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test road a bandit 1200

Started by Church6360, October 21, 2005, 07:20:09 AM

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Church6360

where to start?
the one i rode hadn't been started in about four months the sales guy said, given that it started well but still took a little while to warm up.

the hydraulic clutch was nice to pull, it had a light feel to it, but it didn't initially transmit alot of feel for clutch engaugement (i'm very used to cable, never rode one with hydraulic before).

the seat was alot better than the gs. it had a bigger more supportive feel.

the controls had a very standard layout, no hunting for signal switches.

it had more external linkage in the shifter than my gs, but shifted very smoothly.

the suspension was pretty good, but somthing i would deffinently need to adjust, i took it down a moderately twisty road, it turned in well, and had a neutral feel to it. but i found that small bumps in the corner had me bouncing around a little.

the left mirror showed me 55% road 45% shoulder, the right mirror 25% road 75% shoulder (what can i say? i'm wide).

the brakes were excelent for a moderate pace, feel was nice too. but i never used them for higher speeds.

and the engine. what can i say, going from a 487cc inline twin, to a 1200cc inline four, it's soo different. it redlines at 11,000 but i never went above 8,000. the lowest gear i opened the throttle completely in was third gear. in third at about 3,000 i was going about 40 mph. wide open for a few sec and i swept past 100 mph. i closed the throttle at 8,000 got on the brakes, and shifted up two gears. this thing is fast, i'm sure gsxr 750's would smoke it, but i can't afford the insurance on a gsxr, and i think the bandit would be more comfortable for longer rides, and attract less police attention. plus, naked bikes are sexier.

overall, it was smooth, quiet, and well mannered. and pulled with crazy torque from about 3,000 rpm on up.
i'm sold. i want one.
The final measure of any rider's skill is the inverse ratio of his preferred Traveling Speed to the number of bad scars on his body. It is that simple: If you ride fast and crash, you are a bad rider. And if you are a bad rider, you should not ride motorcycles.
-Hunter S. Thompson

Alphamazing

Quote from: Church6360plus, naked bikes are sexier.

+1  :thumb:
'05 DR-Z400SM (For Sale)
'04 GS500E (Sold)

Holy crap it's the Wiki!
http://wiki.gstwins.com/

starwalt

Quote from: Church6360.... this thing is fast, i'm sure gsxr 750's would smoke it...i'm sold. i want one.
The parts manager at my local Suz dealership says that bike is the most under rated in the field. With a little tinkering, the gixxers would give pause.

And the best part, very affordable! Only a few $K more than a new 500F.
-=Doug......   IT ≠ IQ.

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Get an Ebay GS value  HERE.

1990 GS running, 1990 GS work-in-progress, 1990 basket case.
The trend here is entropy

Jace009gs

+1 are naked bikes are sexier

Bigger is Better :mrgreen:

I agree the bandit tweeked a very capeable platorm just no one does race one so the factory just bolts the supension on and sends it downt he line....GSXR they sort of have a ball park figure for the "average" rider.

i've only gotten the chance to ride one 1000cc bike before....It was still under the guy's break in mieage so I could let it rip..but I didn't have to 8)  it was after this I was sold on an I4 over the Vtwin. I have opened up my FZR a couple of times and it hunkers down but don't really start till mid 4k rpm....but it spools up to 12k redline so it can wind up pretty good.
Motorcycle's are God's greatest creation; turning gas into noise with acceleration & power as side effects

Roadstergal

Quote from: starwaltWith a little tinkering, the gixxers would give pause.

I dunno about a little - from looking online, it looks like the Bandit is just shy of 500lb with a little over 100hp; even the 600 has a shade more power with almost 100lb less to pull.

Of course, the Bandit should have a lot of grunt down low, which is nice for street riding.

Jazzzzz

Quote from: Jace009gsIt was still under the guy's break in mieage so I could let it rip..but I didn't have to 8)  it was after this I was sold on an I4 over the Vtwin.

not sure I really understand this statement - v-twins traditionally put out more low-end grunt than the I-4s, so if you'd ridden a liter twin you would've been just as/even more impressed with the power down low.

Church6360

The final measure of any rider's skill is the inverse ratio of his preferred Traveling Speed to the number of bad scars on his body. It is that simple: If you ride fast and crash, you are a bad rider. And if you are a bad rider, you should not ride motorcycles.
-Hunter S. Thompson

RVertigo

$1838 (not including labor) for 37 Horse?

Just buy a '74 bug and strap it on there.  Same HP... But less money.    :P

The Buddha

Yea ... buy a 1127 GSXR ... drop the plastic and other BS, pipe it jet it, and heck put 38 mm's off a 750 or 40's off a canadian 750 and fit a round headlight (in fact Holeshot makes one of those too) ... not much more power, but much less weight and better handling. Aluminum frame too ...  :mrgreen:
Cool.
Srinath.
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Church6360

ohhh, don't get me started on retarded engine swaps, if i ever have the free time and spare parts i totally want to build a bike powered by one of the old 7MGE engines from the 86-92 toyota supras.

the engine alone is around 500 lbs, cast iron block, 3 liter inline six. they make about 180 hp stock. (the 7MGTE turbo engine can make 550 on stock internals)

it would suck as a bike, but be awesome as a conversation starter.
The final measure of any rider's skill is the inverse ratio of his preferred Traveling Speed to the number of bad scars on his body. It is that simple: If you ride fast and crash, you are a bad rider. And if you are a bad rider, you should not ride motorcycles.
-Hunter S. Thompson

RVertigo

:lol:

I was just making a joke about the cost vs HP...  You could buy a bug for $1800...  And they have about 36 HP stock.   :mrgreen:

Church6360

the gsxr 1127 would be cool too, it will still be a little while before i hang up my gs500 to get somthing over a liter, i'd like to stick to cheap insurance rates, or at least relatively cheap rates.

i still want one of the gs1150e's.

i wonder how bad the gsxr1127 would be on insurance, if i found a trashed one for cheap i could buy it outright and only put liability on it.

eh, i don't have the money for it now anyway.
The final measure of any rider's skill is the inverse ratio of his preferred Traveling Speed to the number of bad scars on his body. It is that simple: If you ride fast and crash, you are a bad rider. And if you are a bad rider, you should not ride motorcycles.
-Hunter S. Thompson

Jazzzzz

There's a guy at work with a turbo'd B12, I think it's from somewhere around '96 (has the older style fairing).  The guy who built it and sold it to him works with us too; he commutes on a stock 'busa.  The Bandit can just barely keep up with the 'busa on the straights, and it can't hang in the corners (which is supposed to be funny, since 'busas are supposedly pigs in the corners).

Church6360

most of the bike mags just did a busa vs. blackbird vs. zx12r vs. bmw k1200r article, and the busa comes out on top in every mag i've read, including the UK mag "bike" i thought that was pretty cool. overall good articles.

i do want a busa, but only after i'm past 23 and married. then i can afford the insurance.

i just wish they would update the bandit a little, fuel injection would be so easy, thats all i ask.
The final measure of any rider's skill is the inverse ratio of his preferred Traveling Speed to the number of bad scars on his body. It is that simple: If you ride fast and crash, you are a bad rider. And if you are a bad rider, you should not ride motorcycles.
-Hunter S. Thompson

indestructibleman

"Darling, I love you.  Marry me and I can finally afford the insurance on that Busa I've always wanted."
"My center has collapsed. My right flank is weakening. Situation excellent. I am attacking."
--Field Marshall Ferdinand Foch, during the Battle of The Marne

'94 GS500

The Buddha

Quote from: Church6360
<snippage>
i just wish they would update the bandit a little, fuel injection would be so easy, thats all i ask.

Why ... not like its going to run any better ... carbs actually can be fiddled amd made to run a lot better than FI ... FI has actually no advantage ... OK gas mileage ... OK fine the cruise mode with steady throttle etc ... OK OK.
Cool.
Srinath.
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