Reinventing the wheel .

Well ,maybe not the wheel ,but how about the left switch -block .To me its all wrong, and here is why . Have a look at this picture .



What is the most used switch on the block ? Blinkers , right .So that should be on the BOTTOM closest to your thumb .
The HORN should be where the yellow flash button is so you index finger would be able to find it easily because you dont need to use the tip of it .
The high beam rocker switch is right at the top ,a long ,long way from the operaters thumb .That should be where the horn now is .

Not only is the Suzuki block turned up to high so everything is a "reach " but you can not twist it down because it hits the lever .

Over all the hole thing is a design disaster if you ask me .

I dont have a issue with the switch block. It is the same layout i have had on all my bikes so its just natural. I rode a vfr1200 a couple of months back and the horn switch was were the indicators usually are so i kept hitting the horn. I would be lost riding a BMW with a indicator switch on each side

So the blinkers should have been put on the bottom a Long time ago . Closes to your thumb ,. Like the world should all drive on the same side ,
and train lines should be all the same guage . Have a look how far the high been switch is away from " old mans thumb "At least a metre

I dont have an issue with the switches but if you are you could try operating them using your right hand instead by swapping over switch block sides on the handle bars . That way all switches would be upside down & put the ones you want on the bottom where you want them

Most bikes other than silly BMW's have this layout and in all honesty I don;t think anyone elsethinks it's a stupid layout. If you were in India the horn woudl be the most used button

There are smaller dirt bike switch blocks, but how much stuffing about are you prepared for?

Leave it alone
Go and water your garden or mow the lawn or walk the dog or something.

Gus........ Suzuki R&D dept' for the up and coming 1400 Bandit. Stay tuned.

Now understand the problem i'm having (other bike ).They BOTH carnt be right .I find the Aprilia one a MUCH better design.

Ditto . But then we're talking about people who eat food with 2 sticks. Sorry, No harm intended.

I seem to catch my index finger on that bloody yellow pass switch at the front whenever I pull in the clutch. Only notice it at night though

I keep "tooting" old ladies in town when i turn on the Suzuki .

You Flirter You.

Whats the indicator do?

I agree with what Gus is saying. I think Suzuki changed the switchblock on the new Vstroms to let you scroll through the display via a button. That would be a god send if the Bandit had that functionality or update the display to always show time like the GSX1400.

Four40 wrote:I agree with what Gus is saying. I think Suzuki changed the switchblock on the new Vstroms to let you scroll through the display via a button. That would be a god send if the Bandit had that functionality or update the display to always show time like the GSX1400.

My time is always displayed

Its often wrong but its always there

Is it that the suzuki one is crap in your mind or that there is a bit of confusion going on when you swap bikes due to the differences in switch and you'd like to eliminate it. I got this between the wifes wee-strom and the tiger when I had it, and now to a lesser degree between the wee and the vee (oddly there are slight differences between the two)

If it is the differences, maybe you could replace one with the switch block of the other (ie replace the bandit one with a switchblock off an aprillia or visa-vera) and just rewire to suit. Should be an easy job to do, just finding the part second hand might take a while perhaps.

I suppose it's a bit like driving one of those silly cars that have the wiper stalk where the indicator stalk usually is.

I just get confused which is which .(no big deal ) .But i was a bit annoyed when i tried to rotate the switchblock bownwards only to find it hit
the lever straight away .(suzuki )

I soon adjust , i just have this thing about design . Most used ,closest to the thumb, i would have thought was a no brainer .Aparently not .
I'm just re-arranging my house .Toilet paper is now in the lounge room . T.V remote is downstairs and knives a forks are in the bedroom .

Agree in principle with you Gus. Logic would put the indicators closer to the thumb. BMW use this logic but take it further and apply it to both thumbs. Must say (and bear in mind my other bike is a GS), I like the BMW setup and got used to it fairly quickly when I first got the GS 3 years back - changing from Aprilia.

When I bought the FA (recently) tho, it wasn't a big deal with the change over and I swap bikes weekly with no real probs. People in the NT don't know what indicators are for anyway.

Interesting how BMW reverted to the conventional switch on their S100RR. When I had the S for a day to play with - hated that switch block compared to the Suzi setup. The BMW switch gear felt cheap in comparison. Although....the rest of the bike more than makes up for it...
Bill.

gus wrote:I just get confused which is which .(no big deal ) .But i was a bit annoyed when i tried to rotate the switchblock bownwards only to find it hit
the lever straight away .(suzuki )

I soon adjust , i just have this thing about design . Most used ,closest to the thumb, i would have thought was a no brainer .Aparently not .
I'm just re-arranging my house .Toilet paper is now in the lounge room . T.V remote is downstairs and knives a forks are in the bedroom .

Sorry Gus but the toilet paper in the lounge sounds like a shit of an idea /but the knives & forks in the bedroom may put you on the cutting edge of sexual experimentation ! You may need the TV remote downstairs to give you a breather from living on a knife edge in the bedroom with all that experimentation so that's probably not a bad idea .

You need therapy .

i`ve had no trouble at all.got used to it straight away
i think my older bikes were the same from memory
i have hit the high beam whilst adjusting the left mirror
that`s the next job,mirror extenders

gus wrote:You need therapy .

or maybe a few less reds .

This is what I was thinking about

Here's a shit load to choose from http://www.kandstech.com/index.php?page=switchescontrols

or maybe a few less reds .

But rangers go .......................................
Oh, wrong reds