Suzuki GSF 1200 Bandit

I bought my K1 1200S 4 years age with only 5126 miles on the clock standard no mods. It had service history 4 stamps in the Book all looked tidy but meet a good clean.after I got the Bike home and started checking it over I fount that almost every Nut,Stud and Screw was loose. So much for Dealer Servicing and PDI checks. I am in my late 60's now and I was a borne again biker in 1999. Since then I have owned two BMW's K100s 1984 and K1209RS 2002 both great Bikes. Then I bought a VFR750 1995 and I still have it in the Garage along with a VFR800 pre V-Tec. But after I bought the Bandit I just can't stop using it. It is so easy to ride Fast or Slow heave traffic or Auto Barn the Bandit is happy doing it all. Most of the time I get 46-50 miles to the Gallon and at a a steady 60-70 MPH I might get 55 MPG. Over the last four Years I have been to Europe twice and 6 times to Northern Ireland. And the Bandit has never missed a beat. I keep looking a other Bikes but I can't convince myself that a GSF or GSX 1250 would do a better job. My Bike cost me £2.000.00 when I bought it and 4 Years on I think I would still almost get my Money back. If I was to buy a 1250 Suzuki used it would cost me at least 5.000.00 and they are much heavier than my Bandit. I do all my own maintenance and the only extras I have fitted are a Double bubble Screen Break Leavers and a Remus Can. It never feels heavy and get on some country A roads or even some B Roads the Bike feels like an RD350 very smith but very agile. I have looked at the CB1300 Honda, XJR1300 Yamaha,GSX1400 and the ZRX 1200 and the Bandit is as good and better than any of them. If you fine a good 1200 that has been looked after Buy it you won't want to part with it.

Bought my 1999 Bandit 12 about 4 years ago,low mileage but looked a bit tired.Over the period of my ownnership I have replaced all the fasteners with stainless upgraded the suspension and brakes when needed, and added a scottoiler and Beuwolf road legal end can and Goodridge brake lines..

It now looks tidy and goes great.The bike never ceases to put a big cheesy grin on my face after a ride,pulls like a missile handles fine on Avon Storms ,commutes,scratches,tours,hoons comfy for pillions ...brilliant simple effective basic biking!!!Have owned sevral bikes over the years alongside the Bandit..Fireblades,Vfrs etc they have all come and gone, but My Bandit 1200 I intend to keep forever.

Highly recommeded but try to buy a cosmetically tidy one as the finish from the factorty isnt brilliant...

well what can i say the 1200 bandit, it has loads of torque,pulls like a train and is good for over 150mph,iv had mine dyno jetted which made the throttle responce better,the front forks have had up rated spring,changed the front sprocket for a 14 tooth,the rear suspension is jacked up,standard can replaced with a stubby race can,sounds awsome,i would recomend this bike to anyone,its a good all rounder,its comfy on a long run and riden hard you can still get your knee scraping the tarmac,i dont have any problems on the twisty bits keeping up with race replicas.all in all its a good compramise to a sports/race replica,i cant wait to take it on a track day

The Suzuki GSF 1200 Bandit has more than enough power for normal roads, if your bandit doesn't keep up with most sports bikes then you prob have a worn engine, I have no prob soon as i turn the throttle the powers there, there is no end to modifications that you can buy so if a sports bike is what you want buy a sports bike why bother to modify the bandit?

Very weak rear shock, OK for just yourself riding, but if you add a pillion, then even when your damper is set to max, the suspension arms tend to raise and catch the chain guard, hence i wore out 2 rear tyres at £117 quid each, only answer is dump the standard shock and buy an after market one, but be warned shocks are expensive. or a cheap way, get a rear suspension lifting kit, it just comprises of two sets of steel rods (dog bones) for around 20 quid, this raises the back of the bike by 1 and half inches.front forks maybe a little weak but not that bad.

This is a motorcycle that is good for most everything from touring to canyon carving. It is best at touring as I know I can ride for hours and hours in comfort. Flat out reliable, starts every time even when cold. When it comes to sport biking if falls short. Because it has a de-tuned GSXR motor, it lacks the kick of a sport bike and because the fork spring are weak they also compromise the handling. So, if anyone wants to use a Bandit for Track Days or Canyon Carving you are going to have to dump and an additional $2000+ into the bike. For example, Race Tech front fork spring; Rear Fox Twin Clicker Shock; M1 Sportec tires or something comparable; stage one, two or three carb kit; Leo Vince exhaust; rear sets; advanced timing; well, you get the idea. Oh, and braided brake lines of course. That should about do it, that will keep you up with most of the sport bikes and you maybe even pass a few. But, in reality, most people can't afford to do all these modifications; so, make up your mind in the beginning; if want a sport bike, then get one. If you want a tour bike, then get that. And, if you want a compromise between both worlds or at least get a taste, then get the Bandit you can't go wrong.

I bought this Suzuki GSF 1200 Bandit Sports bike in 03 from an unreputable dealer (found this out after I bought the bike).

Initially it suffered from timing and carburation problems (mostly when cold) which never really got sorted by the dealer. I changed the end can for something less restrictive and the changes were dramatic. (With the standard can the bike always felt as if was being held back...). the knocking dissapeared during warm up as well. during the winter I needed to clean the bike reguarly when I say wash, I mean by hand...the jet washes never really clean anything. Servicing was important and it didn't cost the earth. The tyres held out well (mich macadams)...I went on loads of blasts to europe...mostly over the weekends and in total clocked up 12000 miles on them (i'm no Barry Sheen but some of those miles were hard going and it was only in spain in the summer that they blistered due to the sheer heat of the road. I have changed them to mich pilot sports for this winter. All in all the bike has performed really well and although some prefer the fazer etc this is still the bike for me.