Bandit 1200 what do I do now thread (project)

lennymc

At the weekend I picked up a 2002 Bandit 1200s, with the small fairing. Ever since having a 600 back in the day, I always wanted a bandit 12, and thanks to a guy i know, I now have one. It has about 32k miles, and is a bit rough around the edges, but, apart from a can and a screen, it is original. Consumables are all in good nick, mechanically, it sounds good, no weird fuelling issues (admittedly, i only rode it in his garden), started on the button, everything works.

Cosmetically, it's a bit rough, engine casings have laquer peel, block and head are showing typical suzuki corrosion, fairings have a few scratches, few small scratches on the frame, but all in all it's a solid bike.

So, what are my plans for it. TBH, i had been planning on a project later in the year, and hadnt really thought about one until this came up. My plan was to sort out my shed (I dont have one for the bikes) and then sort out the project, so that is kinda turned on it's head. I now have the project but no shed. Over the next few weeks I will sort out a shed, and think about what i will do with the bandit.

I can do a full on restoration, or do a tidy up, or just do the mechanicals and ride it as it is.

Mechanicals will be the first thing on the list either way. Full service, all fluids, filters, check vaccum hoses, plugs etc. It also needs fork seals, so a fork service will be on the cards. People say they dont handle, but having never ridden one, I have no frame of reference. Im sure at 32k miles, the springs will be tired, and the shock will be gone - i will look at them later on tho.

After that - who knows. Ride it on until winter and then strip it down? Ride it on through winter? Go bananas with a 1216 bog bore turbo conversion? haha - no.

I'll sporadically update this thread as I do things, with pictures, cos nobody got time to read words. LOL

Some pics:

spiggotpaddy

Supercharger with nitrous bottle and mad max paint job.
Obviously.

cantdecide

Tassles, sissy bar, ape-hangers...

Always liked a Bandit as I started on one. I say ride and maintain and do a tear-down in the Winter and clean her right up. A good, well kept Bandit could last forever it minded.

SmartinMartin

That looks like a good honest bike. If so, a service and ride away. Look at new springs and shock at some stage, they're probably a bit tired.

Test For Echo

Always loved Bandits. Had a 600 and still have my mk1 1200 from new. Some awful looking yokes out there covered in fake carbon & anodised tat. Following the thread to see what you do with it.

H_Lime

Melt the 6 pots down into something more useful than what they were:)

For me it's stop handle go with mods, in that order.

A fork brace, (can see you needing one) and a revalve (yss, intiminators, gold valve) and a shock.
Will a stock one from a modern bike transplant? betcha one will and as its a bandit someone's already done it.

A nice jap four into one with a decent volume can (read not obnoxious) set up with a jet kit and filter will seriously waken her up and as its a bandit there'll be a heap of kits.
A trip to Jog to dyno it could be done in conjunction to a visit to me.

lennymc

H_Lime wrote: »

A trip to Jog to dyno it could be done in conjunction to a visit to me.

Big assumption there that I want a trip to visit you...

Plan B could be load it in the van, drive down, ask you to look at the carbs, come back 2 weeks letter after your OCD gets the better of you to a new bike.

Thanks guys for the suggestions - keep em coming.

zubair

Before seeing the pics I was going to say get shot of the fazer, but that's a clean looking bike, very nice, not seen one in red for a good while. Tidy up the bandit, stick it up on DD for 1.5k more than you paid and then buy a WK scrambler 125 for pottering.

H_Lime

Sell em both and buy a........


Ps yer Deffo staying in the tent now!

lennymc

well, it's insured now, so i better go for a spin!

lennymc

Managed to get for a spin for an hour after work.

Motor - good strong motor, pulls well across the rev range, and in all gears. Gearbox is nice and smooth, not notchy and changes gear nicely. Nothing of immediate concern here. Ill check the vales at some stage, but for now, i don't think they need doing.

Fuelling - it had been lying up for a year, so i was interested to see what way the fuelling was. I threw in a load of fresh fuel, and tried lots of different throttle openings at different revs, hold start, cold start etc, and to me, it seems fine. I might throw a treatment through it, but for now, the carbs don't need rebuilding or cleaning. Good to hear popping on the overrun. Nice to get the feedback from carbs again. it's been a while.

Handling (i wasn't pushing on, roads were greasy and wet in places, and I don't know the bike). For a big bike it flicks from side to side easily. Has renthals on it, so possibly more leverage. than the standard bars. On a twisty B road, it really is twist and go. It was stable enough on long smooth roundabouts, at steady speed. could adjust mid corner without any drama. Again, i wasn't pushing on, but was carrying enough speed to be touching the speed limits. Rear end felt fine, front end felt very soft and had a lot of dive. Tyres are pretty much brand new, which helps.

Brakes where simply terrible. The fork seals are gone on both legs, and I suspect what has happened is that the oil has contaminated the pads and discs. They did get a bit better towards the end of the spin, after a good deal of use, but i wouldnt like to have to rely on them. They are the tokico 6 pots, which can be crappy. I have had these on busa's and Gsxr's in the past and never had any issues with them. I know the calipers, so will look at a good clean, make sure pistons are free, fresh pads, fresh fluids and maybe new lines (they are 20 yrs old) and see how the brakes are then. I suspect they will be more than capable after that. Rear brakes were poor aswell, which was surprising, as they are typically reliable enough. Pins can seize, but they still normally work. The pedal felt a bit low, so it could need adjustment to suit me, ill try that before I take it out again and see. I'll do the pads and fluid and lines as well, and clean down the caliper just so its done.

Front forks - as above, seals are gone, so new seals, oil, and a good clean. I may change the front spring to something a bit heavier, as there was an awful lot of dive. Ill try the standard ones with new oil, seals and maybe some more spacers. I also noticed that the fork caps are sitting flush with the yoke, whereas manual says 3 - 5 mm. Ill put it back to maybe 5mm to quicken the steering a bit. Ill also look at getting a low milage shock from one of the many that fit, although for now, the handling should be fine once the fork is done.

All in all, it's exactly as i thought, and as advertised. A solid bike, with some cosmetics, that needs a good service. Happy with the purchase.

Also, it had that oil cooled engine exhaust sound - brought me back to my old oil cooled gsxr & bandit days back in the day.

Anyway - a pic.

lennymc

so, ordered all fluids, filters, seals this morning from louis.ie. Coming from Germany, so should be here in a week or so. Seemed to be the best value out there. Ill update again when i get all the parts and get the service done.

curiousb

Hey Lenny, whatever happened to Brendan's old Gixxer1100?

Brendan's on a Tenere now and I'm on an RT!

Hope you're good.

lennymc

curiousb wrote: »

Hey Lenny, whatever happened to Brendan's old Gixxer1100?

Brendan's on a Tenere now and I'm on an RT!

Hope you're good.

Hey B,

How are you keeping. Great to hear from you. glad you are keeping well, glad to hear Brendan is back on the bikes. You obviously got rid of the gs. RT is an old mans bike. LOL.
That gsxr was great. I did a few jobs to it, rebuilt the forks, rebuildt the generator, brakes, and serviced it, but it was getting very tired, and really needed a lot of money spent on it that i didnt have at the time. Someone I knew took a shine to it and badgered me into a swap for a Suzuki Vitara jeep. At least I kept it Suzuki Regards to Brendan next time you are talking with him.

curiousb

lennymc wrote: »

Hey B,

How are you keeping. Great to hear from you. glad you are keeping well, glad to hear Brendan is back on the bikes. You obviously got rid of the gs. RT is an old mans bike. LOL.
That gsxr was great. I did a few jobs to it, rebuilt the forks, rebuildt the generator, brakes, and serviced it, but it was getting very tired, and really needed a lot of money spent on it that i didnt have at the time. Someone I knew took a shine to it and badgered me into a swap for a Suzuki Vitara jeep. At least I kept it Suzuki Regards to Brendan next time you are talking with him.

RT old man's bike? That's about right I got rid of the GS just last year and felt like a bit of wind protection (and heated grips, heated seats, electronic suspension etc...) I'm lovin' it!

I had a Suzuki Jimny jeep for a while and it was a great motor, sorry to have got rid of it.

Brendan's doing well.

lennymc

curiousb wrote: »

RT old man's bike? That's about right I got rid of the GS just last year and felt like a bit of wind protection (and heated grips, heated seats, electronic suspension etc...) I'm lovin' it!

I had a Suzuki Jimny jeep for a while and it was a great motor, sorry to have got rid of it.

Brendan's doing well.

great to hear he is doing well. I must give him a shout on bacefook. It would be great to get all the old crew together for a big fry up and leisurely spin across the gap.

Anyway, on Thursday i bought a load of cleaning bits for the bandit, with intentions of giving it a good clean. I have a set of paddock stands from previous bikes, but they all had bobbins on the swingarm. The bandit doesnt, so I was a bit bunched as to how i would get the bandit up on the stands (the centre stand was removed (or possibly and extra option) to fit the bellypan.

I rooted around in my shed, and found a few bits of metal that i threw together with some extremely dodgy welding to make the paddock stand L adapters.
Pretty, they are not, but, they work!







time to crack on with the cleaning!