuff. Howver, I am interested in what you think because you obviously know what you are talking about.
Let me ask, what, in your opinion would be the best thing to get a little more H.P. out of my Bandit 1250s? Hell, I wouldn't mind running it up to around 140 RWHP. Not that it doesn't have enough, I would just like a little extra if ya know what I mean. Does the fuel injection need to be adjusted when I change the can? I am thinking about changing to a "Two Brother's" slip on and doing what ever I need to do to the fuel injection if any thing.
I was also told that I could put the Gixzer cams in it and it would run more like a gixzer 1000. Do I want that? I am also told that this would cost around a $1000.00!!! I love my Bandit and I want it run with the other top dogs. What is your opinion about getting a "chip" put in it? I have heard that this could also make a great deal of difference too.. I am open to any ideas and thoughts that you may have. Please keep talking to me about this because I do want to do something and I do not want to do the "wrong" thing....Banditone1250s.... :motorsmile:
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Not to barge in...but I can tell you what I know from my last bike, and part of the reason why I sold it. (I had a 06 FZ6). With Fuel Injection, you will most likely have to alter things when you change the exhaust. It MIGHT run ok and this is something hopefully someone can answer definitively. With my FZ, due to the exhaust's location, all the aftermarket stuff was expensive to begin with, harder to find and not geared to just making noise but to produce more power. You have to alter things to make that power. The solution is a Power Commander. Its a ~300 dollar piggie back computer that alters the fuel/air to optimize your other mod's. If others have done the dyno work, then you just download their program into the box and you are good. If no one has (such as on a new bike like the B12.5) for the exhaust you are considering then you get to do that part too. One of my considerations going w/ the B12 was that it WAS carburated because I had done the math on a power commander for the FZ and it didn't seem worth it, especially on that bike where there was maybe 10-15 hp, all up in the stratosphere to be had. There are alot of upsides to FI, don't get me wrong, but easily and cheaply making more power isn't one of them. All my complaining about dropping almost 800 on a tune-up/valve adjustment and stage 3 kit would me amplified if it was just 800 for the pipe and P.C.
Drewpy
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banditone1250s
in your opinion would be the best thing to get a little more H.P. out of my Bandit 1250s? Hell, I wouldn't mind running it up to around 140 RWHP.
Holy smokes!!! I'm only running about 65 RWHP (at 10,500 rpm). You got at least that from 4000 rpm on up...
But seriously, you would need to completely revise the engine to get up to 140 RWHP, and you would end up completely different power charateristics if you did. I would suggest you start with a couple of simple things. Just like the 1200, it looks like there is about 10 HP (full 10%) with a change to the exhaust, intake and fuel mixture. A good way for most of us to get this, is to go to someone like Dale Walker's Holeshot. (http://www.holeshot.com/)
Dale has a long history for working with the Bandit platform, and is one of the early guys with some data. It looks like he has a slip-on exhaust mod, Air filter/air box mod and Fuel Injection "chip" mod all designed to work together. Have a look at this web site and see if it looks like it is for you.
No question, that things like a "Power Commander" FI mapping system have more outright potential for an experienced user, but you also need to know what you're doing to tune it properly.
This is NOT an endorsement of Holeshot per se, as I have not used his services myself (although I'm thinking about it), but many guys here have had good success with his products, and he DOES have an wealth of experience with the Bandit engines.
My basic recommendation is to ensure the suspension and brakes are upgraded prior to more power. There is usually more speed to be had by ensuring you can use all the existing power before you decide you need more.
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well right now- Holeshot has a slip on, o2 simm, and "box' that is good for 115rwhp(up from 104 stock) tq is also up all the way across the board. now that is ~700 bucks...I am waiting for the headers to come out myself to do it all at once.
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True- for the above..BUT regular people classify bikes as Crotch Rockets or Cruisers or Tourers.
of those three- our mostly matches the CR. My dad calls mine a crotch rocket...well more like- "he went off and bought a damn cratch rocket!"
Only when you get into the motorcycle community do people rally know the different classes of bikes.I know that down here in the south, all the sportbikes and naked sport bikes and called a crotch rocket. Any thing with a fairing(even half fairing) is considered a sportbike. The Standard class of bike has largely disappeared from the USA- we just don't get them.
WHEN PEOPLE ASK ABOUT MY BANDIT.....
I ALWAYS TELL THEM THAT THE BIKE IS A "STANDARD".....
I ALSO EXPLAIN WHAT A STANDARD IS.....
I NEVER TELL ANYONE THAT MY BIKE IS A CROCH ROCKET.....
BUT I ALSO TELL THEM THAT I HAVE NO PROBLEM RIDING WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE CROCH ROCKETS.....THEY DO THEIR THING AND I DO MINE.....
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A standard motorcycle indeed!
One of the best things about the 1200 Bandit is that it is a "sleeper" and it does not carry "sociological baggage" like a Harley, GSXR, V-Max, BMW, etc., each with its own reputation and stereotype.
My naked 1200 runs "below the radar" of most people who have absolutely no idea what it is or what it can do.
Best of all, my Bandit does not impose the expectation that I should conform to a brand/model-based stereotype or to be like the other riders of the same kind of bike.
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I agree Dave....but add the half fairing(which is all us USA people get) and it automatically gets lumped into sportbike.
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A standard motorcycle indeed!
One of the best things about the 1200 Bandit is that it is a "sleeper" and it does not carry "sociological baggage" like a Harley, GSXR, V-Max, BMW, etc., each with its own reputation and stereotype.
My naked 1200 runs "below the radar" of most people who have absolutely no idea what it is or what it can do.
Best of all, my Bandit does not impose the expectation that I should conform to a brand/model-based stereotype or to be like the other riders of the same kind of bike.
I TOTALLY AGREE.....
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I had a guy say " you ride a CROCH ROCKET? Oh wait it has a steel frame... thats not a croch rocket!" HaHa I just looked at him and said "WOW"
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Interestingly enough my insurance broker just called and said my insurance would not be covered by the underwriter we had agreed on as they don't cover 'sport bikes', guess they think the bandit is something I don't think it is.
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What state are you in? I've used this company and have recommended them MANY times simply because their prices are amazing...and they know bikes and insurance companies policies to get the best rates. (They got me a rate almost half what the company would have charged with me going directly through them..)
Their URL is: http://www.ballins.com/
I have NO affiliation with this company aside from being a happy customer. From their website:
We insure Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin
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sadly i'm in canada. It won't be much of a problem just that he has had to find somebody else to underwrite the policy, he won't increase the price at all which is honestly all I care about.
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Interestingly enough my insurance broker just called and said my insurance would not be covered by the underwriter we had agreed on as they don't cover 'sport bikes', guess they think the bandit is something I don't think it is.
How long have you been riding the bike, assuming it was insured and they just now told you it's not? That sounds like Wawanesa. (months behind on writing policies) Good grief! They are looking at some serious problems if a rider they say is insured isn't after all.
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it's pretty funny really, they had to write me a temp card for a month anyway. So really I could cancel and get myself a free month. Find it crazy that they don't just give the broker a copy of their no-insure list.
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it's pretty funny really, they had to write me a temp card for a month anyway. So really I could cancel and get myself a free month. Find it crazy that they don't just give the broker a copy of their no-insure list.
I think they don't only because then they can waffle, and pick and choose who they insure based on the position of the moon, or solar flares.
A Bandit is not a sport bike, but the Canadian ins. companies really don't understand bikes. As far as they're concerned, if it's not a cruiser, it's a sport bike. :roll:
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Buncha crotch rocket riders! :stickpoke: :bolt:
:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Mine is a mellow cuiser - when I want to cruise, but most of the time it is a street rod.
Idea: Would it help to fit a flat windshield and hard saddle bags, take a photo, and send the photo of the "dressed Bandit" along with a photo of a GSXR and another of a HD Road Glide to the insurance company?
Your letter requesting another underwriting opinion could ask them "Which bike is more like the dressed Bandit, the GSXR "crotch rocket" or the HD Road Glide?
(The fact is that the Bandit is so versitile that it can be whatever you want it to be with just a few simple modifications.)
Hope you can convince them to reconsider.