1997 bandit 1200s-a poor mans rocket ship
Written: Jul 23 '05
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Pros: motor, PRICE, built for big people, easy maintenance, and motor...lots of it
Cons: not quite a sport bike (or is that a pro?), poor stock carbs
The Bottom Line: reasonably comfy, very affordable, go anywhere do anything bike. Enough torque to knock the world off it's axes, and one heck of a good time all the way around.
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| tmk7c9's Full Review: 2000 Suzuki BANDIT 1200S |
I have now owned my 97 bandit for about 3 months, and I have never been more satisfied with a purchase...ever. This bike is simply delightful to ride.
I'll start with the negatives about it, however keep in mind that with about $300 and some e-bay shopping, I was able to fix ALL of my complaints about the bandit. First and foremost, the carburation is terrible. It needs to warm up for a good 5 minutes, maybe more, before it will pull cleanly away from a stop without bucking and protesting. A dynojet kit fixed this problem 100%. The bike is MUCH more drivable, has better power, AND somehow gets better fuel economy than stock. For 129.99, there isn't a better mod out there for the bandit. second, I found the seat to be very uncomfortable. It sloped down into the gas tank without ever coming back up to form a saddle shape, not to mention the passenger behind me kept sliding into me, forcing me to support both of us on my wrists as I stuggled to keep my composure during a hard stop. The thing was a real jewel crusher when coming to a stop, or a coming down to a rough wheelie landing. A corbin seat will fix this problem, but I chose the cheap way out and dished out my stock seat with a knife, and some perserverance. It's very easy to do, and there is plenty of foam left to keep it comfortable. My last objection was that the stock windshield was pretty much worthless when it came to wind protection. 40 bucks later, problem solved with a new windshield about 3 inches taller than stock.
Now for the good stuff. Obviously, there is the motor. The motor is simply spectacular (forgetting the carburation issues). It has power exactly where you need it. It will yank you're arms off from 3500 rpm, and pulls HARD all the way to about 7500, where it starts to die off before the 10000 redline. reving it doesn't really get you much extra, it just makes a lot of noise; there isn't the same top end rush you get from a true sport bike. Shortshifting suits the bandit just fine. It will eagerly lift the front wheel at anything above 3500 rpm in first, and sometimes it will even do it in 2nd with a little coaxing. I have yet to ride a 1000cc sport bike (and i've ridden almost all of them) that will keep up with the bandit stoplight to stoplight. They will certainly catch up to you, but by then you are doing 100mph, and i'm not much for prison time anyways. With all this brute power, the bandit still makes an excellent neighborhood bike. The exhaust is quiet (although I put an aftermarket pipe on because my stock one rattled, good for another 10 horses by my butt dyno), and it isn't twitchy like the sportbikes are with thier jerky throttle action. Just put the bandit in 2nd or 3rd, and putt around effortlessly, the bandit has plenty of torque for low speed, low rev manuevers. If you need to get up and move, no need to downshift, just hammer it.
The bandit recieves a lot of bad press for its cut-rate suspension, but I have yet to outride the bike. I have a lot of experience, and generally consider myself a "fast" rider (its all relative though), and I have yet to find the bandit's limits. I have felt no chassis flex, and haven't ever overwhelmed the suspension.
The brakes are simply outstanding...I can't thing of anything else to say about them. The back one is strong, but not so much that it locks up. In my experience the back one is useless anyways, in a panic stop it will simply be in the air. THe front ones are incredible. Good feel to them, they are perhaps a bit grabby, but it's all in what you're used to. the bandit will stand on its front wheel with relative ease if you want it too.
maintenance on the bandit is easy thanks to the low tech air cooled engine. there aren't any fairings to remove (even the S version fairing doesn't really cover anything important), and things seem to be spread out with lots of room to get your hands in the typical tight spots. Its also highly reliable. I've got almost 35000 miles on mine, (third owner), and it runs perfect, no smoke, no noises, nothing. many of these ive heard of going over 50000 miles with little more than routine maintenance. Most of them get wrecked before that.
Finally, the bandit just fits. If you're over 6'0", 200 lbs like I am, you probably know that the new R1 on the showroom just isn't happening, it feels like a bear riding a trycycle. The bandit is made for big people. it has a good reach to the bars, but you are still sitting basically straight up. there is plenty of room to the footpegs to, you don't have to fold up like you do on a repli-racer.
So what exactly is the bandit? sportbike? drag bike? sport tourer? grocery getter? amazing? all of the above. It will do just about anything you can think of (except maybe off roading). maybe you could do better if you had a hayabusa and a gold wing, But for those of us with only one bike in the garage, its hard to beat the bandit. and you all of this for around 7000 bucks brand new. Used ones go for less than half that in decent shape.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1997
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Epinions.com ID:
tmk7c9
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Reviews written: 1
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