New Cycle Torque

Just skimmed through the new cycle torque...havnt had a chance to read yet, but it has a good naked bike comparo.
bout 8 bikes, and the bandit is in there...

One thing i did read was out of all of em, the bandit was the best on one wheel

If people dont read the mag, i can post up the story.

Looks like a good one

Hi Spence, that would be great if you could post it, cheers Chris.

Cool, That would be great if you can post the story.

Thanks.

Will post up tonight

did u put it up?

Sorry all. got a bit caught up...but here it is: (and i also made a mistake, its in the AMCN)

The story was a very large one, so ill just post up most the the bandit story, and sum up the rest.


Bike line up: KTM Super Duke R
Aprillia Tuono 1000R
Triumph Speed Triple
Ducati Street Fighter
MV Brutale 1078RR
BMW K 1300R
Honda CB1000RR
Suzuki Bandit 1250
Yamaha FZ1

The writer rode the bandit straight after the BMW, so alot is compared against the two.

"Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. The bandit feels positively ancient compared to the Beemer, but thats not to say it cant hold its own when asked. It steers sweetly and precisely but can become unstable at high speed. the fact that you sit up much higher than any of the other bikes means wind buffering is full on, and feels nervous on the tip-in at high speed.
The suspension is designed for do-it-all riding. The chassis may feel old in comparison to the competition but the engine is still a winner. The bandit has a beautiful flat torque curve that starts as low as 2000rpm, with no dips or flat spots, before signing off just after 8000rpm. That broad spread of arm-wrenching torque is second only to the BMW.
The Suzuki gearbox is easily the best here, including the beemers quick-shifting. There is no notchiness during changes and the clutch, while may be a little heavy, is smooth with plenty of feel.
There is no doubt that the bandit is from the old school. But the bandit is one of the most comfiest bikes on the test.

The bandit is the last remaining link we have to what naked bikes used to be. It produces more torque than any other bike here, only behind the BMW. The feel from the Tokico calipers is sensational at any speed. When the pace hots up, the weak link in the bandit is the chassis. However it felt up there with the best at moderate speeds. Pillion comfort is also the best on the test. Any of these bike are easy to put on the back wheel, but the bandit got the nod as being the best one-wheeler.

The Ducati Streetfighter came out on top in the test, despite breaking down before the comaro was over.

The bandit was the cheapest by a mile on test by $4000 behind the FZ1. And a total of $18,200 behind the most expensive being the MV. Just think you could have 2 1/2 bandits for the same price as the MV. But is no where near 2 1/2 times the motrocycle.

that all sounds good!! particularly so when they are comparing a $12,000 bike to a 25 or 30,000 [or more] bike........u cant beat it !

Thanks for that mate

Just confirms everything we already know

Fair shout 'Cherry1', we all know that the Bandit was one of best the bang for ya bucks bargains, since it was first released on the world. In Australia, for the bucks......comparing apples with apples the FZ is the only true competitor. Vive le Bandit

1836 wrote:Fair shout 'Cherry1', we all know that the Bandit was one of best the bang for ya bucks bargains, since it was first released on the world. In Australia, for the bucks......comparing apples with apples the FZ is the only true competitor. Vive le Bandit

The FZ1 competes with the Z1000 and the new CB1000R.
The Bandit is out on its own but I'm happy with that and I patted myself on the back every km of the 500km I did today @4000RPM.
Better value elsewhere? Not in this lifetime.

Value for money plus plus plus, in my opinion the Bandit wins hands down, I wonder would the B King be a better and fairer comparison?

Yeah i was expecting the b-king or the GSX1400.

Just completed a 500k run yesterday up to Sofala, Oberon area and back! Fantastic run with plenty of fast corners!
The CHERRY1 ran with the best of them, including a BMW K1300 and R1200, Triumph ??1100 a R1 Honda ST1300 Kwaka 1000 etc.
Some of these bikes cost over twice what the Bandit did and I could never Justify the $$$ for the same performance?

CHERRY1 wrote:Just completed a 500k run yesterday up to Sofala, Oberon area and back! Fantastic run with plenty of fast corners!
The CHERRY1 ran with the best of them, including a BMW K1300 and R1200, Triumph ??1100 a R1 Honda ST1300 Kwaka 1000 etc.
Some of these bikes cost over twice what the Bandit did and I could never Justify the $$$ for the same performance?

I understand what you're saying about value for money - hey, it's also why I went the way of the Bandit - but performance (read power) wise it's not really apples with apples.

The more I think about the comparison, the sillier I think it was. The Bandit was never designed to compete with these machines, nor should it. Most of these bikes are derived from the best they produce with pure sport bike roots, not to mention the price difference. Not too sure if the Bandit was a last minute ring-in in the possible absence of a B-King, really they would have been better leaving the Bandit out, in my opinion the mag has lost a lot of credibility. The Bandit stacks up by itself, performing perfectly for what it was intended, with, I believe not too many rivals.

That is one thing the article did say.
The bandit is a traditional naked muscle bike of old. As its branded as a sport-tourer, its more tour than sport. whereas the other bikes are now sport bikes minus the fairing.

The latest (February) edition of Cycletorque has a review of the GSF1250a not in depth but they seem to like it, as for being better than the 1200 well.....

I read that story to. was quite happy with what they said about it.

Yea I read the report in cycle Torque, read much the same as the older reports I read about the older 2 Bandits, just can't improve on perfection just make it smoother.