Bandit 1200S

[Patrick]

Hi there...I am looking at buying a 2001 Bandit 1200S this Friday...

Any advice appreciated... anything I should look out for? Any known problems I may be unaware of? (Not the needless Suzukis are crap rant...:tugger: Anything I should know or need to know about these bikes pleeeeeaase?)

Thanks.:Punk:

Maybe this time I have started a thread correctly in the right place???...no red rep???

[eliot-ness]

Hi Patrick, good choice if you are looking for a fast tourer that will see off a lot of sports bikes. Tons of usable power and torque from 2000 revs. Will potter along at 50ks in top gear and accelerate without changing down. Easy on gas for a big bike, 20ks per litre average on a run. Michelin Macadams tyres on mine. Half worn at 5000ks. Handles well, never had a problem in the wet. Downside , for me anyway, A bit on the tall side, and felt top heavy until I got used to it. Slight vibration at around 4000 revs. Will definitely get another. 06 models have adjustable seat height. Plenty of information on the web. including road tests.

[Bloody Mad Woman (BMW)]

Go for it - I have had my Bandit 1200 for nearly a year now and love it! I have a micron pipe on it - never had any mechanical problems at all. Alot of speeding tickets!! Corners beautifully, very comfortable on long trips. I took mine on the Manfield racetrack - great blast - brakes well at high speed. (Can't recommend a gardening detour!!) but hey accessory indicators are cheap!!

Good luck

[DemonWolf]

Great stuff Patrick.. Ya gonna show off your new steed on sunday for the whanga ride? (If I'm lucky I should be there.. and if the weathers nice).

Make sure to post up some pic's =)

[Patrick]

Great stuff Patrick.. Ya gonna show off your new steed on sunday for the whanga ride? (If I'm lucky I should be there.. and if the weathers nice).

Make sure to post up some pic's =)


Whanga ride??? Do tell more!!! Edit: Cancel that... found it!

[Patrick]

Thanks Elliot Ness and B.M.W.... any problems i need to be aware of too???

[Pixie]

No problems-bullet proof motor
Room to improve suspension,but not necessary

[eliot-ness]

Thanks Elliot Ness and B.M.W.... any problems i need to be aware of too???

No problems as such but, if you haven't ridden big bikes go easy on the throttle for a week or two, these bikes wheelstand easily and it could be a bit embarrassing coming out of a tight corner in second gear or changing down to third to overtake. The tyre pressures are 36lbs, front and rear. The bike tends to wallow a bit on sweepers with less pressure, not dangerously so, but just a enough to warn you that things aren't right. Very forgiving bike though and mine's never given me anything to worry about. Enjoy it.

[The Stranger]

How much do these things usually go for?
Say for an 01.

[Lou Girardin]

Great bike, I'm on my second. Aftermarket susp makes a huge difference, but stock is OK. It's easy to get another 10 - 15hp for under a grand. But you won't need that, being law abiding and all.
I can't think of any bike at $13,000 odd that'll do half the things the Bandit does well.
You will have to resign though.
We can't have coppers on the original hooligan bike.

[DemonWolf]

hahaa.. good stuff. I'm sure patrick will invest in track-time if he wanted to get all he could outta his new steed! ;-)

[Patrick]

Well... where do you start... picked up the bike, test ride was fine, looks awesome (pics to be added to profile soon...).

Rode off from Paraparaumu into Wellington to look at Storm (Waitara) new bike (SV650... what a beaut bike they are!!!!!). On the way, the speedo just stops while cruising at 70...(but the good part is the Odo has stopped too:blip: ) but very unhelpful when you're just trying to "get to know her":innocent:

Storm bought the SV and the guy I bought the Bandit off says swing by on your way out and has a good long look, but can't figure it out (he is obviously a motorbike mechanic,does up custom bikes etc...awesome set up at his home!!). Gets his son to lend me his new ZX10 Kawazaki to go get some dinner!!!! Mmmmmmmmmm.... nice bike too!!!:love:

Guy is awesome about the whole thing, offers to let me out of deal, says take it home on approval, if I still want it, let him know. Just so cruisy about the whole thing. Great to deal with!!!!

Return to Fielding for the night, bike is running a little rich and stalls fairly easily when stopping at thelights (far and few between...) not always, but enough to annoy!

Next day, find the choke cable is not working properly and is probably causing the rich running as it might be "on" a bit. Looks like the cable is very sloppy, but, I'm motor mechanic illiterate as I am computor illiterate...

Nothing major...ride home last night and now the headlight isn't going :brick: :angry2: so ride home on high beam...only one flash from an oncoming, so not too bad...:nya: :nya:

Lovely cruise at 100kmph (I think...:innocent: :whistle: ) but doesn't like it at 7500rpm and splutters and won't work past that point. More to do with the choke me thinks? (HOPES!!!).

Rang the guy today, no worries, he says have it looked at locally, we will renegotiate price if need be. :first:

She is in mint condition, paid $6950, (there you go CaN... they are out there...!!!)comes with aftermaket pipe (cycleworks), pack rack, original pipe, absolutley lovely, but... these little niggles start to make you think...

Hopefully they are all little niggles and will be all fixed...

[MattRSK]

Hey Patrick
My dad just bought a 2003 Suzuki Bandit 1200s. Really nice bike. Good touring performance.

Go for it!!

From Matt

[Patrick]

Hey Patrick
My dad just bought a 2003 Suzuki Bandit 1200s. Really nice bike. Good touring performance.

Go for it!!

From Matt
Thanks Matt...always loved em, now got one... just hope the probs with this are easy fixes!!!! Anyone got any ideas about the speedo thing though???? The previous owner knows his stuff, believe me!!!! (He is doing up a $30,000 customised Bandit as we speak!!! You should have seen it:drool: ) He looked at all the usual suspects, but ....

Being electronic, can they be a pain to sort? Hints?

[Pixie]

Choke cables can get sticky if not lubed regularly.
If the speedo still self tests when the ignition is turned on,check the pick-up on the countershaft sprocket cover hasn't come loose.

[Patrick]

Choke cables can get sticky if not lubed regularly.
If the speedo still self tests when the ignition is turned on,check the pick-up on the countershaft sprocket cover hasn't come loose.

Speedo still self checks, pickup seems fine... will have it looked at anyways. Thanks for the tip.

[terbang]

Had a 98 model for 8 years..Absolutely best fun you can have without having to remove your clothes..:love:

[Patrick]

Headlight and speedo sorted... turns out the nut in the speedo sensor(???) had been "glued on":shit:

Looks like the wiring loom has been bypassed here and there and the wiring in general is dodgy in parts, but the seller is negotiable and the quote given to fix is acceptable to him. Will then be a "Mint" bike (at little to no cost to me!!!!:woohoo: