Author Topic: bandit 400 info and help please (new member) (Read 4037 times)

Biker-Dene · « **on:** August 22, 2006, 09:27:53 PM »

Hi

I just bought a bandit 400 I think it’s a 1992 but was first registered in 1997 and I know nothing about them so wanted a little help is possible.

Well firstly it’s got red tops on the engine cylinder is this a special thing?

2, it vibrates like holy crap at high speeds is this bad or common can it be fixed? What could it be?

3, it only revs to 12k is this normal? Is there any way to alter the CDI

4, in 2nd gear it jumps feels like its cutting out a little what could this be?

5, does any body know how to make these bikes a little faster, more powerful

And what is the bhp /top speed anyway? Lol :D

And finally where can I find some good aftermarket parts like screen, exhausts full systems, maybe a top faring is possible, etc etc

I hope some 1 can at least answer 1 of my questions.

Dene

gsxr400 racer · « **Reply #1 on:** August 22, 2006, 10:22:36 PM »

Quote from: Biker-Dene

Hi

I just bought a bandit 400 I think it’s a 1992 but was first registered in 1997 and I know nothing about them so wanted a little help is possible.

Well firstly it’s got red tops on the engine cylinder is this a special thing?
Its a variable valve motor!
2, it vibrates like holy crap at high speeds is this bad or common can it be fixed? What could it be?Need more info on the vibrating!

3, it only revs to 12k is this normal? Is there any way to alter the CDI
Not sure on the 12000 there is a few others on here that have the VV motor maybe they can tell you the specifics of that one mine revs to 15000. Carmo electric or the other cdi shop in the uk can better answer that i know they modify some of them not sure on the VV ( only thing i know about the vv is that my piston kit 442cc's fits)
4, in 2nd gear it jumps feels like its cutting out a little what could this be?
Maybe a bad tooth on 2nd gear or as simple as a bad front sprocket
5, does any body know how to make these bikes a little faster, more powerful
Its depends on if you want to have big pistons in it or not! And how much you are willing to spend on a 400

And what is the bhp /top speed anyway? Lol :D

And finally where can I find some good aftermarket parts like screen, (DO A SEARCH ON HERE)exhausts full systems(WATCH EBAY), maybe a top faring is possible,(DO A SEARCH ON HERE) etc etc

I hope some 1 can at least answer 1 of my questions.(ALL 5 BROTHER)
Dene

Cheers
Jay

Biker-Dene · « **Reply #2 on:** August 22, 2006, 10:31:05 PM »

thanks for the reply mate,

so is the vv motor any good? im not realy sure what that is.

the 12k thing waz a real pain on the motoway on the way home it was still pulling like a train all the way up to 12k so it still felt liek there was loads of power left but it just wouldnt rev up.

o and the vibrateing well it kicks in at about 60mph at quite high revs didnt realy notice it untill i was on the motorway rideing the bike home at about 70mph up to 100 wich is all i could get out of it at the time.

and about more power. im not realy sure about bigger pistsons depends on how much work is involved and the price realy mate.

and any help on the exhaust would be good im useless on these forums can look all day and find nothing.

o and there 1 more problem. the battery is completely dead i had to hook it up to a car to get it started this morning before i could ride it home. and once i got home and turn the engine of and went to turn it back on again after 10 seconds the battery was dead and it wouldnt even turn the starter motor. not take in mind id just done 10 miles home on the motorway so surely it should have had some charge in it fro riding the bike? what could be broken?

thanks again
dene

Coopz · « **Reply #3 on:** August 22, 2006, 10:33:08 PM »

Well, I cant answer all of your questions, but I'll answer what I can.

I found out only today about the red engine top (funny coincidendce!). I just had to buy a new engine from ebay a few weeks ago, and I was told today that if I'd waited I would have found a red top one. Apparantly, it is a bit more finely tuned.

I've not got any ideas about the revving to 12k, but it could be possible that it has a rev limiter. Don't really know anything about them, just heard them mentioned, so that could be the explanation for that. If it is the CDI, read my recent post "I know there are enough of these....." and you will get a bit of info about fixing it. (Not only did my engine blow up, but the CDI died at the same time and I am having to get a new one!) Sounds easy enough to fix, but I can't get the parts I need.

To make it a bit more powerful, read the sticky post at the top of this forum about the Big bore piston kits that GSXR400 racer is selling. You could also consider things like getting new sprockets with more/less teeth (http://forums.banditalley.net/viewtopic.php?t=1696&start=0), or you could advance your ignition timing (http://forums.banditalley.net/viewtopic.php?t=38&highlight=poor+mans+ignition+advancer)

Im sure there are loads of other ways, but those are the only 2 that I know much about.

The top speed will be somewhere about 120mph, and the BHP will be somewhere about 54? possibly, that was what I heard once.

And for things like fairings and exhausts, try http://www.banditmania.com
I got a nice top fairing and belly pan from there, for about £50 each.

I just saw in another window that gsxr400 racer replied while I was writing this, so I am probably just repeating what he said, but hopefully some of it is helpful to you.

And gsxr racer, you didnt answer the question about top speed/bhp!

gsxr400 racer · « **Reply #4 on:** August 22, 2006, 10:37:09 PM »

Quote from: Coopz

And gsxr racer, you didnt answer the question about top speed/bhp!

Cant win them all mate!

gsxr400 racer · « **Reply #5 on:** August 23, 2006, 06:39:44 PM »

Quote from: Biker-Dene

thanks for the reply mate,

so is the vv motor any good? im not realy sure its in a class of it own , really someone needs to start a sticky with VV info(ROB)

the 12k thing waz a real pain on the motoway on the way home it was still pulling like a train all the way up to 12k so it still felt liek there was loads of power left but it just wouldnt rev up.
unsure on that one

o and the vibrateing well it kicks in at about 60mph at quite high revs didnt realy notice it untill i was on the motorway rideing the bike home at about 70mph up to 100 wich is all i could get out of it at the time.Crazy if this is not common on a b4 VV id say you have some bearing issues

and about more power. im not realy sure about bigger pistsons depends on how much work is involved and the price realy mate. Top end rebuild and roughly 1000 all together someone else doing the work or you doing someof the work $800 including the kit!

and any help on the exhaust would be good im useless on these forums can look all day and find nothing. yosh forsale on here

o and there 1 more problem. the battery is completely dead i had to hook it up to a car to get it started this morning before i could ride it home. and once i got home and turn the engine of and went to turn it back on again after 10 seconds the battery was dead and it wouldnt even turn the starter motor. not take in mind id just done 10 miles home on the motorway so surely it should have had some charge in it fro riding the bike? what could be broken?you got a charging problem and or bad battery , reg/rec, stator!

thanks again
dene

cheers

Herr Tod · « **Reply #6 on:** August 23, 2006, 06:55:44 PM »

You don't need to hook the Bandit up to a car to get it to start. Put it in 2nd gear, pull in the clutch, take a few steps, let go of the clutch and there you go

In 6th gear you could push start it with a single finger

Biker-Dene · « **Reply #7 on:** August 23, 2006, 07:07:14 PM »

o 1 more thing lol

on the gear lever side of the bike at the engine caseing there is 2 elecrical wires going into the caseing is this normal or has some 1 bodged something?

thanks for all the help and replies guys

dene

gsxr400 racer · « **Reply #8 on:** August 23, 2006, 09:55:04 PM »

those are the pick up coil wires yes that is normal!

Farre · « **Reply #9 on:** August 25, 2006, 08:55:49 AM »

ehh, about push-starting, the CDI is sensitive to that... i read it somewhere on the forum and i think actually that's how i killed mine

About VV differences, i think it was mentioned it's identical to the normal ones, only the midrange is higher.. in short, more fun factor

mattylees46 · « **Reply #10 on:** August 26, 2006, 04:01:06 PM »

Ive got a VV bandit like yours and mine vibrates like crap too

Its bearable up to about 60-70 mph then it gets a bit draining! If I do some serious motorway miles my hands go completely numb, not nice! I dont think theres anything wrong with it though, think its probably just a characteristic of the bike, I'm getting used to it now. Ive done a few thousand miles since buying the bike and its been like that ever since I brought it. Nothing has broken and the bike still runs perfectly so I dont think you need to worry about it.

Ive got the same model bike as yours and mines revs through to over 14k so if yours is stopping at 12k then something is not quite right there, maybe its 33bhp restricted? Most of the bandits I looked at when I was buying mine were restricted so its definitely a possibility. Especially if it only reaches 100mph, thats pretty much exactly what a restricted bandit 400 tops out at I believe.

Oh and if you get bored of your quiet exhaust, try unscrewing the exhaust end cap and drilling a few big holes in the end of the exhaust, makes the little bandit sound like an absolute beast

.

Biker-Dene · « **Reply #11 on:** September 01, 2006, 09:29:59 PM »

thanks for the advice guys

bout this exhaust when you unscrew the end is there anyway of pulling that thing out being the cap?
coz the outlet hole is bloody tiny
thanks
dene

andrewsw · « **Reply #12 on:** September 02, 2006, 12:26:57 PM »

Dude, one thing at a time!

Is this the same bike that's giving you all the problems in the other threads? THe one that may not be running on #1 and is probably setup really lean and might have leaks all over the intake with the tachometer that's wokring intermittently and god knows what other problems?? Cause if it is, you need to (In My Humble Opinion) leave that thing alone and do one little bit at a time. If you start pulling bits out of the exhaust can, you will change the way the engine flows and thus change the way the carbs flow and consequently mess up the tuning even more.

One thing at a time!

cheers and

A

benallenuk · « **Reply #13 on:** September 06, 2006, 03:16:50 PM »

Not sure what you mean about the terrible vibrations. I cruse the motorways, high revs etc, and dont feel a thing. Now my other bike a Honda CX500 vibrates like crap (being a twin) and really does hurt the hands after 20 or so miles.

just a thought, could the bike have a restrictor kit fitted. Ive got a bandit 400 vv, it had a 33bhp kit fitted when i go it, it would only ride to about 100mph, and would require i rev the crap out of it to get there.

I have the red-top vv engine, its a '96. Rev's to about 13.5ish before it requires a gear change. Mine doesnt have a rev-limiter, but i thought the rev-limiter on the 400 bandits, only kicked in when in 6 gear, so you bascially couldnt go fast. Speaking of fast, my vv, goes off the speedo at 200km and keeps goin up to about 125mph, thats max, head behind screen etc.

Dont dispare, the vv is a fast bike, yours just sounds like it need some TLC

Where in the uk r u? Im off to peterbourgh BMF show on the 12th.

Just a thought

Ben