New member Newcastle

Hi, just organised to trade my 2007 VStrom 1000 for a new GSX1250FA. Hope I did the right thing, the wife loved the pillion seat on the DL hope it is just as good on the 1250. Will be a couple of weeks till I pick it up, can't wait.
Pete

Welcome, just in time to join us at Narooma 30-31 October, at least 2 bikes are already going from Newcastle.

* * * Link to Bandit Weekend Meet. * * *

Welcome mate. no doubt you made a grea decision..

Yeah definately have a look at out weekend ride coming up. Give pete come company for the trip down.

Another soon to be GSX1250FA owner Welcome

Welcome mate

Welcome

9035 wrote:Hi, just organised to trade my 2007 VStrom 1000 for a new GSX1250FA. Hope I did the right thing, the wife loved the pillion seat on the DL hope it is just as good on the 1250. Will be a couple of weeks till I pick it up, can't wait.
Pete

Welcome to the forum. Hope the pillion seat works out ok for your wife - 2Wheels magazine wasn't very complimentary about it but it probably depends on the height of the pillion.

Thanks for the welcome. Just have to wait for it to arrive now. Then start putting my bits on it. I kept my panniers, have ordered racks and will put a top box on it.

Welcome to Bandits and the forum

Ewok1958 wrote:

9035 wrote:Hi, just organised to trade my 2007 VStrom 1000 for a new GSX1250FA. Hope I did the right thing, the wife loved the pillion seat on the DL hope it is just as good on the 1250. Will be a couple of weeks till I pick it up, can't wait.
Pete

Welcome to the forum. Hope the pillion seat works out ok for your wife - 2Wheels magazine wasn't very complimentary about it but it probably depends on the height of the pillion.

I wouldn't put much credance in that article. The moron also said it wasn't good on dirt, I'm not sure why he thought a sports/tourer would be.

Pillion comfort is certainly in the eye of the beholder (or sitter). My son hated the pillion seat on the BMW R1200RT.

welcome

My new GSX1250FA arrived Friday! Picked it up Saturday, now have 533kms on it. Awesome ride! I love everyhting about it, except the mirrors aren't wide enough and the seat is a bit hard. But I can overlook that cos it is so great to ride! Trying to keep it under 4000 rpm untill it has been run in, which is a bit under 120 on the clock in 6th. I love it. Was a bit worried about whether I was making the right choice trading the DL1000, which I will miss, but can't get over how much torque this thing has in top gear. What will it be like when it's run in?

Great, congratulations.

Looking forward to having someone to ride with from the Newcastle end of group rides.

BTW Did I mention the Narooma ride?

Just what you need to run it in.

Welcome and congratulations.
Don’t baby the new baby to much. The occasional high RPM blast when warmed up is ok.
When run in they love to work between 4,000 and 7,000. It took mine 15,000km's to feel free.
I also ran mineral oil until 6,000km. Not saying that’s what everyone should do but it worked for me.

9035 wrote:I love everyhting about it, except the mirrors aren't wide enough and the seat is a bit hard...

I'd imagine one of these would fit...

http://www.corbin.com/suzuki/sb12507gl.shtml

as should these...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SW-MOTECH-MIRROR-WIDNERS-GSF500F-GSF1250S-GSF650S-GSXR1-/150473780680?pt=AU_Motorcycle_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2308efadc8#ht_770wt_1082

Hope that helps, oh, and welcome!

Don't baby it... I ran mine just like normal riding after a few hundred k's. Dumped the oil at 1000 and took it to the race track for a track day

Good luck with the new bike, airhawk seat cushions are the go and get some mirror extender plates if you don't enjoy pulling in your elbows.

Dont baby the motor, give 8 to 10 k's to warm up then wind it out. Make sure the mirror arms are straight out from the bike, in the first instance. I did that and never needed mirror extenders.

Dink

Dink.1170 wrote:Make sure the mirror arms are straight out from the bike, in the first instance. I did that and never needed mirror extenders.Dink

+ 1 That gives you something like 850mm so if you're not flapping your elbows like a wounded rooster you should be ok unless you're doing a tight city commute.

Have now got a little over a thousand km on the bike, have had the first service done. My wife is very unhappy with the pillion seat compared with the V Strom, so I am looking at options. I will look for a sheepskin first, if things don't improve I may have to look at a custom seat. A bit disappointing on a new bike, but I have to agree, the V Strom had a better seat for both pillion and rider. Does anyone know if the GSX1250 has the same seat as the 1250 Bandit? I assume it would but you never know. I have a mate with a Bandit, may have to check it out myself.
I am getting more used to the mirrors, but again wonder why they make them so narrow, I should not have to move my head to see behind me in the rear view mirrors.
Have been up to Wingham via the Bucketts way from Newcastle twice now, and am very impressed with the torque and power, much more fun than the Strom. It is so quiet when you start it compared with the Strom, I am sure my neighbours prefer it, but I would like to hear a bit more.
Now I am looking at planning a ride up to Port Macquarie via Thunderbolts Way to get a real feel for it, can't wait, I know I will love it.

Welcome to the site. I recently did a 6000k 10day trip in atrocious weather and the Bandit did not miss a beat. ( had a tyre issue, but that can't be blamed on the bike) You will enjoy it.

Welcome to the forum fellow bandit rider.

the seat is a much debated problem for a lot of people. the most common adaptions are, the airhawk, sheepskin seat over, corbin, sargent (both very expensive in aus), suzuki gel seat, GSX650F seat.

My sons (10 and 12) do not like the standard bandit seat and i had a few issues as well.

i tried the suzuki gel seat but it wasn't for me, the pillion part tho the kids thought was great. i have heard a few other pillions (a bit more mature than my 2 sons) comment that the gel seat is the go as well.

i now have a gsx650f seat on the bike that I have recovered with thicker vinyl and the kids love it. bonus is that i recon it's great also. While I can't do 800kms in a day on it, i get a lot lot more than the 1-1 1/2 hours on the standard seat.

Your FA looks like a twin to my one.......... except my panniers are all black! My pillon wasn't a fan of the seat, however a airhawk pad has made it a bit more user friendly for her.

So my wife and I did the trip up the Bucketts Way to Gloucester, then Thunderbolts Way to Walcha and the Oxley through to Port Macquarie on Saturday, and home via the Pacific Hwy to Newcastle on Sunday. Great weather, great bike and a great ride, but we still hate the seat after a couple of hours.

Bit the bullet today and ordered a Sargent seat. Hope that does the trick. I still have not done anything about the mirrors but am looking into SW Motech extenders or wideners. Bit confused about which ones I need.

I am also interested in fitting the hand protectors (from the DL650), improving the lighting and looking into heated grips for the winter.

I have to find somewhere to fit the Zumo.

I love the torque, and love the bike, it is the most fun to ride of all the bikes I have owned.