Bandit 400 restoration

[VW_NUT]

Hi everyone,

I figured I'd post pictures here in case any one is interested.  Thanks for all the information on this site.  I have found info for all the usual problems on this site.

Any a little history on the bike.  It was a bike my girlfriend bought to learn to ride on.  We bought it off a local guy who didn't have the time/energy to get it running.  It appears it hasn't run since 1997.  It was cheap, but needs alot of love.  1st order of business is to get the rusty tank fixed, and make the bike run. 
Some pics.

[VW_NUT]

After cleaning the tank out and using the KBS coatings rust blast, we realized there was much less tank left than I first thought. Check out the pics.  I was able to weld it with my MIG welder, but it wasn't pretty.  Pics of the damage, unfortunatly I haven't taken pictures of the functional but ugly fix. 




I was able to fill in the holes, and will finish up with the tank sealer soon.

[VW_NUT]

My girlfriend wanted to paint the bike white, and painted all the fairings in a semigloss white.  We decided to use spray cans incase the bike tips over so touch ups will be easy and inexpensive.  Thank you to Lowes Racing for providing the Rustolieum spray cans. 



Also on the agenda was a carb cleaning to try and fix the rough running


As it turns out the reason it ran so rough was plugs 3 & 4  had the wires switched...

Also found a slip on on ebay.  Anyone know what brand this might be?

[VW_NUT]

More projects to follow including painting the header black again, a fork rebuild and shock upgrade...

Anyone have any tips on what to do for fork springs.  My girlfriend weights 110 with gear...  Will the stock springs be ok, or should I upgrade?  I want to use a bandit 1200 rear shock, however, I will probably have to make some dog bones to keep the bike low for her.

[PitterB4]

Cool project! 

Is that a Cobra exhaust?  Kerker????

For the rear shock, the 2G B12 shock doesn't raise the rear TOO much.  IIRC, the 1G shock will raise it more.

Good luck!

[gsxr400 racer]

Cobra F1 pipe. Man i just have to say that tank is a prime example Suzuki metal, Now after seeing that tank all you can imagine what carb nightmares you will have with out a fuel filter. Keep it up

[VW_NUT]

  Thanks guys...  Do you guys install inline fuel filters as a precaution for the carbs?  My girlfriend is 5' even so I may have to make dog bones for any shock that raises the bike.  Thats ok though, I just want something that feels better than the shock thats on there.  Right now it feels like one of those cheap full suspension bikes at wal-mart.

More to come, although the progress has been slowed by the cold weather in Maine...

[zelig]

One of the first photoshops I did when I got mine was white tank/fender/plastics with the red frame/swingarm!  Looking forward to the progress.

[gsxr400 racer]

Thanks guys...  Do you guys install inline fuel filters as a precaution for the carbs?  ...

yes sir

[VW_NUT]

Thanks... On my way to the garage to do some work to the tank..  I wish 400 tanks weren't so hard to find.. I've got a few saturdays in this one...


Also, you guys recomend any particular suspension set ups for a 110lb rider (with gear)?  I have to change a fork seal anyways, so if I can make some changes while I am in there...  I am also looking into finding a compatable rear shock on ebay, unfortunately all of them seem to be longer..

[interfuse]

I'm 130 and I have no problems with the stock spring. Unless the suspension is shot, I'd try the stocker first.

[Red01]

For the rear shock, the 2G B12 shock doesn't raise the rear TOO much.  IIRC, the 1G shock will raise it more.

Good luck!

Actually, the 1G B12 shock is shorter, so it would raise it less than the 2G... maybe even no raise at all.

Do you recall how much the 2G B12 shock raised your B4?
FWIW, a 2G B12 shock on a 1G will raise a 1G's tail ~1".
(This doesn't mean a 1" lift at the rider's perch, but 1" at the tail light.)

[PitterB4]

I don't think I ever measured it.  It was noticable but not radical. 

Here is a good thread on it from the FAQ...

[VW_NUT]

Thanks for the info guys!  I checked race tech's web page and the stock springs are .57kg/mm, and the lightest springs they offer are .80kg/mm, which will probably be stiffer than she needs.  Maybe I'll just try a rebuild with stock springs.  Is it possible to shim the stock springs for more preload?

On the project forum, we finished coating the tank with the kbs tank sealer.  It took a while to get it to dry.  We had to keep turning it to avoid pooling which took forever.  Hopefully its all sealed up now..  More pics soon.....

[hangin_biposto]

Hey all,

I suppose I shoud introduce myself- I'm VW-NUT's better, er uh I mean other half 

I'm happy to report that the tank sealing is finally done. Now I can move on to the fun bits like reshaping the welds on the visible part of the tank and painting. I am really looking forward to getting the tank painted so I can see how the color scheme I've dreamed up is going to look.

Since VW has posted the extremely abbreviated version of this project, I thought I would post a link to the complete project summary. It's on a Ducati forum, but you should still be able to view it as a guest if you so desire.

http://www.ducatimonster.org/smf/index.php?topic=95269.0

We will definitely be adding to this thread as there's still a lot of work to be done to the old girl.

Cheeers,

Meagan