1995 Bandit 400

[Chenrezi]

Hi all!
I'm new here and in desperate need of some help :)
Thing is, I've driven this 95' Bandit 400 of a friend of mine and am falling inlove with it.
The price is good and he's a regular great guy plus I know everything about that bike from day one - or day one since he bought it... :)
Well, the bike has the black exaust - more restrictive? that appears in suzukicycles.org from the earlier bikes; but the tach only goes to 16K and it's registered as a 1995 model - could it be made earlier?? - my friend bought it 2nd hand...
I'm planning on buying it and was thinking about changing the exaust and air filters, but am clueless to what may be the possible gains and losses, plus the price tag on the operation...

On another note, I really enjoy it's "blast" after 6/7K and I feel with a different exaust it would be even better :)

Plus, I heard some bad stories about the reliability of the 400 due to it's revvy charisma; but that's suposedly solved after 93 and only in the ones with the 18K tach...

As you can see, I'm a bit in a mess here. Plus there's no real articles or magazine tests about the 400 on the web - I'm thinking about buying this motorcycle reports compilation that has 8 articles on the 400 - 46 pages I think... 21bucks... May be worth it... what do you think?

Well, let me know, please... :D

Sincerely, Miguel

[Maniac]

Plus, I heard some bad stories about the reliability of the 400 due to it's revvy charisma; but that's suposedly solved after 93 and only in the ones with the 18K tach...

Eh? What? I've not heard anything like that...

My '93 had 16700+ miles on it (26880km). Mechanically the only thing I've had fail on me was the timing chain tensioner, I suppose if it had let go at high revs then I'd probally be looking at a lot of trouble. Other than that, the engine is in excellent shape with good compression and doesn't use much oil (1/4th quart every oil change, if I really rag on it).

The biggest problems with reliablity, at least on the old 400s we have in the states, are the carbs. They are so small that it doesn't take much dirt and grime to clog them up right good.

Are you sure you have those redlines right? 'cause mine is just 13000RPM, and the 90-92's are 14000RPM I believe...

[Chenrezi]

Hi!
I'm sorry, it's not the redlines.
It redlines at 14K yeah, but the end of the rev counter is at 18K on some bikes and 16K on others.
Suposedly the ones with the 18K redline end are the ones pre 94 and/or with the GSXR400 engine or something - the ones that are suposed to have reliability problems; this one has the 16K revcounter...

Man, anything you can tell me, anything about it it's usefull.

Thanks
Miguel

P.S. If you guys live near Texas or N.O. I hope all is good over there.

[jcmjrt]

I have a '91 with over 17000 miles on the speedometer and it was broken for a while during the time the PO had it.....so a couple thousand more miles than that but who knows how many miles really? I bought it non-running because the ignition wasn't working (this is a common bandit problem) but I had that fixed and I've had very little trouble and no engine trouble. The only engine trouble I'm having now is paying for an oversize piston kit so I can have 442cc :)) I love playing with my bandit in the twisties and am planning some major upgrades (like the 442ccs) and a beautification project for the winter. I'm not going to be letting this puppy go anytime soon. Ive got a couple of articles on the Bandit 400 so you can e-mail me for them. If you do get the article compilation, then I'd love to get an electronic copy :)

[Chenrezi]

Thanks JC!
I'm really thinking about getting the articles 'cause I want some more info on the litle 400...
If possible I'ld really apreciate yours as well.

Thanks!

Miguel

[Maniac]

I'm trying to think of any mechanical problems I've heard of that aren't wear related (clutch and the like). Yes, the pre-'93 uses the GSXR400 motor with a different cam and smaller carbs, I think the transmission is different gearing-wise as well. I'm not sure what the post-'93 uses, as we never got them over here  

The only trouble spots I can think of off the top of my head are the carbs being finnicky and the digital igniter box that tends to be -very- sensitive. Most 400s in the States that don't run and aren't wrecked are down do to one of these two problems. When I got mine, it was carbs (didn't run), but I've seen a lot of bikes with dead igniter boxes. They tend to be gold over here if we can find them.

[gsxr400 racer]

                                                   
                                     

[Red01]

The biggest problems with reliablity, at least on the old 400s we have in the states, are the carbs. They are so small that it doesn't take much dirt and grime to clog them up right good.

Next most common is ignition box problems... but there's threads here to help you out on fixing that.

[billybandit]

Ooh no. My 250 engine is reliable as anything and I rev it to its 16k limiter on a regular basis and do about 1000 miles a month on it. I've had other problems like worn head bearings, suspension linkages, warped discs, indicators but the engine just goes and goes. touch wood!

[gsxr400 racer]

all the bandits except the v run the gixxer type motor ! cheers

[Chenrezi]

OK, get this: A member jcmjrt; sent me an article on a 1991 Bandit, and the suposed 95 I was considering looks EXACTLY ALIKE.
I mean, ALL of it! The exaust, the red painting, all...

Is it possible that it's just a 1995 REGISTERED bike, but a 1991  model?

Let me know.

Thanks a Zillion!
Miguel

[PitterB4]

I think '95 was the first year for the 2nd generation of B4s.  It's interesting though, if you go to the bikepics page for the 95 B4, only 2 out of the 11 are the new body style.  What does that mean?  I don't know!  

BTW - for me, the easiest way to tell the 1Gs from the 2Gs is the side covers.  

2G:



1G:

[gsxr400 racer]

that first pic is a variable valve motor  tho! second isnt

[PitterB4]

that first pic is a variable valve motor  tho! second isnt

I realize that but... the side covers (the little plastic things below the tank) are the same between the V and non-V models of the same generation but are different from one generation to the next.

[Maniac]

There should be a manufacturer plate on the steering head assembly, probally on the right hand side (sitting on the bike). This should have all sorts of information, including the build date.