Bandit

The Shane

Thinking of getting a Suzuki Bandit (restricted).

Anyone who has had one for a while able to think of any common problems or anything Bandit specific I should look at or ask about when shopping?

Other advices also welcome.

Shane, The

Peanut2011

Op, I have the Bandit 600 now for nearly 2 yeas and apart from your normal ware and tare I've had no issues thank god. When I was looking at starting of very few bikes were suggested to me by people who have been in to bikes for as long as they can remember.

Bandit was recommended as a very solid and as they said "bullet proof" bike. Considering they are very popular bikes especially with people starting off and so on, one thing I have been told to look out for was for crashed but than repaired bikes. Also been told to ask the seller not to warm up the bike before coming out to see it as all issues will show up on a cold start.

I've seen and heard of people having an issue where the bike is using up a lot of oil on day to day running, I know mine is but was not that bad, although it's getting slowly worse so I will have to have it looked at.

Apart from that I have not heard of any other issues with them.

When buying I would recommend to have a look at the state of the brake disks front and back and check the chain and sprockets. These are the pricey parts that you will have to change at some point and it might change your mind on how much you would be willing to pay as a result.

For me the bike is great and I absolutely love it!

RosieJoe

I've one for the past 5 1/2 years and it really is bullet proof! Never an issue with it bar general wear and tear.

One of the most common problems with them is the collector box on them rusting and falling apart. Just look at the exhaust where the 4 pipes go into 1 and see what state it is in. Not a big /expensive job to fix if it does go on you though.

cantdecide

The only thing I would say to you about them and this is really nitpicking is that the paint and finish on them isn't quite as bullet-proof as the rest of the things. If you're going to use it in all weathers and/ or store it outside, you can expect spots of rust coming out here and there on the frame. Bits and pieces getting scruffy. I started on one myself as did a lot of mates and it has to be said, they're without doubt a brilliant bike that do everything well and they're pretty easy on the eye too.

The Don

Yeah they are pretty bulletproof.

A friend has his '03 Bandit 600 S 2 years now and and took it on a 10,000 mile tour of Europe in 2011 and another 3,000 mile tour in 2012. He had no issues with it except she over heated in the hotter Mediterranean countries.

As the Bandit engine is oil cooled it will heat up quicker than a water cooled engine. He replaced his oil cap with a temperature gauge in order to keep an eye on it and whenever it was getting too hot he'd pull over, find some shade and give it a few minuted to cool off. It would still take a while for the engine to get that hot so he could keep a good pace anyway.

Apart form that I couldn't fault one.

You're probably not planning on touring in Southern Europe any time soon so it won't be an issue for you.

If you know someone who has experience with bikes then see if you can bring them with you when you're viewing the bike. They should spot anything the other lads have mentioned quick enough.

cantdecide

You're really just checking for neglect or abuse. I did have a mate that had one that had a leaky base gasket but it was obvious.