Bandit Improvements?...... from the old board

[txbanditrydr]

0 to 60
Location: Memphis, TN
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 1:01 pm    
Post subject: What are your least favorite features about the Bandit?  

Cold blooded, very heavy (though the excess weight it may come in handy on those windy days).

I don't have a lot of dislikes about the Bandit. It is an excellent all round canyon carver/roadracer/touring bike that can cater to your specific needs..............................Bandits Rock :cornuto:
_________________
The only thing that matters is how fast you can get from 0 to 60, because top speed is secondary.

 
B12Teuton
Location: Hotlanta, GA, USA
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 1:36 pm

Mine was neither cold blooded nor excessively heavy. Feather weight, no, but a dry weight in the mid-high 400's isn't bad at all compared to a VFR, FJR, ZRX and other bikes in it's broad class.

I think the suspension is the biggest shortfall followed by the ho-hum reputation the bike has.

Also terrible resale value.
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Manny
"Bikeless in Atlanta"  

 
Red01
Location: WA, USA
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:03 pm

Well, if I could change things to make it my perfect bike, about the only things I'd like to see is shaft drive, factory lowers and good looking factory luggage... in other words, a poor-man's FJR.
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Paul
2001 GSF1200S
2005 Panterra 49
1974 Yamaha TY250

 
serp
Location: Tampa,FL
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:04 pm

fuel capacity, It should have a 6 gl tank.

Zorlock
Location: Concord, New Hampshire
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:19 pm

It should come with case guards installed, not as an overpriced aftermarket add on. A bit more quality needs to go into the seat design. The S models need a headlight upgrade. Other than that, it is an awesome bike for the money. :msm:
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see ya, DJD.

 
TxB6Rydr
Location: East Texas
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 3:24 pm  

Zorlock wrote:

It should come with case guards installed, not as an overpriced aftermarket add on. A bit more quality needs to go into the seat design. The S models need a headlight upgrade.

 
Ditto on the headlight..... I get tired of being told one is out. If there was a way to eliminate the low beam side baffle and run dual element bulbs that would be a great fix IMHO.

Any links to case guards???? I know I have seen them on the board somewhere.

All in all pretty small gripes..... great bike for me! :msm: :msm:
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'01 Bandit 600 S
'92 Astro - "Ol' Blue" (228,000 miles and counting)

 
Red01
Location: WA, USA
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 3:40 pm  

Tx, in the daytime, run the brights, then people will quit telling you you have a light out.

The deflector in the low beam light can be removed... see the FAQ.

As for case guards, Holeshot, Givi & Renntec make better ones than the official Suzuki Accessory items. I just don't like the looks of them on my B12, so I went with the heavy duty NRC covers that replace the fragile stock signal gen & starter gear covers... and NRC makes 'em for the B6, too.
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Paul

 
KevinB600
Location: New Milford. CT
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 3:59 pm  

It should come with case guards installed, not as an overpriced aftermarket add on. A bit more quality needs to go into the seat design. The S models need a headlight upgrade. Other than that, it is an awesome bike for the money.

 
what he said.
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Kevin R
New Milford, CT
02 Bandit 600 S
Road Dawg

 
BIGB43082
Location: COLUMBUS OHIO
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 4:11 pm

I think that the suspension is pretty much the only cheap item on the bike. Suzukis are pretty much known for being somewhat coldblooded, especially in the mid western states. I don't really care about the longer warm up time because once she is warmed up, she runs great!! I will for sure be upgrading the suspension in the future, other than that I am really happy. A new gel seat makes a world of difference
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03 Bandit 1200s

Steve
Location: Washington Rain Forest - USA
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 7:08 pm    
Post subject: Headlight!  

I agree with those above about the headlight. The bugeye sucks, mine gets dirty, which dims it, and is a bonafide pain to take apart and clean out. I would prefer one H4, that is the finest headlight that I have ever seen on a bike. If you don't like the H4 that came with, you can select from tons of lens/reflector & bulb setups to get just about any degree and shape of lighting you want.

The coldblooded thing is easily cured and the weight is really not that bad considering the nature of the bike. If you get a chance weigh you b-12 and a friends sportster back to back.

Most anything else that you don't like about the bandit is easily changed, that is one thing that I really like about the bike.

Steve

 
KevinB600
Location: New Milford. CT
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 7:40 pm

Cold blooded,  

At least a jet kit solves the problem and increases power as well. I am very glad that these kits work so well on the Bandit. I have friends with Honda's (jetted) that run a lot more cold blooded than my Bandit ever did. ust my $.02. :ban: :ban:
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Kevin R
New Milford, CT
02 Bandit 600 S
Road Dawg

 
lwg69
Location: Dothan Alabama
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 9:00 pm

No 6th gear.

 
PitterB4
Location: Oxford, PA, USA
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:08 pm

lwg69 wrote:

No 6th gear.

Really??? I guess I had read that before but it is surprising in a contemporary bike.

The weight of the 12 and 6 are what bug me about them. I love the idea of a B12 as a next bike but the weight of it puts me off a little.
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Rob
'93 Bandit 400
A red-stater in a blue state

 
serp
Location: Tampa,FL
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:06 pm

Reading all your nits & picks it's hard to believe we have the same bike.

My headlight is awesome (I have the naked one) the suspension is spot on for canyon carving at less than half of it's possible settings, the seat is comfortable for 600+ mile days, not cold blooded at all, I start it up with 80%choke for about 1 minute then push it off and ride away with a responsive throttle throughout, I make the bike do all the work so I don't notice the weight, cruising the parking lot or flogging the back roads it's agile and nimble and it's all stock.

 
aussiebandit
Location: Wagga Wagga NSW Australia
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 3:51 am  

I only have 2 problems with the B12

1. Way too quiet in standard form - although this could be as a result of the Bike having to meet Aussie Design Regulations and an Anal Retentive EPA.

2. To easy to speed - again not really a problem with the bike itself more a problem with our revenue raising, tax collecting Police Farce.......I apologise to any Police Officers out there I know you are only doing your job as directed by your evil overlords (the government).

As for the Headlight, yeah it pissed me off for a while but now I just grin and say "Shit, is it, I'll have to get that looked at".

The weight isn't a problem for me, I figure the bike comes in at around 220Kg Dry and I weigh roughly 100kg so it pretty well matches me anyway - A bit on the porky side, but can still party with the lightweights. There is an advantage to the weight it stops my wife riding it, which means I don't have to sqeeeeze myself on to her Monster.
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Aussiebandit
02 Bandit 1200

 
97RedBird
Location: Kansas City
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 11:19 am  

6 gears?

I have a b6 with 6 gears and hate going through every gear, I usually skip 1 or 2 on my commute to work. On the B6 I understand it is necessary to acclerate with, but I could do without, just my opinon only

 
Zorlock
Location: Concord, New Hampshire
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 12:34 pm

97RedBird wrote:

6 gears?

I have a b6 with 6 gears and hate going through every gear, I usually skip 1 or 2 on my commute to work. On the B6 I understand it is necessary to acclerate with, but I could do without, just my opinon only

I believe only the B12 has five gears. All other displacements use six gears.
_________________
see ya, DJD.

 
Red01
Location: WA, USA
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 5:24 pm

Zorlock wrote:

97RedBird wrote:

6 gears?

I have a b6 with 6 gears and hate going through every gear, I usually skip 1 or 2 on my commute to work. On the B6 I understand it is necessary to acclerate with, but I could do without, just my opinon only

I believe only the B12 has five gears. All other displacements use six gears.

True... and if you look at the ratios, you'll see the B12's 5th is taller than the B6's 6th, so who really needs it? The motor is torquey, that's why it doesn't have six cogs. (Kinda like why Yamaha went to a 4 speed box in the YZ450F when the 426 had a 5 speed.) You say to cruise at a lower rpm, perhaps? OK, I can buy that. I wouldn't mind cruising at 70 at a lower rpm sometimes, but 4K really isn't unreasonable, that's roughly 1/3 of the way to redline. If it did have an even taller gear, you'd have to downshift it to get any acceleration out of it, so it'd be pretty much a superslab gear. If that's what you want, then you could accomplished pretty much the same thing just by gearing it taller with sprocket changes.

Other bikes in the B12's class that have 6-speed boxes, don't have the bottom-end grunt the B12 has, so they need the extra gear.
_________________
Paul

 
TChuck
Location: Kingwood, TX
Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 8:21 pm

Least favorite features of the Bandit in my opinion are:

Seat Height: I have a 30 inch inseam and the 32 inch seat height was a problem. I bought the lowering dog bones from Holeshot Performance and solved this. Along with lowering the forks in the triple clamps.

Inaccurate Speedometer: All bike particularly Jap bikes have speedometers that indicate higher than you are actually traveling. With the electronic speedometer, this should have been corrected, but mine indicates at least 5 mph faster than actual.

Buzz: My Bandit has a buzz at about 4,000 to 4,500 rpm. Something in the bike gets in resonance with the engine at this rpm and its getting worse. I think its in the front, maybe the faring is loose or missing a rubber gromment somewhere. Anyone else have this problem?
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Terry Cunningham
I rode a Suzuki before I didn't ride a Suzuki

 
BIGB43082
Location: COLUMBUS OHIO
Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 9:10 pm

Bandits tend to buzz, :drunk: however if you read in any of the motorcycle mags when they test a bike, they all pretty much have a buzz somewhere. Fill the bar with bb's or buck shot, that seems to help some. I wear olympia gel gloves when I ride, maybe also try the new gel grips out on the market.
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03 Bandit 1200s

 
davesbandito
Location: Long Island, New York
Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 9:23 pm

I hated the extended warm-ups and cold-bloodedness until I shimmed the carbs ...now I love my ride. Reached about 60 degrees yesterday; went out for a couple hours. Repeat: I love my bike.

I don't think I ride long enough for the 'buzz' to bug me. One of my first mods was to go to a gel 'motocross' grip that was dealer advised for inline 4's.

Happy and Safe New Years Folks!
_________________
My 149.25cc cylinders are too small!

Dave's Bandito: http://tinypic.com/dvejt

 
TChuck
Location: Kingwood, TX
Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 9:53 pm

The buzz I wrote about wasn't in the bike when new. I feel the motor buzzing about 3500 rpms that buzz has always been there and it can be felt. This is probably one of the motor's resonant frequencies. This buzz can't be felt, but you can hear it. Its annoying, and I thnk something is loose somewhere. In the handlebars I really don't feel much vibration in the Bandit unless I'm in 3rd or 4th with the revs up for the twisties. Adrenalin though counteracts that vibration effectively.
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Terry Cunningham
I rode a Suzuki before I didn't ride a Suzuki

 
BIGB43082
Location: COLUMBUS OHIO
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 12:57 am

Do you still have the OEM exhaust? I have heard that the restrictive stocker can make it worse. This may or may not be true Also could be coming from the fairing if you have one
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03 Bandit 1200s

 
Red01
Location: WA, USA
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 2:48 am

Most B12's have their resonant freq at ~4000 rpm, which is ~70 mph.

The B6's is ~1000 rpm higher - which ironically is also ~70 mph.

Check your fairing bits for fit and loose fasteners. A little foam tape between bits that are rattling even when tight usually cures any fairing buzzing.
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Paul

 
victor five five
Location: Helensville. NZ
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 2:53 am

The best way to get rid of the `buzz' is to invest in some ear plugs.

There are 2 or 4 to a pack and you put one in each ear b4 putting on your helmet - riding is a dream and the buzz is totally eliminated
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Marty
Yes, yes its stopped raining

 
TChuck
Location: Kingwood, TX
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 6:12 pm

After reading this forum and finding nothing about the "buzz" I wrote about on my Bandit, I thought this was a problem specific to my bike. Today I changed the oil, cleaned, lubed and adjusted the chain and was not going to take it off the centerstand until I found what was buzzing.

It was the toll road EZ Tag transmitter I had jammed in between the windshield and the fairing. It made the whole fairing get in resonance with the engine. Took it out and put it in the tail bag and viola the buzz is gone. It seems new again without that annoying buzz.
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Terry Cunningham
I rode a Suzuki before I didn't ride a Suzuki

Hydrogen
Location: Hotalnta, GA
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 2:24 pm

I only have 2 major complaints about my Bandit:

1. It's not comfortable to sleep on.

2. I can't SCUBA dive while riding it.

I wish Suzuki would fix these VERY major problems.

-H
_________________
The bigger the power the bigger the smile..
It'll take death and a surgeon to remove the smile from my face.

 
snofrog
Location: petersburg mi
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 4:35 pm

while my bike is a great commuter i wish for a more adjustable suspension for saturday nights . maybee this spring
M

Red01
Location: WA, USA
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:28 am

What's so special about Saturday nights?
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Paul

snofrog
Location: petersburg mi
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 4:46 am

Saturday night is the night i go for a ride down roads that look like they were designed by a biker~~~~~~~~~~~~ more turns than a Steven King novel

 
Red01
Location: WA, USA
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 4:52 am

OK... most of us prefer to do the twisty thing in the daylight.

I thought maybe you were cruising for/with chicks on Sat Nite and needed to adjust for the pillion...
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Paul

Sevenfiddy
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2005 5:56 am

Hydrogen wrote:

I only have 2 major complaints about my Bandit:

1. It's not comfortable to sleep on.

2. I can't SCUBA dive while riding it.

I wish Suzuki would fix these VERY major problems.

Yeah mine doesn't have a broadband connection either or a dial-up for that matter, so I can post to the site while riding...this could be very handy, considering at the moement I am spending as much time on both.
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I like the odd ones!
B-750
Gold Coast, Australia

 
Red01
Location: WA, USA
Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2005 6:00 am

The B-King prototype would have you covered there... pretty sure that was one of the many electronic geegaws it had.
_________________
Paul

 
Sevenfiddy
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2005 6:35 am

Hope its got satelite or something...coz that cable may get in the way
_________________
I like the odd ones!
B-750
Gold Coast, Australia

 
bugeyerider
Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2005 12:48 pm  

underpowered :msm: , overugly , weak headlights, BuzZzZZzzZZZZZzzzzZZZZZZzyyYYYyYy,

a good scooter replacement commuter though it also makes an excellent first time female rider bike too

 
sloper10
Location: Nashville, TN
Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2005 1:23 pm    
Post subject: needs and wants...  

Either a gear indicator or a sixth gear.....I am continually trying to shift up from fifth.....that does say something about the power though....
_________________
2004 1200S in Ghostly Gray Metallic..the S is short for Saint which is short for Saint Acceleration who, as we all know, is the Patron Saint of 0 to 60...dusting off old guys in Corvettes, one smile at a time...

 
BIGB43082
Location: COLUMBUS OHIO
Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2005 2:42 pm

bugeyerider wrote:

underpowered :msm: , overugly , weak headlights, BuzZzZZzzZZZZZzzzzZZZZZZzyyYYYyYy,

a good scooter replacement commuter though it also makes an excellent first time female rider bike too

I know that you aren't talking abou the Bandit 1200!!
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03 Bandit 1200s

 
stunter
Location: wallington, london, england
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 10:30 am

the fact that the motor is a de-tuned gsxr600 motor. if they kept it exactly the same. It would be a lot better.
_________________
if both wheels stay on the ground, you're not riding it properly

bugeyerider
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2005 7:12 am

BIGB43082 wrote:

bugeyerider wrote:

underpowered :msm: , overugly , weak headlights, BuzZzZZzzZZZZZzzzzZZZZZZzyyYYYyYy,

a good scooter replacement commuter though it also makes an excellent first time female rider bike too

I know that you aren't talking abou the Bandit 1200!!

actually, the 12 IS buzzy, it IS ugly, it DOES HAVE weak headlights and compared to other bikes of 1200 cc and under it is VERY VERY underpowered [cough gixxer 1k, R1, VMAX etc. ] so my first statement remains true, yes a B12 fits the bill too.

 
Red01
Location: WA, USA
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2005 7:40 am  

You're entitled to your opinions, of course... especially when it comes to looks, since beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

If it's so bad in all these areas that are usually important to a buyer of this kind of bike, why do you own one AND like it enough to use one of it's monikers as your handle?

You are right, it is down on peak power compared to repli-racers like the GSXR & R1... but have a roll-on contest, or a quick drag, stop light to stop light and its superior bottom end grunt will take 'em.

BTW - it is NOT down on power compared to the V-Max - the Max & B12 run similar numbers in the 1/4 and the B12 will outrun it in top speed (and it handles corners WAAAY better - and IMHO, is far better looking than a V-Max, which I've always thought of as one of the ugliest bikes of all time). If you get realistic and compare the B12 to bikes that are in it's market class, it is down a little on power, but this is quickly made up with a jet kit and a can. Let's see a FZ1 or a ZRX get 15-20 rear wheel horsepower from this simple mod. Let's say you want to get wild & crazy with your power mods so you can whip the neighbor's Hayabusa... pretty easy to do with the B12 (check out Bill's Blade). There's tons of speed equipment out there for the big-block SACS motors. Not so easy with the competition.

As for buzz, not any worse than any other inline 4 that has no counterbalancer... especially if you compare to other inline 4's without liquid cooling.

I know some folks seem to have issues with the lights on the bugeye B6/12, but I'm not one of them. I'm not saying they are the greatest lights I've ever seen, just seem pretty average to me.
_________________
Paul

Dan Lander
Location: Erie,Pa.
Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2005 8:46 am

I fixed the suspension,added power, but I also look for a 6th gear

(although I added 3 teeth to the back) I love the way she(my Bandit)looks But I would'nt mind dropping a few lbs.
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98 resurected Bandit1200,750slingshot cams,stage2,Holeshot high mount exaust,WorksPerformance shock,RaceTech valves and springs, fully saftey wired,rear sets

 
sloper10
Location: Nashville, TN
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 11:46 am

Dan Lander wrote:

I fixed the suspension,added power, but I also look for a 6th gear

(although I added 3 teeth to the back) I love the way she(my Bandit)looks But I would'nt mind dropping a few lbs.

Ok...Ok...I'll spend more time on the treadmill...
_________________
2004 1200S in Ghostly Gray Metallic..the S is short for Saint which is short for Saint Acceleration who, as we all know, is the Patron Saint of 0 to 60...dusting off old guys in Corvettes, one smile at a time...

 
Terbang
Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 3:24 pm  

The headlight on the Gen 1 is not too bright and the suspension is a bit cheap though fixable. The rest is fine..

[Huge]

better suspension