Hate the Bandit!

Since my recent off, the people appointed to deal with it by my insurers have given me a hire bike.

It' a 2008 GSF 650S Bandit.

I hate it.

Everything about it: too top-heavy, unwieldy in traffic, unstable at speed, you have to work the gearbox constantly, gutless low down, can't lean it over with any confidence at all.....

What does anyone else think of the Bandit compared to the SV?

It's not that bad but the SV does seem to handle itself a little better.

[STRAMASHER]

More character in my Zanussi in the kitchen.

Both sound the same tho.

Blandit right enough.

Hit the nail on the head there. I was trying to work out what it was that the Bandit's incessant whine sounded like - and it's a washing machine!

Originally Posted by gfewster

Since my recent off, the people appointed to deal with it by my insurers have given me a hire bike.

It' a 2008 GSF 650S Bandit.

I hate it.

Everything about it: too top-heavy, unwieldy in traffic, unstable at speed, you have to work the gearbox constantly, gutless low down, can't lean it over with any confidence at all.....

What does anyone else think of the Bandit compared to the SV?

Well I swapped my SV for a bandit, and its a great choice.

Top heavy? Not really? Ever tried an MV Augusta???!!!!!

Unwield in traffic? Sorry thats rubbish. Far superior to the SV due to the more upright positioning. More stable, and ABS rocks.

Unstable at speeds? Mine is absolutly spot on. Feels far smoother and stable than the SV ever did. Only unstable with the top box on the rear which makes the front end light and fluffy and scarey!!! (but we're talking top end here!).

Gearbox constently? Sure it is a very close box i'll admit, but you don't need to fully open the throttle every time you move forwards. I get into 6th, and mostly leave it there. Using the box between corners makes life more fun, more involving. But its quite happy to sit in 5th/6th and do the same thing. Has got FAR more poke in 6th from 90 upwards. Pulls quite well for a de-tuned engine. The box is very close though.

Gutless low down? Well its not a twin, its a 4, so its going to have less power bottom end. But again, you don't just pile on the throttle. It has more pull top end.

As for not leaning it over, thats total rubbish!!!! It cranks over very well!! I'd say its more your riding style and confidence on a different bike thats the issue. I've got absolutly no chicken stripes on my rear tyre thats for sure.

Its a heavier bike than an SV, its also a far better commuter. OK so it doesn't hustle as quickly through the bends, but then if your comparing items, most sports bikes will be better in every way than the SV is. SV is a sports tourer, bandit its a commuter tourer. Different bikes, they are just both budget.

I love my Bandit, its reliable, comfy, good on fuel, cheap on servicable items, takes lots of luggage, transported me 780+ miles in 1 day, has a better top end than the SV, better wind protection, more comfy riding position. Worst part i'd say it has a bit of a wallowy suspension that could do with upgrading if you really want to ride it hard, but hellllloooooooo thats exactly the same issue as the SV has The only other gripe I have is that due to the box and powerband, its a high revving engine. Where-as other Sports Suzuki IL4's also rev similar, the Bandit only revs to 12k odd and not 15k odd, so it does feel like its revving high when doing 80+, but thats where the power is so it pulls nicely. You just think your caining it when on a motorway. But as I say, mines up to 28,000 miles now, including sitting at 9000rpm+ for nearly an entire day (see above mileage) and it still hasn't missed a beat. Oh, i've also had over 220 miles out the tank, which again is a godsend for a commute/road trip.

Would rather ride my bandit every day for work over the SV, like the way i'd rather ride my Tornado over the SV at the weekends.

[ophic]

Originally Posted by gfewster

Everything about it: too top-heavy, unwieldy in traffic, unstable at speed, you have to work the gearbox constantly, gutless low down, can't lean it over with any confidence at all.....

This just says - you're not used to it. You're used to your SV. That's pretty normal.

My SV has just got through its MOT and is back on the road. I've been riding my gfs cruiser for the last several months. The SV now feels like riding a needle - doesn't handle right, bum feels like its in orbit, the bike feels tiny and light and i've just finished pulling my feet out of my armpits. And it feels gutless low down...

Yes perhaps it's just me. But the high handlebars and mirrors are nightmare in London traffic - I can't get through half the gaps that I could get through on the SV. And because I'm short - I like being low down rather than upright.

And I'm sorry, but the engine sound.....

I WANT MY SV BACK!!!!!!!

So much so that I am considering paying for the repairs (or at least, those necessary for roadworthiness) out of my own pocket and then waiting on the settlement, just so I can have it back.

It's funny. My bandit was the loudest bike I've ever had. Mind you I had a Beowulf can on it. Made my ears bleed.

I too had a bandit as a hire bike. I had to alter the way I ride to get the best out of it - it required more "steering with the rear", like it wanted more weight over the rear tyre. The fueling of the FI was crap, I slipped the clutch everywhere in first gear but it was better behaved in 2nd gear. The engine worked best above 6000 rpm; anything below 4500 rpm and it was gutless, completly gutless.

Above 8500 rpm on a wide open throttle, the volume and the sound was just brilliant!

Front brakes were great, rear brake was ****. When I got the bike it had 5000 miles on it and felt very tight...so I gave it a good thrashing and it loosened up and felt alot better in 500 miles. The vibrations left my hands and feet numb...not too bad when i was only doing 20 miles around london with frequent breaks at traffic lights, but a 2 hour blat to brighton was uncomfortable.

In all, I didn't mind the bandit, but I would have liked the fueling to be better and the rear brake to be as good as my SV rear brake at least, if not better. I liked the upright riding position for riding through traffic; slow speed handling was brilliant and easy and I could really sling the bike around. The extra steering lock saw me have a bit of slow-speed fun in car parks aswell, seeing how tight I could turn

Miss Alpinestarhero came pillion a couple of times on it; she complained about getting numb hands and feet, and also didnt like that she could hang on around me and push against the tank. As a bike for taking pillions, I found it easier than the SV.

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 ))