Early 90's Bandit 600 verdict...

laffindevil

Hi Folks,Just getting back into bikes after a few years break....I like the look of the 600 Bandits but have no idea how good/bad they are....What's the general consensus on them?
Any known weak points?

Would be 92-95, 600 model I'd be looking at....I'm in my 30's with full licence.

Cheers

neamhspleachi

Stay away from the 600 & go for the 1200

laffindevil

Cheers but I've to build up a no claims to keep the insurance somewhat reasonable...

spiggotpaddy

neamhspleachi wrote: »

Stay away from the 600 & go for the 1200

WHY? People are always saying stay away from the six, but no follow up. The 12 only has twenty more hores. The OP says he likes the looks of the bandit.
There's no reason to stay away from bandits, they are very reliable, cheap to buy and insure, piss easy to work on at home (simple well proven mechanics)
spare parts are widely available, there's a huge amount of accessories for bandits

robot7080

spiggotpaddy wrote: »

WHY? People are always saying stay away from the six, but no follow up. The 12 only has twenty more hores. The OP says he likes the looks of the bandit.
There's no reason to stay away from bandits, they are very reliable, cheap to buy and insure, piss easy to work on at home (simple well proven mechanics)
spare parts are widely available, there's a huge amount of accessories for bandits

A bandit would be a good place to start for sure. However, I'd be more inclined to pick up a newer one - 00's start at €1400ish? As above said, they're a piece of piss to work on but after near 20 years of home fixes there could be a few cracks painted over and almost certainly a miles taken off. Bandits are generally bought, people do their test / get a year or two's NCB and then sell it on.... Just my two cents on it!

I personally have a hornet... have a look at them. They're very reliable, look the business and are very nippy too (they have a few extra bhp on the bandit but are the same insurance group afaik).

Good luck

Notch000

the best bandit is a Fazer FZS600

BlackWizard

Another vote for the FZS600

Its my favorite middle weight around the budget price range. Next would be the SV650S which is a bit more expensive.

Hotblack Desiato

laffindevil wrote: »

Cheers but I've to build up a no claims to keep the insurance somewhat reasonable...

Get quotes on both, you'll probably be surprised. CC only really makes a big difference in your 20s.

1200 doesn't have a lot more power but that's not the point, it has way more torque and needs a lot less gear changing to make decent progress
Keeping a supersports 600 on the boil on the right kind of road is fun, if that's the kind of riding you want to do, but a 600 Bandit provides the drawbacks without the excitement imho.

Niall06

Can't go wrong with a Bandit. Have a 2007 650cc the last few years and love it. Have toured two up and more than enough power.

Bandit 6

only problem is they weigh a ton, over 200kg.

corkgsxr

spiggotpaddy wrote: »

WHY? People are always saying stay away from the six, but no follow up. The 12 only has twenty more hores. The OP says he likes the looks of the bandit.
There's no reason to stay away from bandits, they are very reliable, cheap to buy and insure, piss easy to work on at home (simple well proven mechanics)
spare parts are widely available, there's a huge amount of accessories for bandits

Bandit 6 wrote: »

only problem is they weigh a ton, over 200kg.

Wet weight is 231 kg. For there size there underpowered. 75 hp if your lucky

Seem to give loads of small problems. There valve interval is tiny.

basically they should be burned on sight.

spiggotpaddy

corkgsxr wrote: »

Wet weight is 231 kg. For there size there underpowered. 75 hp if your lucky

Seem to give loads of small problems. There valve interval is tiny.

basically they should be burned on sight.

They weigh about the same as Vfr 800, lighter than say deauville, way lighter than pan, if you are not completely feeble the weight is not to bad.
As a starter bike the Bhp is not a problem because most will be restricted to 33Bhp
The valve clearance check is childsplay even a langer could do it.
As for burning on sight, just another bike snob

corkgsxr

spiggotpaddy wrote: »

They weigh about the same as Vfr 800, lighter than say deauville, way lighter than pan, if you are not completely feeble the weight is not to bad.
As a starter bike the Bhp is not a problem because most will be restricted to 33Bhp
The valve clearance check is childsplay even a langer could do it.
As for burning on sight, just another bike snob

Compare it to a competitor.

Hornet 600. 33 kg lighter and 20bhp more. I had one. It was faultless for reliability.

Im quite happy being a bandit snob. Its like they made no effort with it. I can happily say there is no situation where id buy a bandit.

gctest50

corkgsxr wrote: »

Wet weight is 231 kg. For there size there underpowered. 75 hp if your lucky

Thats another reason to go for the 1200,
the 600 might have enough power to get you into trouble, won't have enough to get you out.

spiggotpaddy

A lot of lads start out on a bandit because they're cheap, young people with a tight budget, so they ask on forums about them and are told to stay away implying that there not reliable, which is wrong.
Hornets are good , but not so plentiful, tend to fetch a little more money and are not as easy to repair, eg. the spine frame can bend easily in a low speed off.
The fazer is good and sell almost as cheap as the bandit, I had two of them , one brand new but I would still rather go a long distance on a bandit than a fazer.
Personal preference has to play a role in choosing a bike, so just because some people think they're to cool to plant their arse on a lowly bandit doesn't mean squat.
I'd say half the people that say the bandit is under powered started out on a 9Bhp 125cc.

corkgsxr

I started on a areox 50cc. Then hornet 250 then 600. Then gsxr 600. And iv had that near 6 years

arybvtcw0eolkf

spiggotpaddy wrote: »

I'd say half the people that say the bandit is under powered started out on a 9Bhp 125cc.

I started on a Yamaha DT175 in 1985, then an RD125YPVS & 350YPVS and a up to my present R1100S.. We've used Bandits in work on and off (mostly off due to reliability problems, crashes and lack on spare parts ~ we can only order original in work) since 2002.

IMO they're just about good enough as a starter/cheap run around bike.. Personally I dislike them a lot but I get that some people like them.

I wanted a play thing awhile back, something to mess around the city on, wheelie etc and was advised to go for the Bandit 12 but I refused due to my opinion of the 6.. To my regret because when I finally got a spin on the 12 it was a different animal altogether.

But I wouldn't knock anyone for having one either, they're a popular bike.. I've had some rotten pieces of sh*t over the years so I won't sit in judgement over someone else.

laffindevil

Cheers for replies, Just as a small bit of further background....I've had the following bikes so I've worked my way up over the years so it's not a starter bike I want but one that gets me back into biking in general with decent power....I've had a super four, loved it but want something with more power these days...

RG80
TZR 125
ZXR 250
KR1 250
CB400SF
LTD 454
Z 750
& last bike was a GPZ900R.

corkgsxr

If its naked you want a fzr 6 or hornet 6.

sports you cant go wrong with a gsxr 6