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SilverBird and the Bandit

2K views 19 replies 8 participants last post by  rollie 
#1 ·
I am now a multi-bike owner. Just rode back a bike I picked up from a local CL ad. It is supposed to be for my son after he gets his motorcycle license. 2000 Bandit 1200 with 19k+ miles. Excellent condition. Holeshot exhaust but the stock one came with it, too. Pyramid hugger and not much else in terms of mods. Got a great deal as owner is selling toys as he and his wife prepare to move to Florida later this year. My son thinks it was a bit too big for his first bike, but it is pretty tame, relatively speaking. Was looking at older bikes to turn into cafe style, then a 600cc bandit, and ended up with this one for a mere $1k. Never dropped, excellent condition. I am pretty satisfied.

Sorry for the bad pics, but just got in and do not have a well lit garage, which btw is full of junk as we are trying to finish off the basement. Hoping to enjoy many good adventures with my son.

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#5 ·
Bees,

That at is interesting. I never heard of that issue. Looked up Bandit 1200 damper and it seems that the steering damper is an aftermarket add on. I read that it is helpful for those who occasionally like to lift the front, but I do not think that will happen with either him or me. He is a pretty conservative driver in a car and I suspect even moreso on a bike. That is the reason I did not think going 1200 vice 600 was too much of a risk.

If if there are any other tips, please feel free to share them as this bike will be a keeper for the near future and may end up being set up as a sport tourer likely BB so we could go on longer rides.

I know that folks that own them think they are pretty fast,but I did not get that impression. During my 40 mile ride home last night. It does feel significantly lighter than the BB and much more flickable even with an upright riding posture.
 
#8 ·
How old are the tires? Sounds like a great buy.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Tires have plenty of meat on them. I'm not sure of the build date but will check. No sign of dry rot though. Chain and sprockets are fairly new too. Bike came with a Holeshot exhaust and was supposedly jetted to match that exhaust although it does seem a bit rich based on black soot on the exhaust. The stock exhaust and jets were included in the deal as well. I would like to put those back on, but of course he likes the more aggressive sound and spouts the Harley mantra that louder = safer.

Only physical issue is the left rear turn signal for which I need to get another fitting. PO put on a pyramid hugger and therefore cut the fender so the turn signals have been integrated to the back fairing. I do not know the brand of the fender eliminator kit so not sure where to get the replacement. Will just pick up a pair of Lockhart Phillips integrated lights and take the fitting from that.

Also had a bit of a document problem trying to register the bike last Friday. MVA would not accept the copy of lien release that the PO provided which was obtained in 2000. PO does not have the original lien release and never bothered to change the title without the lien holder. So I had to get some more forms signed by the PO and will need to return to the MVA. May not get there till next week.

Otherwise, I just like the bike and feel pretty lucky to get it for a grand.
 
#13 ·
Maximum-Suzuki is a pretty good forum for those bikes.
I was very active on it in my Bandit days....posted there as 1216 Bandit.
As far as gas mileage goes, you should be getting around 42-44 mpg on the highway.
Good luck with the bike and let me know if you have any questions.
Hank
 
#14 ·
Bees & Hank, yes. PO did reject carbs to match the aftermarket Holeshot exhaust. I think he went too rich based on smell of fuel, soot on exhaust and not great gas mileage. Been trying to get a good mpg reading, but dopey son keeps adding gas before reading the odometer and calculating. �� But when I got it inspected, the inspector said that it was not too rich at all. I am thinking of having original needles put in and put stock can back on. But son likes the new louder Holeshot can even though he has yet to go over 4k rpm. Lol. Anyway, plug check will be next project, probably this weekend. I looked at some sites and seems that 1200 only gets 35 mpg vice 40+ mpg for bandit 600. With only a 4 gal tank, it runs out pretty fast.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Well, forget about figuring out the Bandit richness issues. After a few weeks and several fill ups, it does not seem to be running as rich as before, especially yesterday on a brisk cool autumn temp day (50s-60s* temps). I regretfully have to say that the Bandit is quicker than my BB.

Yesterday, we decided to go for a mid afternoon ride. Hit a nice little semi-twisty stretch which of course I had a big advantage over since David is still a new rider and takes things conservatively. I am very happy that he does not take unnecessary risks and rides within his capabilities. I would put great distances between us until we would lose intercom communications on the Sena SMH 10s (approx 900 yards) and I would slow down for him to catch up. Had a nice break at a local restaurant/bar where we chatted up riding with the female bartender who wanted to know about the bikes and was surprised at this father and son couple. Then to the barber shop where yet another young woman asked many questions about motorcycle riding which she wanted to pick up as a hobby. Overall a nice day of riding and regaling about bikes.

Then "the moment". As we rode back home on the main road, a two lane stretch with plenty of lights, David started to stretch the Bandit's legs a bit. So between stop lights he would take off quickly and I would catch up, and line up next to him. We would compare gear selections and I would note that I had a hard time keeping up. I would be in 4th and he in 5th, the Bandit's top gear. On a couple of runs, we decided to both drop down to 3d and see which bike could shoot ahead faster. Sad to report, his did on each effort. The BB would not be too far behind, about a bike's length, but nevertheless I could not reel him in. Granted, I was not full throttle but neither was he. Just kept a pace where we both could handle the bikes and keep our licenses. I just think the Bandit's gearing gives it good grunt down low. The BB would of course eventually catch it on longer stretches of roads, but I have to give it props.

Now for my explanation/excuses. :). Per MCNews site, the BB wins on paper. 135 wheel hp/80 ftlbs vs 101hp/73ftlbs. Stock weights wet are 551 for BB vs 542 for Bandit. 0-60 times are 2.91sec for BB vs 3.07sec for Bandit. And so on... HOWEVER, my BB is set up for my old man touring style with stock quiet heavy pipes, comfortable but much heavier than stock Corbin smuggler seat and of course the beautiful but still aerodynamic-lessening beetle bags and givi top box set up. The Bandit's only mods are the much lighter walker aftermarket pipe (with accompanying rejetting for more grunt) and fender eliminator as well as flush mounted front signals. But the biggest disadvantage is the big lump on the BB outweighing the Youngblood on the Bandit by at least 40lbs. So between the stock weight difference of 9lbs plus the aftermarket difference of about 40lbs (BB +30 and Bandit -10, if not more) plus the ~40lb delta between riders, I would guess the BB was hauling about 90lbs more heft and the 34hp/7ftlbs advantage was just not enough to make up for it.

So where is that turbo kit for the BB? :). On the positive side, this gives me some motivation to shed that 30lbs that I have been wanting to get rid of for about 10 years now. Or maybe it is time to get that ZX14 or 2009+ VMAX? As those with sons can attest, dads hate to lose. Lol.
 
#18 ·
I added the weight in the aftermarket category. These were guesstimates and may be more or less than 40 lb calculation (+30lbs for my luggage set up and smuggler seat added to BB stock weight and -10 lb advantage subtracted to Bandit stock weight for his aftermarket exhaust).

And Bandit's displacement advantage is technically only 20cc. 1137cc for BB vs 1157cc for his "1200 bandit".
 
#19 ·
Wow, since you said you guys were not going full out I would have to think he was going a "little more" on the throttle than you. Back when I had my Katana 750 my buddy (with the bandit) and I went to the 1/8 mile drags and doing about 5 runs. I had him every time off the line but he would reel me in just before the finish (except for the one I got him on).

Specs were my katana had 92Hp vs his 97Hp, 48lb-ft vs 80lb-ft and 6sp vs 5sp.
 
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