tbh I think its quite quiet. I've got a Beowulf with removed baffle, and apart from a lot more volume on idle, and a more deeper tone at mid revs, at top revs its not really much louder than the standard missile launcher.
Mines not jerkey in 1st, maybe just your FI, but mine seems to be ok.
Agreed about pillion numb ****. My missis says the Benelli is more comfy as its sloped to her bumcheeks, where as the bandits is flat and hurts her ass bones that stick out.
My rears brakes ok though, I generally just use that at slower speeds as its really good, far superior to my Benellis Brembo rear brake
Its the same brakes as the SV, and I found my SV rear to be really good. They need to be kept clean though really. Front brakes, they are ok, but 222kg of weight takes their toll if used hard and I've found fade a few times during some summer runs
I love my bandit though, I don't think i'll find a more reliable bike (that said, I need some new gear selector rubbers as mines getting a little floppy now and I like everything to feel nice and tight (no pun intended
))