Which new bike II - The Sequel

THIS is the original thread, that Quiff bloke engaged his mind reading skills (pub landlords can do that you know!) and beat me to a decent internet connection to post it.

What would you have between a Bandit 1250S or a Fazer FZ1-S? I've narrowed it down to these two for various reasons, pillion ability, comfort, price, big capacity grunt, don't like the Honda CBF1000, etc, etc.

After the Welsh TT rideout the SV is going up for sale, silly reserve ebay auction if necessary, and we'll see if it sells and what it fetches. Then I'll be keeping an eye out over the winter for next years bike.

I'd be looking for a bike with very low mileage and mileage and condition are more important than age.

Bandits are available on low mileage bargains like this . Lets say I get, worst case scenario, £1500 for the SV (it has minor crash damage and 20K miles), then I could get that Bandit for a bit over 2 grand by the time I've knocked the seller down a couple of hundred. I could probably save/dig up the necessary cash to do that over the winter.

Or I could get a new Bandit for £5700 on 0% finance for SV trade-in price, plus about 4 grand outstanding balance, which is £110 a month over 3 years. Exactly what I paid on 0% for the SV, so lets call this my max budget.

For £110 a month on Moneysupermarket.com I can borrow £3400 at 12% APR, which would give me a budget of lets say 5 grand after the SV is sold for a second hand Fazer. For 5 grand I'd get something like a low mileage 06 plate Fazer.

So to summarise the finances, for 2 grand plus my SV I could get an 07 plate Bandit. Or by taking out finance I could get an 06 plate Fazer or a 59 plate Bandit for £110 a month. The finances definately shout "buy a Bandit" but buying a bike is not all about finances.

I have had two off's in the last 12 months which is a trend which has to stop. I have got a wife and kids to think about too and I need to reduce risk in my riding wherever possible. I test rode the Bandit 1250 and while they are fast as hell in a straight line, it's big, heavy and not the kind of bike that encourages you to misbehave, the bike prefers just to roll along. It is an old bike though, cheapish suspension, cradle frame, slower handling, etc. TBH the 100bhp Bandit doesn't really light my fire, but it is cheap, I could possibly get a brand new one, and it would slow me down.

The Fazer is more exciting, 150bhp R1 engine, modern frame, faster handling, USD forks, good suspension and brakes. I haven't ridden one but my guess is that it will go like s*** off a shovel through the twisties, and whilst I know any bike is only as fast as you twist the throttle, I don't have great self discipline on occasions and the Fazer may just give me the kind of encouragement that I don't need and land me in a hedge the first time I make a mistake (and any rider who says they've never made a mistake and had a brown trouser moment is lying). On top of that I could only get an 06 plate, for the same monthly repayment as I could get a brand new Bandit. The Fazer is the bike that lights my fire though.

So what would you do?

I'd say you need to get a ride on the Fazer, preferably with your other half in tow. Can't actually give you any useful advice, except that reading what you wrote suggests that the Fazer is the one you want but you'd settle for the Bandit.

Plus the Fazer brakes are the ones fitted to the same era R1 that the engine came from, so they might keep you out of the hedge

Originally Posted by orose

I'd say you need to get a ride on the Fazer, preferably with your other half in tow. Can't actually give you any useful advice, except that reading what you wrote suggests that the Fazer is the one you want but you'd settle for the Bandit.

Plus the Fazer brakes are the ones fitted to the same era R1 that the engine came from, so they might keep you out of the hedge

You're absolutely right and I will get a test ride on a Fazer. If money was no object I'd be getting a new Fazer, subject to test ride, but I can't afford one. Actually I'd like a new BMW K1300S, but defo can't afford one of those. I'd also love a Sprint ST 1050, but I have test ridden one and I don't fit on them.

I also have this niggling doubt that I'd be too tempted into silly moments on a 150bhp bike that handles well and likes to be ridden fast. I definitely don't need to be able to ride any faster than I already can on my SV, but I do want the effortless grunt to pull me and the wife from 30 to 70mph without changing out of 6th gear.

[Luckypants]

You might want to try PMing 600+ who has recently sold his FZ1-S which was nicely tricked up and set up for touring. A proper fast bike!

[JamesMio]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

I also have this niggling doubt that I'd be too tempted into silly moments on a 150bhp bike that handles well and likes to be ridden fast. I definitely don't need to be able to ride any faster than I already can on my SV, but I do want the effortless grunt to pull me and the wife from 30 to 70mph without changing out of 6th gear.

Amen Brother! As much as I talked it all down, as much as I promised it to both myself and my license that the bike will only go as fast as I tell it to, it just takes so, so much willpower and self restraint on my part not to ramp my bike up to 130+mph all the time, and it's got the same bhp as the Fazer.

It's not badness, or 'f*ck-da-law' etc - I could even argue that it's not even outright stupidity - that bike will go from 40/50mph up to 150 in a matter of seconds (track night etc...), and without even needing to change gear and it makes no effort or big deal out of doing so either.

I've only had it for a couple of months, and whilst I love it incredibly, there's a part of me telling me to flog it before I end up in jail (which given last year's escapade is a more than potential outcome) if I get caught doing the sort of speeds the bike makes mincemeat out of.

That said, having watched SuicideSam riding his Bandit 1250, they can certainly be made to move when asked to do so, so you'd probably have more fun on one that you might imagine? I absolutely love riding what is now my Dad's Pan European - it's old, it makes me smell of urine etc etc, but the way it rides is just sublime. As a wise man may have problably said, it's not always what (or who!?) you ride, but how you do it.

[ophic]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

The Fazer is the bike that lights my fire though.

So what would you do?

I think I'd shoot myself

They are both relatively sensible choices - in my eyes neither is "fire lighting" but the Fazer is obviously a bit sexier than the bandit.

I'm seriously looking at a Bandit 1250 GT. Anything that actually lights my fire would be completely impractical as my bikes are more than toys. Apart from a Hayabusa. Bandit or busa... what an odd choice

[Bri w]

Have you thought about a Honda VFR 800 vtec?

If you are riding sensibly it potters along but if you take it thro' 7000rpm, and the 2nd bank of valves cut in - scalded cat - meeeeeooooooooooooooowwwwwwww.

Thanks for the replies everyone

Originally Posted by ophic

I think I'd shoot myself

They are both relatively sensible choices - in my eyes neither is "fire lighting" but the Fazer is obviously a bit sexier than the bandit

OK, lets say fire lighting, but it's a spark not a flame, it ain't gonna cook no burgers like a Busa. If I could afford to cook burgers though I'd be test riding a K1300S. It is underrated tho, people think of it as a commuter, but on the spec sheet it looks like it's basically an old R1 shoved into a more practical package.

Originally Posted by Bri w

Have you thought about a Honda VFR 800 vtec?

If you are riding sensibly it potters along but if you take it thro' 7000rpm, and the 2nd bank of valves cut in - scalded cat - meeeeeooooooooooooooowwwwwwww.

I have but for some reason have never settled on one, maybe I should test ride one too.

I had set my heart on a large capacity 1000cc brute or bigger for the next bike. I have loved the SV and it's a great wee bike, but it will always be a "wee bike", it was a compromised purchase for me 'cos I hadn't got any no claims bonus and insurance was too expensive for anything bigger. How does the 800cc VFR compare to the a litre bike on 'twist and go' large capacity grunt? You have to wring the SV's neck to keep up with a VFR up to 100mph, but it certainly doesn't get left behind. LP posted in Quiff's thread that he was having some trouble keeping up with Amarko on the GM on his Bandit 1250. Whilst I'm a bit wary of buying anything that will encourage me to be silly in the twisties, I want to know the acceleration is there if I want it.

Personally, FZ1-S. Looks better, from what I've seen of 1250 bandits and suzuki's in general, in comparison with FZ1's and yamaha's in general, the FZ1 will have a better quality finish. Engine may not be as strong, but being R1 derived, and "retuned" (less 1000 rpm and a few bhp) it is proven reliability. Handlebars are more comfortable I think than the bandits (slightly wider on the FZ1)

My very uninformed opinon. Bandit is more capable at doing luggage, but many FZ1 owners go ahead with big topboxes AND panniers, not one or the other as recommeneded by yamaha, with seemingly no problems.

[STRAMASHER]

Big grunt and a fairing?

Used CB1300S?

Big torque and 110+bhp. More with a good system.

If you can handle the grandad jibes!

Not budget like the bandit. Not whizzy like the FZ.