Almost new owner ........ maybe

Hi All

If all goes well I will be the proud new owner of a new GSX1250FA soon. On Saturday I am taking one for a test ride, as well as the Kawasaki Ninja 1000. Been driving myself insane analysing the 2 options, and leaning towards the GSX for a few reasons. Very exited, cannot wait for Saturday

Anyway, I m based in Perth, and currently ride a 650 Vstrom. I bought it just over a year ago and she is just shy of 17,000km. I will be keeping the Wee as my commuter bike, and relaxing 2-up rides with the government. She loves going for a ride on the Wee.

Looks like a great site, will be hanging around here from time to time.

Cheers

welcome to the forum & good luck with your choice of bikes

Hi , and give us a run down on the test rides.

I can almost hear the Bandit saying "pick me pick me!!"

Welcome to the forum mate.

Welocom aboard.
The Bandit will win on price but the Ninja is a superior bike in my opinion.
Be interested in your thoughts.

Welcome mate.
I think your choice will come down to riding position. Bandits better for long trips. IMHO

If the government likes the Wee, she'll like the bandit also. My financial controller likes the back of the bandit a lot (my other bike is a F650GS (800 twin)), and with the Ohlins suspension on the bavarian it's a comfy mount, but the FA is brilliant mile muncher with beautiful low down torque. Good luck with the decision making and welcome to the forum

Well, I went to test ride both the Kawasaki Ninja 1000 and Suzuki GSX1250F this morning.

First was the Ninja. Being used to a Vstrom I had to get used to turning the damn thing as it is VERY different. All in all it is a fantastic bike. Great breaks, awesome power, very good suspension, butter smooth gearbox, in fact, half the time I could not tell whether I actually changed the gear. The seat is a bit hard, but I have made peace with the fact that I will replace OEM seats on most bikes. It was noticeable how "close to the road" you feel, like your nose is right next to it. Strange, because you are not leaned over, hard to describe. And can I just say, this is one very very very powerful machine. The rush you get pulling the trigger is amazing. Two things that bothered me were the vibrations through the seat, and the seat itself is really hard.

Next was the bandit. Easier to ride first up for some reason, steering felt less weird. Breaks nowhere near as good as the Ninja (perhaps something to do with the fact that the test unit had 16km on her), power is adequate, but nothing like the Ninja, suspension is okay, but not like the Ninja. Seat is definitely more comfortable. Although that exhaust is hideous, I actually did not mind the sound of the standard bike at all. One review I read described it as a nuclear powered bike because of the sound, must say that is about right. I actually preferred the gearbox in the Bandit. More feel to it, and you know when you have changed a gear.

Well, so it was decision time.

In the end it was an easy one for me. I will be picking up my new blue Bandit next weekend. In the end the decision came down to:

1. Price, the Bandit I got for $12,330 out the door for a brand new bike. Fantastic value in my book. The Ninja would have been $16,000.
2. While the Ninja was an absolute power house, I am either going to end up in jail or hospital with it. I love power, both in bikes and cars, but I have a heavy foot / wrist. The Ninja is too much for me, I will always want to crack the throttle.
3. The Bandit felt easier to ride, can accommodate the Government on the back, had no vibes, and a nicer gearbox, and is a more user friendly bike.

So, call me boring, but I went for the sensible slower bike this time. And I ma so exited I can hardly keep my shirt on

I think you have made a good choice. The Bandit is a fantastic all rounder, able to commute, ride all day and go for a blast through the hills. It doesnt have amasing brakes, or suspention and power is just ok. But it just seems to do everything you ask of it. And you can't get better value in a bike. Good choice on the color!!!! I have owned lots of more expensive bikes, but I think that I enjoy this one the most. It is going to be a long week for you!!! Cheers Andy.

Tks for description on test rides. 'Wow' on price for the FA.
Please tell of insurance cost for the FA...

I have a naked grey on order.

Previous ride GS500F LAMS - now for sale.

Welcome aboard.

Shall I quote my own post from a few above?
It will be interesting to see how quickly you get sick of the barge arsed heavy "adequate" Bandit.
Like I say they are great value but how much more would you pay for one. Zero.

2wheelsagain wrote:Shall I quote my own post from a few above?
It will be interesting to see how quickly you get sick of the barge arsed heavy "adequate" Bandit.
Like I say they are great value but how much more would you pay for one. Zero.

Fair enough. At least I will live to find out......

trip01 wrote:Tks for description on test rides. 'Wow' on price for the FA.
Please tell of insurance cost for the FA...

I have a naked grey on order. 2011 plated 10.2k, 12mths reg. Quote for ins $347.32.

Previous ride GS500F LAMS - now for sale.

Welcome aboard.

Do not have final quote yet, but nsurance here is expensive compared to what you quoted.

I will see if the FA is 2012 plated, they do not know. I don't really care to be honest. They had two bikes on the floor, a black which was 2012, and a blue demo with 2012colour scheme but it was 2011 plated. They will need to get my blue one from Suzuki, so I am hoping it is 2012, but if not, not too fussed.

Vellies wrote:

trip01 wrote:Tks for description on test rides. 'Wow' on price for the FA.
Please tell of insurance cost for the FA...

I have a naked grey on order. 2011 plated 10.2k, 12mths reg. Quote for ins $347.32.

Previous ride GS500F LAMS - now for sale.

Welcome aboard.

Do not have final quote yet, but nsurance here is expensive compared to what you quoted.

I will see if the FA is 2012 plated, they do not know. I don't really care to be honest. They had two bikes on the floor, a black which was 2012, and a blue demo with 2012colour scheme but it was 2011 plated. They will need to get my blue one from Suzuki, so I am hoping it is 2012, but if not, not too fussed.

What you've described they are 2012 colours, so they will be at worst, late 2011

Welcome along.

Good choice, and it's easy to get another 20 horsepower out of them. Welcome aboard.

Welcome! You made the right choice. Trust me, the Bandit is no slouch once you do a few mods. I had the 2010 FA myself and even stock it could keep up with 1000 sport bikes off the mark (just barely). With stage 2 mods you'll easily smoke most stock sports bikes off the mark.

Welcome to the site !

Went to pick her up today, man what a blast!! Sure as hell not slow......

Seat will need to be replaced, and mirrors I can see nothing in the lane behind me, but I leave them all behind anyway

Actually has silver rims not black as I thought, I quite like them. Looks great!! I cannot decide whether I like the pipe. I do not like how large it is, but I do not mind how quiet the bike is. Perhaps this will change. The Vstrom has an Akrapovic on it, so I can make lots of noise with that one

Here are a few pictures:







And here is one of the beloved VStrom just for fun

Nice colour ! // I kind of got used to the look of the large muffler & don`t mind the quiet either ,it made a nice change from past bikes & I kinda got used to that too.

Looks good Vellies. I just recently put a Delkevic can on my 06. While I was at my daughter's netball game yesterday, I heard the very loud rumble of a v-twin, turns out it was a vee strom!

Vellies,

Your FA's a good looker.

Mum's allowing you to have 2 bikes ? . I gotta sell my GS500. Rode it yesterday. It's nice & light to manouver, doesn't have the up&go of the Bandit.

Economical though $210 ins & 3.8l/100km's.

Looks nice Vellies. Are you going for a Sargent seat ?

if you fix the front suspension with harder springs and softer compression damping [read elsewhere] you will find it transforms the bike. best thing you can do. you can also get a more effective valve put in the rear too which also makes a difference [do both]- when i had mine done i was shocked at the difference between it and other non modified bandits i have ridden