well that was embarrassing

[meatloaf]

Yesterday I thought I would take advantage of what's left of the warm sunny weather and took a ride out instead of working in my garden. I rode to box hill and instead of going straight into Rykers cafe I went to the top of the hill which is something that I haven't done in years. As soon as I parked I knew that I had made a mistake as I was on parked on a gravel slope. Sure enough when I came to leave I struggled to back out, my feet kept slipping on the gravel and it took me about ten minutes to get out by rocking the bike back an inch a time and holding it on the brake, when I finally got out I realised that two old boys had been watching my antics and found it most amusing. Lesson learnt won't do that again.

[dt502001]

Had a simmilar event this year,I found I can rotate the bike 180 on the side stand,I found a flat rock and put it under the stand leaned the bike over on it and wheels up off the ground hip to push the back end and pull on the bars had to do it in 4 moves but I couldn't get any footing to back the bike up.

[Tommy xs]

Had a simmilar event this year,I found I can rotate the bike 180 on the side stand,I found a flat rock and put it under the stand leaned the bike over on it and wheels up off the ground hip to push the back end and pull on the bars had to do it in 4 moves but I couldn't get any footing to back the bike up.

bet you couldn't do it on a XVS1300 though

[dt502001]

Why not?That was my1200 and I have done it with a hardley just smaller/more turns.Your 400 I could do it in one turn.Lol nothing stops the wr but a cliff

[Tommy xs]

I thought you'd break the stand or yer back!

I do it all the time with my 400 to get it out the garage although usually I find it easier on the center stand

[blackhat250]

Aye " its a bugger with big bikes , no probs with the DT, fine and light,,

And good tip Dt50" I"v seen the M.o.t. testers checking headstock bearings by lifting bike on side stand,,,

[dt502001]

Suprisingly the weight of the bike can be help full as the weight is above the stand to get it up just trickier to ballance and keep your footing,not sure I would be doing it daily as that would cause stress on the stand and mount but when your stuck it works great.

[meatloaf]

Had a simmilar event this year,I found I can rotate the bike 180 on the side stand,I found a flat rock and put it under the stand leaned the bike over on it and wheels up off the ground hip to push the back end and pull on the bars had to do it in 4 moves but I couldn't get any footing to back the bike up.

I have never heard of that before it's brilliant not sure if I would have brave enough to that with my bike but thinking back don't think there was enough room as the cars parked each side were pretty close.

[dt502001]

Try it at home on soild ground and get the hang of it you dont have to get the wheels up high and even if it takes 10 short moves it might save your bacon one day.

I think with the way the stand is mounter so far foward on your bike it will be harder,might be easier to pull the ass end around this way your puling it onto the stand.

The only good thing about a hardley is that once the stand is down it locks and cant fold up untill you right the bike up,you can push one from the rear on the side stand and it wont fall over off the stand it will just slide the stand along the ground.and thats the only bike close to yours I have done it with.But I am sure it can be done

[Ttaskmaster]

Why not?That was my1200 and I have done it with a hardley just smaller/more turns.Your 400 I could do it in one turn.Lol nothing stops the wr but a cliff

I've also done it with a 1250 Bandit, because it weighed feck-all.

I'd never do it with the 42st FJ and I likely would snap the sidestand on that one!

[dt502001]

I've also done it with a 1250 Bandit, because it weighed feck-all.

I'd never do it with the 42st FJ and I likely would snap the sidestand on that one!

Yerp and thats why my bandit will out run your antiquated fj on bias tires,better handeling, tires, less weight and better motor. Lap times your beat and from point a to b I will be on my way back before you get to top speed on that tank.

[Ttaskmaster]

Lap times your beat and from point a to b I will be on my way back before you get to top speed on that tank.

You *sure* about that?

Bandit quotes seem to vary around the 140-150mph mark, depending on mods.

FJ will uniformly do 160 quite happily, unmodded.

Suzuki Bandit 1200: 100bhp at 222kg (0.45:1) - 0-60mph 3.4 seconds, Quarter Mile 11.3 seconds.

Yamaha FJ1200: 130bhp at 266kg (0.49:1) - 0-60mph 2.8 seconds, Quarter Mile 11 seconds.

Lap times are the harder part, but even with the slower handling you can deck out the pegs on an FJ and a few people still race them (pre-injection class) with notable success.

However, as you may have noticed, these are road bikes and what matters most is how they perform under normal traffic conditions. In that, I have you beat hands down and on motorways my roll-on decimates everything but a Busa or a ZX12.

You seem to have a serious issue over my dislike of Bandits, don'tcha... We were talking about bike weights and now you're waving your willy around??!!

You troubled that a bike more than two decades older makes yours run for its money, or just upset because I said the Bandit has no soul?

[dt502001]

Bone stock I ran a 10.7 drop the tire pressure and ran a 10.4 after installing the gsxr exhaust cam it ran 10.0 cost free was sitting on budys shelf after he put cams in his old 1988 gsxr 1100 so there goes your agument about soul the heart is from the 80's.he is running in the 8.80 class no wheeli bar with brand new bmws zx 14's ect with nothing more than a 6' over arm cams and carbs and the head cleaned up.With the same set up I could too,you wont get the fj into 88 class with that little work,I know cause I have a friend who put the 1400 kit and carbs and cams on his and still cant break the 9's he's close but to get to the 88's hes is going to have to go to a new rim and drag tire and then he cant run in the 88 class

Your hp figuer are un real the b makes 107 stock and 120 with the cam that puts it at .54;1 with factory parts all my bikes see track days so yes that matters to me and not all roads are straight.A B will crush a fj on a circut with 0 mods.

Real world the b is easier to filp about so less wories when avoiding cagers. Roll on who cares thats why they have shifters.

The Fj is a good bike but the B is better at everything.Year for year the 88 gsxr 1100 made the fj look like a touring bike and the B is a refined gsxr for real world SPORT TOURING you can quote all the articals in the world but seat of the pants tells me,I ride a wr because it better than the rm and a B because it better than the fj,I am not a brand loyalest I buy what's best.And at 14yrs old if someone was to build something that was so much better than my B I would buy one,but I did all the test rides again this year and still cant find anything,I considered the Fj when buying back in 01 but the B was just plain better a little better looking to IMO from 01 up.

You can fool yourself into thinking the FJ is faster,by quoting articals but it's not unless everyone I have ridden or with was broken.

And the simple fact that I can turn it around on it's stand without it breaking proves it LOL.

[Ttaskmaster]

I see a lot of forum posts arguing the FJ and it seems everyone finds the US versions are very low HP.

Maybe they are, since everything I've seen from outside the US says 130 straight.

Shifters? Who needs those when you can break the speed limit just in 1st gear (which over here is 70mph)? That's also what I mean about the roll-on - Whatever I am doing in whatever gear, I have massive pull right up to the redline. There is pretty much no power band - Knock into 3rd and whazz open from 40, see what I mean.

As for no soul - My opinion stands. I spent three months on a Bandit 1250S and couldn't WAIT to get that fucking piece of gutless shit off my drive. Everything I asked it to do it responded like an embarrassed teenager (and the modern electrics just made it worse). You do have to be pretty heavy handed to play with an FJ, but it will seriously misbehave if you make it!

And your simple fact concept of measuring a bike's worth means your "B" would be beaten by anything lighter.

Edit: Tell your friend to STOP fucking about with the carbs. Loads of people over the pond insist on doing this and not a single one reports being able to get it correctly configured to their liking.

[dt502001]

Ok simplisty of ownership the bandit to adjust valves you need noting more than basic tools that come with the bike,feeler gauges IMO basic tool and can be done in 1 hr tops,

Tires I can buy anything from full race to full touring,

92 fj NO ....tires your limted and in a few more years even more so as tire manufactuers will make less choices

The fj you need to measure the clearence then get the old shims out ,special tool to hold the bucket's down 2 at a time ,I have one pain in the ass to use and you have to use the cam caps to hold it in placeing stress on them.

Or pull the cams after measuring all the valves clearence and then with a micrometer measure the old shims and recaucaulate the correct new one to put in,,,

but waite you can't get shims that fit exact you have to compromise and go loose or tight plus you need to buy them$$$$ and if you dont have them your bike is down.

Bandit you can change the valve clearences and get better fuel mileage at .006 or go full on race mode.002 with the tightest clearences you want max lift and duration= free hp And less hassel

On a FJ a well set up set of smooth bore carbs work well and some have been known to run flat slides from .... you guesed it a gsxr on thier fj's because the stock carbs go to crap and cv carbs will never be as good as full mechanical carbs for racing,though the ones on my B have never given me aproblem but again free HP could be added with factory parts,and they fit.

The bikes comming to Canada generaly have more hp (NOTE I DON"T LIVE IN THE USA) as our emmissions are not as tight assed as yours or the USA

The 1250 is noting like the 1200 ,they are 2 completly different motors,and the fact you know little about FI and how to make it work to even start it dosent suprise me why you didn't like it. I am not a fan of ABS ,WC,or TC and pull the fuses before riding bikes with ,,if I can't turn it off.

Possibly why alot of new bikes dont "do it" for me,I like to do stopies ,wheelies and drift the rear wheel out of a cornner.3 things the Fj does not do well

Sure there are lots of bike's that are faster than the B but none that do everything as well imo,a 1200 that feels more like a 600 can carry 2 no problem,, can go to any type of track and be competive BONE stock,and load up the gear and go 1000 miles in comfort it's just a hard package to beat.

Sorry but the fj just can't do that! Don't like it but it's a better all around bike,has race winning heritage, has a more comfie seat and again can be turned around on the stand so while your stuck in the mud or adjusting valves ,pissing with broken /pluged carbs,,I will be out riding.

[steve 1052cc]

Over the years I've had 3 mk1 1200 Bandits 2Ns and a S It is without doubt one wicked bike but it must be remembered it was a parts bin special with suspension that was a compromise and not the best quality. a finish that needed treating with kid gloves if you didn't want it to rust before your eyes, but an engine to die for, simple maintenance and easy to ride if you remembered the limitations of the stock suspension. Good 2 up and the S made a decent touring bike. Would I have another hell yes if any one wants to swap a xjr 1300 for a 1200 bandit give me a shout.

I also own a 1987 FJ1200 1tx and have done for about 5 years a bike which I have kept the longest of any bike I owned. FJs aren't a parts bin special but not cutting edge for there time so in my humble opinion the finish and suspension (the 1TX was the worst handling of all the FJs in stock form) are better and despite their elephant like proportions handle surprisingly well if you're brave enough and not intimidated by the size and weight to use it.

Which is the best bike well it's horses for courses. If I was going 300 miles to Cornwall 2 up I would take the FJ arrive less fatigued and get there sooner maintain a higher speed because of the better fairing than I would on the bandit not because it's faster or handles better but it is more comfortable and simply I could stay in the saddle longer with less comfort stretch your leg breaks. If I was going 100 miles to the east coast even 2 up no motorways and plenty of twisties the Bandit every time just for the shear fun of riding it (oh and the hooligan in me).

They are both iconic bikes that were the for runners of the modern naked bike and todays touring bikes.

[Airhead]

yes yes steve but did you ever find any 'soul' in the bandit

[steve 1052cc]

Never found the soul in either bike, but found I rode the Bandit like a demented arsesoul the morning after a hot curry. Could some one please tell me why Suzuki bothered to put a front wheel on a 1200 bandit ?????????????

[dt502001]

Well tere you go straigh from the horese for course mouth LOL from someone who has enough saddle time on both.

At 5'10" and 180lbs I have no complaints about the suspension work's excelent for me and I fit the bike well enough for the farring to work and pound down miles As for rust it's not been a issue for me but I don't live by the salty sea.

The front wheel was a option but dealers felt people might like one so imported the bikes with the option LOL It does help during parking lot manuvers otherwise it rarely see use.

[Ttaskmaster]

Woo hoo, you can adjust the valves.
Big deal. I can do most things with the supplied tool kit and without having to half-strip the bike down to component parts.

Tires - I have plenty of choice, mainly crossply but more than enough radials and even my favourite manufacturer does radials specifically designed to fit the crossply FJ. It's mainly certain members of the older generation that have fixations with crossply.

You can actually do the shims without the special tool, but since most manufacturers build 'special' things in that can "only be done by an approved dealer", that's nothing new.

The bikes comming to Canada generaly have more hp (NOTE I DON"T LIVE IN THE USA) as our emmissions are not as tight assed as yours or the USA

Then how come you don't get the 130BHP models that we all have?

I also note a couple of US reviews spec the bike at 105HP, despite saying it has over 125 in the review itself...

and the fact you know little about FI and how to make it work to even start it dosent suprise me why you didn't like it.

I didn't know that particular bike even had FI. So what?
The fact that I've never owned an FI bike has nothing to do with whether I like it or not. I've ridden a few bikes with FI that I did like.
I was talking about the ride itself - The position, the saggy response, the crappy 'fairing', the lagging and ugly digital speedo, the cheap production quality, etc etc...

My bike doesn't have ABS either, so I don't know what your point there is...
But even if I didn't like FI, it's not something I can yank out so easily, is it!!

You mean you simply haven't learned how to do those on an FJ...
You most definitely can pop it on the back wheel, you can pop it on the front and you could make it drift. It may not be designed for it and you may require skill to achieve it, but it can be achieved.

"Sure there are lots of bike's that are faster than the B but none that do everything as well"
Strange... That's precisely what most reviews seem to say about the FJ.
It's an all-rounder.

See, I don't want my big-ass bike to feel like a poxy little 600. Beyond seeing what amazing things my racier friends can manage on theirs, I don't care what it can do on a track. I do care about the load and distance, but I chose the FJ because it does that in spades... as well as being fucking fast, powerful and wicked fun.
This crap about spending ages messing with it is also crap, because the FJ is so bullet-proof.

And this is what it comes down to - You don't like the fact that your Bandit is NOT a good choice for my needs. It'd be like me telling you a Dragstar kicks your bike's ass because yours isn't shiny and growly...

As is, even if I wanted a Hoolie bike I'd take a Hornet over a Bandit.