Latest Bandit Mod

The ultimate Bandit mod
A little bit of tweaking here and there and I'll have the best of both worlds.
Thanks to lliquidlen who I had asked to check out another FZ1 in Melb but before he did he called me about this one.
The rest as they say is history.
A little bit of bling to come. Should get some bits in the post this week
Black Beauty is home












The shovel on the back will be gone after I get to Vicroads tomorrow.
Even the ugly side looks good
Clocked up 18,000km on the ride home yesterday.

I have always liked that model and i can see why. Its nice ,
I'm calling you are only going to keep one of them though .It will take 6 m0nths for the novelty of the Yam to wear off and then .?????

Very clean. Good looking bike too - especially next to the matching Bandit.

Very nice 2WA - I see what you mean about it being like a Bandit. Gus might have a point there though. I'll be really interested to hear your full side-by-side comparison report comparing the two beasts, eg which one does what better.

Ewok1958 wrote:Very nice 2WA - I see what you mean about it being like a Bandit. Gus might have a point there though. I'll be really interested to hear your full side-by-side comparison report comparing the two beasts, eg which one does what better.

I'm off to Dargo tomorrow after a visit to Vicroads so I will do a ride report.
I have to say however after the ride home yesterday you probably wont want to read it

Now I'm more interested than ever!

Ewok1958 wrote:Now I'm more interested than ever!

Its not that bad. Bandits have their place.

nice find mate, I too like others, like that model, but I couldn`t help myself as i`d be putting R1 cams in it,then playing with suspension....

new bike is nice.

Thanks for the compliments guys

Good looking pair of toys!

Lets not forget the Yam. was more expensive .It should be better .

Very nice 2WA. If it goes as good as it looks then you should be happy. Hows the seat ?

Well I am happy for Chris to join me in the Gen1 and Bandit 1250 troop.

The FZ1 is actually some 8000 Kms YOUNGER than TWA's Bandit despite being a 2001 model and had he not bit the bullet and sold his soul to the Devil, that bike would be in my garage now "and he knows it"

It is not yet run in and in PERFECT condition and if he treats it like my 2003 Gen 1 Bee (which has 160,000 K on it) it will outlast him.

I will keep my Bandit, as though a different beast, I love it and next June it gets a $10,000 update to it's suspension and a new muffler and that will give me two of the finest bikes made and I have had 64 of them.

I have told Chris that the FZ1 will need a Suspension upgrade by 60,000K so Chris has adequate time to save for it and he needs lots of riding on its great standard suspension before hitting the overtime and going the extra $$$$$, but with the top suspenders the Fizzy is a mighty bike.

I still doubt he will sell the Bandit but as I told him, the only thing better than two great bikes is three.

From Gus.

Lets not forget the Yam. was more expensive .It should be better

Not so Gus, quite a bit cheaper, including a COMPLETE overhaul.

New it was a $17,000 bike and worth every penny.

lliquidlen wrote:From Gus.

Lets not forget the Yam. was more expensive .It should be better

Not so Gus, quite a bit cheaper, including a COMPLETE overhaul.

New it was a $17,000 bike and worth every penny.

I think Gus was meaning buying them new that the Yamaha at 17000 is a lot more then the Suzuki at 12000(rough figures)

I am aware of that, but the corresponding Bandit of the day (2001) was a different and much more industrial bike and great value for money (as it is today) but having raced the R1 from which the FZ1 is derived I can assure you it was a wonderful bike but not for the uneducated morons that sit astraddle the 600 cc machines of today.

The FZ1 Gen1 is a (one of) and despite 48 years on two wheels and a multitude of bikes I have yet to discover a better value for money bike than the Gen 1 FZ1.

No Bandit can compare with the quality and handling of the Gen 1 but no Gen 1 can compare with the enormous torque and touring capability of the 1250, which is why i bought one and despite its obvious corner cutting it is some bike and one I intend to keep, albeit to modify its suspension to the nth degree, that and a muffler change and the other mods I have already done will make the 1250 as good a machine for touring as the Gen 1 is for Sports touring and who can ask for more than that?

Thats NICE Chris!

What a great opportunity for a one on one comparo'. ( which I already have read that we will get ). Would love it if you would take each bike out on the same ride route and give your impressions on the capabilities of both. In detail. My money is on the Yammy for outright handling, but I would be interested to hear how close the big Bandit comes to it, ie, excelerating out of corners, braking and so on. Very envious.

Hammy, I ride both bikes every week and have had them both at the island to compare and run them on the same roads as well FREQUENTLY being retired.

My comparisons are slightly unfair as my FZ has had many thousands spent on the suspension (which the Bandit gets next June) and it is a race tuned setup and superb but harsh but with all the suspension work in the world the Bandit will never top the FZ and that has to do with frame geometry, weight and totally different engine and gear ratios.

The best I could get out of the Bandit on the Island was 6 seconds slower a lap than the FZ which I was very pleased with as the lean angle on the right was severely hampered by the great dustbin of a muffler (that goes next year) plus the gear ratios on the Bandit are woeful with the first three being way too low for safe corner exits at full throttle and the top three spaced too far to take up the slack it also runs out of puff at about 8200 rpm compared to the 11500 of the FZ, NOW with my wife, myself three big Givi panniers full of heavy photo and camping gear and a full tank bag the Bandit barely notices the weight and pulls like a train in all gears whereas the FZ would not cope at all, it is a Thoroughbred and the Bandit a Clydesdale.

They are different bikes and each fits its niche very well indeed and I will happily keep both with hopefully the addition of a V Twin next year which will keep me happy until God finds a spot for me.

Chris took the FZ for a ride today and I am sure he will chime in with his opinion when he gets back.

lliquidlen wrote:
Chris took the FZ for a ride today and I am sure he will chime in with his opinion when he gets back.

Im working on a report without expletives
The first draft would have got my mouth washed out with soap

Cheers lliquidlen for that.I know that the FZ is far more suited to the track, but wonder how far ahead it is on a normal road. Thoroughbreed and Clydesdale is probably a good analogy. And no dis respect to the Bandit. Look forward to 2WAs reports. Have already viewed the "Wallaby" Phew. Dont need too many of them.

Hammy I have a suspension specialist who will fit the Bandit in in June 2012 and set it up with Wilbers Rear Shock made to suit you personally not cheap but the best.

http://www.asr.com.au/type-643-qs-no-offset-mono-shock.html

The front forks are also an expensive proposition but from all I know about this chap worth every one of my wife's hard earned pennies.

http://www.asr.com.au/fork-legs-titanium.html

Chris you missed it by miles, you must have been going to slow.

If you'd been on a Bandit you would have been past, 5 mins before the wallaby got there.

Re-Cycled wrote:If you'd been on a Bandit you would have been past, 5 mins before the wallaby got there.

The funny thing (now) is that I was

I got a bit up the road and it started raining.
I thought the full trip is off so I had better go back to the turn off and run the camera from there up to the next turn (video in a couple of days for the insomniacs )
So I went back and set up.