High-Mileage B12's out there?

[dandit]

I've got '97 1200 with 61K on it. I bought it new.  I replaced normal consumables,  the steering head bearings at around 50K, the clutch at 55K and the ORIGINAL battery this year and that's it. I bought a Sprint st last year and the Bandit sat for that time . I just sold the Sprint because the wife likes the Bandit better and so do I . The Triumph is great but I'm 48 and don't bend like I used to. Besides, the Bandit flat out rips. I'm upgrading the suspension soon as well as rejetting and replacing the exhaust, I think I'm going with Holeshot. I'm going to keep my Bandit till I can't ride anymore. I've ridden the Rocket III, 1600 Vulcan, a ZZR and several GSXRs and nothing compares with the all around capabilities of my Bandit. Thanks for lettin' me spout off.
                                                                             

[Red01]

Which Sprint did you have, a 1050?

[dandit]

Yup, a beautiful bike for sure.

[K1958]

42,000 on my '01 and still runs like new.  Only routine maintenance so far.

[smooth operator]

37K on my 98. Original clutch w/ no problems.Just change the oem battery this last spring."Ol' reliable" About 6 years ago I let someone take it for a spin, They totaled it. So its been stripped down,picked up a 2000 frame off ebay,plastics I needed. Tank from another Bandito.Was painted by a buddy for some tile work. While it was in pcs., I put the GSX-R slingshot cams in,Holeshot high mount header,addvancer,stageII,&pods,rear sets,a GSX-R shock(wich was changed to a Works Perfotmance. I had already done the Race Tech up front wich wasn't damaged.Put in all new bearings while it was apart and polished the swingarm.Have different bones made,extra rims. Safety wired.Had it all done for a year befor I put 'er down in turn 4 @ a wet Nelson Ledges in practice befor a race. Done numerous track days,a 30 min race ( I can't beat the fast guys on the 1K race bikes,but I can beat the not as fast guys on1K race bikes) The bodywork has some scars,its been stiched w/ ss wire and plastic weld from the inside w/ backing. It takes a lickin' & keeps on tickin'. I've been to a Bandit rally with it. Wife & I took it to N.Carolina and road around this summer.I retired it from track days,the SV is for that.But it gets most of the comuting and running around. She's always ready & willing to go for a ride.

[China Greg]

Wow... this is all great fedback... and very reassuring, as my (second) 1st Gen B12 just clicked over 27,000 miles. (I recently sold my red '97 with 37,000 miles for $2100).

Chain problems... recurring "flat spots".. maybe from wheelies, despite the fact that I'm a "gentle wheelier". Anyone offer some feedback about chain adjustment techniques and chain/sprocket wear? I may be doing something wrong... like trying to re-use a "slightly" used front sprocket.. hmm.

Balky shifting... I've now replaced the shift forks, shift pawls, inner clutch basket, steel plates and fiber plates, springs (now Barnett heavy), and de-burred the leading edge of the clutch pushrod. It WAS shifting much better until I went back to the heavy Barnett springs (my bike was slipping a little on hard 4th-to-5th shifts). The heavier springs and grabbier (Barnett) plates resulted in sticky shifting again. The bike DEFINITELY needs to have a free-spinning clutch to shift smoothly. (I still think I have a slightly notchy shift-drum inside, but any issue there is compounded by not-fully-disengaged clutch). Not the BEST shifting bike I've ever owned, (nor was my red '97).

Progressive 420 rear shock is good,  better than stock, (an same length.. I avoid changing the geometry after a 1991 GSXR 750 shock on my last B12 caused weird front end feel). But 420 shock is STIFF, especially for the first few thou miles. Still, I like it better than stock.

Front end: Gold Valve Fork Emulator kit works great. Stock springs are fine for me.. firm enough. The kit made the front end slightly stiffer, but MUCH better feel than stock.

The two suspension fixes really change the handling characteristics for the better, (especially with my flat "drag" bars"), but the ride is certainly firmer, for you Tourers out there.

Corbin Gunfighter seat is HARD as a rock, but looks great. After getting kicked in the nutz repeatedly over frost-heaves and pot-holes, I finally pulled the cover off the front, hack-sawed the "snout" off the front of the seat, and paid $25 to a Custom Harley shop to rivet the cover back on again. A GREAT fix, but the seat is still hard. At least my 'Nads are less obstructed.

Bridgestone BT-020's ..(021's?) are very good.. but when they wear the center section stays around like a square shelf.

Barend mirrors are the titz. Love 'em.

Wave rotors... stainless lines, really help the braking.

Yosh RS-3 end-can, with "holed" airbox, Ivan needles, stock jets, and fuel-screws turned to about 4 turns out runs crisp and strong across the range. (I'm 200 feet above sea-level).

I run the bike hard on the US Northeast highways; 3-4 days out on the big roads, running 75-110 mph all the time, the bike is awesome.

Shine ON, Midnight Bandit. Nothing else out there I'd want to buy at this point.

[RDUBandit]

I'm a hair shy of 47000 miles on my '04 B12S.  Runs great, but I just installed a Holeshot stage 1 jet kit, 5° timing advancer, and a 19-row Earl's cooler (twice the capacity of the OEM).  I believe the gas mileage is now a bit better, and it runs about 10-15° cooler.

[txbanditrydr]

Runs great, but I just installed a Holeshot stage 1 jet kit, 5° timing advancer, .........  I believe the gas mileage is now a bit better, and it runs about 10-15° cooler.

+1.... and more power!!!

[dandit]

Barend mirrors are the titz. Love 'em.

+1 on the barends

[notagix]

32,000 km on my '07 in 10 months of riding

[KringEnBeans]

I honestly can't believe the number of people here posting saying 20-40k is high milage.

So I feel compelled to say mine has ~30k, and will surely will last another 50k minimum. in fact the bike runs better now than when I bought it with 7k on the odo. 

I live in PHX, and ride mine everyday, so my maintenance is done on the dot.

have replaced a couple gaskets, new chain and sprockets every 10k, oil changes between 3-5k, valve job every 7.5-10k, tires never lasted me very long but Pilot Road 4s have been good to me now, @75% tread with 5k on them.  brakes don't last me very long either, stop and go is all to frequent. in fact my next investment is going to be rotors due to partial scoring. 

other than a well needed jet kit for my exhaust, the only upgrades I've done were progressive fork springs and 07 busa shock, rides like a new bike after that. 

These things run like swiss clocks, and if you don't abuse them and neglect them afterwards they are surely going to last a very long time.

[txbanditrydr]

Tru Dat............

[stormi]

It's truly less about the mileage and more about the maintenance. 

Ryan's work truck turned more than 1.5 million kms (so around 1mil miles) and with regular maintenance it would have gone more before he sold it because we bought another one.   We bought our current truck with 120K kms on the clock on a 2 year old truck.  No problems in 7 years - other than a window motor switch and a heater motor which is pretty minor.

The thing to remember about bikes is that they see way less severe duty than the average cage so the miles aren't even hard miles.  My B4 had somewhere over 50K kms ( 30K odd miles) when we sold her and she showed no signs of issues at all.

The bikes we have left are unfortunately very low miles at the moment. 

[inspecto]

Barend mirrors are the titz. Love 'em.

+1 on the barends

---
make that + 2 on the bar ends, now I can see very clear without my shoulder in the way

[pawnee]

Havent been here in a while but just had to say that my '02 B12 now has 106,000 miles. I'm the original owner with routine maintenance and Holeshot goodies.