View Full Version : Do I change my brand new pointy for a Bandit?
Hi All
Now I have asked for opinions on the Bandit before and got a positive response but I ended up not bothering.
Thing is I now have a nice new K9 SV but I seem to be getting a lot of discomfort in my shoulders and lower arms when riding, I never experienced this on my curvey.
I’ve tried the normal stuff like gripping the tank more with my knees and not holding on to the handle bars too tightly but doesn’t seem to help.
What I'm wondering is would something like the Bandit be a bit more comfortable for my 80 mile round trip daily commute?
Bearing in mind I would not want to get a faired one.
Also do I really want to trade in a brand new bike?
Opinions please.
Dave20046
17-03-09, 08:11 AM
you tried the heli bars or whatever they're called. The comfier positioned bars? You'll lose loads of money trading in a new bike for another bike.
Baz - how tall are you?
Have you moved the levers round a bit so that your wrists are at less of an angle?
you tried the heli bars or whatever they're called. The comfier positioned bars? You'll lose loads of money trading in a new bike for another bike.
Haven't tried different bars, do they make a big difference?
I know what you mean about the money loss. The way I see it if I did trade in I would either have to lose a lot of money or get an older bike.
Baz - how tall are you?
Have you moved the levers round a bit so that your wrists are at less of an angle?
6 foot. Yea moved the levers already and that did help a bit but not completely.
I got rid of my SV for the exact reasons you put.And what did I get ....A Bandit.
The first thing you will notice is that the steering is a lot lighter,(unerving at first)because of the lack of weight thrown over the bars.Once you get used to that,I found that it can be turned much quicker at slow speed ,giving it a tighter turning circle.Wind blast can be a pain ,but I use a fly screen for long trips which does help alot.Having a fuel gauge is handy ,so is having a reserve tank with a reserve fuel tap.
The riser bars ,that replace the standard Sv ones,could produce the same result though mate.Alot of people on here swear by them.
I would see if I could have a go on an SV with those,and try them out,before you go down the "trading in" route
Dave20046
17-03-09, 08:37 AM
6 foot. Yea moved the levers already and that did help a bit but not completely.
Is your SV a naked or a faired? (clipons?) I'm 6'1" and I've got lower renthals on, after a full days riding (say 7am-5pm) on the hardy bikers most I got was slightly sore shoulders (caused no real discomfort) and my wrists started to ache a bit towards the end of the day. So if you went for the raised bars which are even higher than the ones I have I can see the problem being a lot less severe.
Is your SV a naked or a faired? (clipons?) I'm 6'1" and I've got lower renthals on, after a full days riding (say 7am-5pm) on the hardy bikers most I got was slightly sore shoulders (caused no real discomfort) and my wrists started to ache a bit towards the end of the day. So if you went for the raised bars which are even higher than the ones I have I can see the problem being a lot less severe.
Bike is faired and totaly standard.
Sounds like new bars may be the way ahead hear.
STRAMASHER
17-03-09, 09:13 AM
The SV only gives me gip if I'm going slow.;)
The nekkid only gives me gip when I'm going fast!:rolleyes::)
Are you still running in the k9?
Just a thought, with the higher bars you will probabaly need new longer brake and control lines, the ones for the naked SV may do the job.
As for the Bandit, the bars are the same for both faired and naked models. Lots more comfortable but heavier. Certainly for me a more rounded bike if a tad less exiting than the SV, comfy at slow speed town traffic and on the open road. When I had my SV (and gixer for that matter) I was only really comfortable at speed.
Dave20046
17-03-09, 09:32 AM
Bike is faired and totaly standard.
Sounds like new bars may be the way ahead hear.
Yeah clipons are very low, proper handle bars should make a big difference. Beenz is right about the brake lines too, I'd get some brake stainless brake lines for a naked (as they're longer) at this juncture (about £40-£50) Although I'm sure there's a few threads on the comfier bars (I'm sure they're called heli-bars) that you may find useful.
I don't know what the kits consist of but it may work out cheaper to just slap a naked top yolk and bars on (although they're not quite as high as the comfort bar kits)
Luckypants
17-03-09, 09:44 AM
Haven't tried different bars, do they make a big difference?
I know what you mean about the money loss. The way I see it if I did trade in I would either have to lose a lot of money or get an older bike.
Plenty of guys in the Border Patrol crowd have used the ABM comfort kit, consisting of new cables / brake lines, raised bars and clamps. They swear by them. We need xXBadgerXx / BluePete / DoubleD / Regency23 to pop up and comment.
BTW - I'm sure someone on here negotiated a discount with ABM for the kit.
EDIT: Found it here (http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=112407)
husky03
17-03-09, 10:11 AM
this will sort it for you
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/High-rise-bars-for-Suzuki-SV650_W0QQitemZ300301070790QQihZ020QQcategoryZ2562 6QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Paul the 6th
17-03-09, 10:58 AM
if you still decide to look at bandits, yorkie jones on here is selling his. It's a 58 plate with about 1000-1500 miles on the clock. Could save you a lot of money over buying a brand new one? Just a thought.... See my sig :)
http://i20.ebayimg.com/03/i/001/35/dc/70fc_1.JPG (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290299189180&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2F%3F_from%3D R40%26_trksid%3Dm38.l1313%26_nkw%3D290299189180%26 _sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1)
STRAMASHER
17-03-09, 11:20 AM
Check the state of that zorst! Must impress all the boy-racers. If somebody said that was the 1250 I would believe it.:)
Thats a nice bike :)
Apart from it beign a bandit of course ;)
nekkid for a 80 mile commute... tis nice tough...
You could swap you're curvy for his pointy?
Sounds like a deal to me? ;)
Swap a k2 for a pointy?
Hide... no, RUN!!
Ahhh so you would rather have you're K2 curvy, than his K9 pointy? :O
yup :)
But I have to add that the graphite k9 looks v. nice, but given the choice between a curvy and pointy... you know the answer.
But, back on track,
Comfy kit then Baz?
Suppose, who would want a pointy after all? :P
Geoffrey
17-03-09, 12:38 PM
Bearing in mind I would not want to get a faired one.
i am pretty sure both the faired and unfaired bandit have the same handle bar position
-Ralph-
17-03-09, 01:34 PM
Having first hand experience of living with both, I can tell you I found the 600 Bandit was much more comfy. But it aint called the Blandit for nothing, and be prepared to need 10 thousand revs before you can blast past a long line of traffic, it feels really slow compared to the SV until you knock it down a few cogs and get it up to high revs. Bandit 1200 would be a different bike altogether.
I've had 2 bandits, both faired tho, and done around 50,000 miles commuting in and out of london on them.
I found that the later model (mine were T plate and 03) was more uncomfortable on the shoulders than the earlier ones, but that could just be my defective back playing up as usual!
I've never really noticed the lack of acceleration myself, or needing to use 10,000 revs to get past a line of traffic, but maybe I'm a more careful rider! What I will say is that they're a perfect commuter bike, no real frills and cheap servicing, good fuel economy and reasonable to insure - the big downside is that they corrode very quickly indeed!
Having read some of the posts on here about the SV's low speed comfort, I'm now starting to panic and wonder if it's the right bike for me :(
matt_rehm_hext
17-03-09, 03:32 PM
in short... No.
dizzyblonde
17-03-09, 03:38 PM
SV to Blandit?
:smt015
runs and hides cause Gid will give me one of these:eye:
Hi All
Now I have asked for opinions on the Bandit before and got a positive response but I ended up not bothering.
Thing is I now have a nice new K9 SV but I seem to be getting a lot of discomfort in my shoulders and lower arms when riding, I never experienced this on my curvey.
I’ve tried the normal stuff like gripping the tank more with my knees and not holding on to the handle bars too tightly but doesn’t seem to help.
What I'm wondering is would something like the Bandit be a bit more comfortable for my 80 mile round trip daily commute?
Bearing in mind I would not want to get a faired one.
Also do I really want to trade in a brand new bike?
Opinions please.
I had an SV, now have a Bandit for commuting.
Fact is the Bandit IS the better bike for commuting. Much bigger fuel tank, better riding position.
It gets a hustle on round the bends too, not as much as the SV, but its a good bike for what you need.
22k in 2 years on mine and hasn't missed a beat. :riding:
Check the state of that zorst! Must impress all the boy-racers. If somebody said that was the 1250 I would believe it.:)
Mad isn't it. Masssiivveee. But its not as heavy as u'd think. Wasn't that much heavier than the aftermarket can I put on.
Re-reading some of this. Stearing is lighter, but honestly its fine. I've got the S so has the top fairing, ABS etc. I have the oil cooled 656cc engine, the newer ones are grey engined and water cooled. I've had 220+ miles from one tank too. I don't find i need to rev mine to 11k, it feels morelike its peaks at 10.5k, and has a good range of power from 6k up. It does need notching up a few gears to get a hustle on, but simple acceleration in gear its fine. I've overtaken safely in 6th on it. Compared to the SV it feels slow at low low revs, but quicker at top revs. FYI, its "slightly" faster than a SV as well, but its very marginal.
Stearing turning circle is excellent as well. AS for corrosion, its just the same on the SV imo. Same bolts, same quality. I ride mine in every weather, even snow (salt gritters are the worst days :mad: ). I give it a rinse off during the weekdays and a wash at weekends in the winter. And mainly to look nice during the summer :lol:
Suspension is budget, like the SV, but its ok. Shares the same brakes. I go through pads every few k, but thats because I work them damn hard :lol:
Alternative is one of those kawasaki er-n (? think) jobbies as similar kinda bike and good reviews.
Mince mince... (SV minus old lowers)
http://images47.fotki.com/v1400/photos/4/48802/2247191/Image032-vi.jpg
-Ralph-
17-03-09, 10:57 PM
but maybe I'm a more careful rider!
Maybe you ride slower than me, which means you must be incompetent.
Maybe I ride faster than you, which must mean I'm a maniac.
:rolleyes:
The SV has 65nm torque at 7500rpm as opposed the 600 Bandits 54nm at 9500rpm. I don't think pulling out from behind a car at 50mph and opening the throttle, you can fail to notice the difference in how hard the bike pulls, especially in 5th or 6th gear. The 600 Bandit needs knocked down a few cogs before pulling out, especially if you've a few cars to pass, end of.
I've ridden a 650 Bandit but only on a test ride, haven't used one regularly, but I can't believe its improved enough to catch the SV in that respect.
no, the reason I didn't use comparison words like "incompetent" and "maniac" were to indicate that I might be more naturally cautious than you...
I'm certainly looking forward to picking up my SV in under 6 hours to test the ahem, pulling power of it :D
Ok I'm going to try a bandit on the weekend and see what I think but I must admit looking what peeps hear have said I think I will have to give serious consideration to getting new bars on the pointy.
Thanks to all for the advice.
Ho and stop sleeping dizzyblonde :smt064 they can't be that bad :rolleyes: are they?
-Ralph-
18-03-09, 03:35 PM
no, the reason I didn't use comparison words like "incompetent" and "maniac" were to indicate that I might be more naturally cautious than you...
I'm certainly looking forward to picking up my SV in under 6 hours to test the ahem, pulling power of it :D
I knew what you meant, I was just illustrating that it's all relative and based upon opinion. If you hesitate when I would have made a move, then in my eyes you look like your lacking in confidence. If you pass me when I'm already going fast enough you look like a maniac. Unless someone is clearly reckless and endangering other road users, then other peoples riding being more or less "careful" than yours doesn't warrant comment or comparison. The only thing that matters is that the rider is comfortable with how he/she rides. You may think you are more naturally cautious than me, another rider may think I'm too cautious. I know guys who'll filter much more aggressively than me, but won't maintain the same pace out of town.
STRAMASHER
18-03-09, 03:43 PM
Ok I'm going to try a bandit on the weekend and see
Ho and stop sleeping dizzyblonde :smt064 they can't be that bad :rolleyes: are they?
Just the wee ones. (I had a 400 for a while. Gorgoeous jap import full titanium system............. missus rode it and "bindit" , ended up in hospital for a week! ). Waah, waah, waah,nothing. Lots of thrashing noise, not a lot of go. My mates 600 was the same, except it was budget built compared to the 400.
I would cut out the diddy ones and go straight to 1200/1250. Say hello to instant wooooosh! :cool:
Spoke to my mate, but it doesn't look like is interested at all in selling his 1200n.
Have you got a tank bag? Try riding with one, they do help if you rest on them. And you know what kind of rideouts I do :)
Hi Baz - I had exactly the same problem as you on my brand new K7 SVs and considered trading in for a naked SV but I decided to fit Heli bars and it has completely sorted all the discomfort issues.
It took about a month for my wrists and arms to fully recover from the aching caused by the stock bars but now it is a joy to ride and I have no issues whatsoever.
When you fit the bars you think that they don't look much different but they have made a world of differance to me and I'm sure to others who have fitted them - well worth the £200 I paid for them.
Dave
vBulletin® , Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.