Opinions on Suzuki Bandit 400

TenLeftFingers

I want to buy one of these when I finish college. I had a Yamaha Viagra 125 but need more speed and shorter forks

Anyway, any experiences good or bad are appreciated..eg. wheels falling of etc ;

batman_oh

http://pub12.ezboard.com/fbanditalleybbs400bandits?page=1
shold be of use as its the only 400 i cant tell u anythin about!

TenLeftFingers

Hehe, that's pretty good service there batman_oh Thanks!

bugs

Originally posted by merlin_bar
I want to buy one of these when I finish college. I had a Yamaha Viagra 125 but need more speed and shorter forks

I'm assuming you had a "virago", as a viagra yamaha seems like its definetly a substitute for your johnson

Gmodified

You will be better of buying restricted 600. I had B250 and still fighting with B400.
Unless is really low mileage I wouldn't touch it.

Gmodified

this mostly covers my experience with B400
pre 93 models had some design problems.
Mainly, carb and timing mismatch which translates to:
-frequently burned out sparkplugs(16 E each)
-frequent carbon deposits on the spark plugs

I wouldn’t touch any of this 400/250cc 4 cylinders mixers if:
-mileage is high
-engine revs high after throttle is released. This is mainly caused by worn throttle shafts and air leak.

+
Bit of fun
Nice sound
Nice Brakes (double disk)
Handles well when proper rubbers fitted
There is no R in GSF400 which makes the bike insurance friendly for some people.

-
SUZUKI service IS ****!!!!
Low mileage Pre93 hard to find .
Takes long time to warm up
Fork seals go very quick

B600 much better build quality.

Typedef

I have a 99 Bandit 600.

If you get a 400 it will most likely be a Jap import.

Things I had to do to my Bandito were get carb heaters, because for some random reason, it ran like a dog in the cold without them.

The Bandit is a bit of a monster, but, it gets you from A to B and has street cred.

In the 400cc range you might think about the

Honda cb 400 super four (beautiful four stroke machine)
Honda CBR 400 (jap import again).

Bros 400 (two cylinder) fast... not too powerful.

I like my Bandit 6, for now.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/attachment.php?s=&postid=810683

Gmodified

CBR 400RR nice for everyday madness but not for everyday civilised drive to work. It's a pocket rocket which comes with mad insurance and permanent smile.

I think B600 will be good value for the money.

Typedef

Similar bikes.

Honda CB 400 (did I mention that one already?)
Honda CB 550
Honda Hornet 600
Yamaha Frazer 600

batman_oh

the bros is very underpowered(33bhp) but has nice low down pull from vtwin and low insurance
the cb400 is nice, quick and reliable, bout 43bhp(wheel)
theres also a fazer 400 which is similar in performance
restricted 600's are now a great option, as they are all group 5 and 6 and go very well to 100mph
cbr is a sportsbike, like the zxr, rvf,vfr etc and thus has far higher insurance and much better performance

TenLeftFingers

I think the 600 will be worth the wait. €8,443 is a lot though. I only paid €3,500 for the Virago 125. But that was the Virago :rolleyes: .

TenLeftFingers

Buying from britain translates to €5,943.68 (ex. delivery) (incl. vat)

Gmodified

Well, it's €5,943.68 (ex. delivery) and without VRT.

Buy and sell is full of B600s. Guy from work got 02 600 for 5500yoyos.

Typedef

I paid five notes large for my Bandito, August last year.

A second hand 99 with about 23 k on the clock.

http://213.190.156.48/lex/pics/cel/el_bandito.jpg

TenLeftFingers

El linko brokio.

Typedef

that should work just fine for you now squire

TenLeftFingers

Very nice indeedey. I doubt you're considering getting a different bike (unless a higher cc?). Even before I got the virago, the Bandit was sort of my 'goal' when I had gotten used to lower cc's etc.

For some reason it reminds me of mad max

Typedef

Yeah I did.

Suzuki Address 49cc.
Suzuki Marauder 125cc.
Honda CB 400 Super Four(400cc restricted).
Harley 1450cc (for a week)
Suzuki Bandit 600C
then I graduated to the Bandit.. restricted to begin with and now unrestricted.

I can get at least 180k out of it... it would probably go faster, but, I don't need to know just 'how much faster'.

I do suspect it would to 200k at a push.

TenLeftFingers

I did my time ona Suzuki Address too. I wore a wax jacket to keep the rain off and I proably looked like a pervert for two years The Virago was a God send. People used to come up to me at red lights and compliment the bike.

Supercell

Have been driving a little 125 Virago for over a year now and would like to drive something with a bit more grunt.

Wondering about how much of a step up in insurance it would be to get something like a bandit or CB, in percentage terms? (in the 400- 600 cc) range.

Currently paying ~€500 third party on the Virago (2 years no claims bonus....yippie see the savings:( second provisional license )

batman_oh

the virago is group2 and if ur only payin 500 it shouldnt be THAT much for a lower insurance 400/600
once u go past group 7 it starts to go up a lot
i started on my rs125 which i got 180kmh out of
and now own an rs250 whcih ive yet to see the clock coz i plan on rebuilding it as its a 96, but its capble of about 218kmh in favourable conditions

Typedef

My insurance is €2500 currently. It was about €2000 on the Super Four.

Supercell

Originally posted by Typedef
My insurance is €2500 currently. It was about €2000 on the Super Four.

OUCH, the words "insanity" and "crazy" spring to mind

To put in some kind of perspective, what insurance would you expect to pay on a Virago 125 ? ( T/P)

TenLeftFingers

I paid €450 /year on the Virago. I think I was 21 at the time, on a provisional (2nd), third party cover. (Hibernian). But I'd been with them for two years previously (Suzuki Address) with no claims.

batman_oh

if i insured the rs250 now it would cost about 3300 thats group 10 with a year no claims in the middle of nowhere
when i manage to get full licence it should be about 2500
i pay 1500 on the rs125 at the mo