New 1250 owner in Sydney

Hi all, so a few weeks back I popped my big bike cherry and bought a 2008 Bandit 1250 ABS. Nice tidy bike with 21K on the clock, came with a full set of Givi hard luggage and a slip-on exhaust. Unfortunately it also came with a case of Bandit fuelpump-itis, haha. So the first thing I’ve gotta do here is thank the forum for the very helpful guide to cleaning out the fuel pump assembly, it now has a new teabag, a thoroughly cleaned fuel screen and revs to redline happily. Took it for the first decent ride the other day out to Wiseman’s Ferry and back along the old Pac Hwy with the  obligatory pie stop. First impressions- great motor, pulls hard all over the rev range and I haven’t dared push it at all hard yet. Round town you can basically ride it like a big scooter, haha. Nice comfortable riding position. Mine came with bar risers but that made the riding position too upright for my 180cm frame, took them off and it’s pretty much perfect, though I’ll drop a set of low Renthals on it eventually. Bike is pretty heavy but doesn’t really feel it once it gets moving, and overall it feels surprisingly compact. On the downside the suspension is pretty shit, it’s fine on smooth stuff but as soon as things get bumpy it just doesn’t feel sorted at all. And the seat could be a bit comfier. Also the unbaffled Ixil slip-on is obnoxiously loud, so it’ll be getting a baffle added, haha. 
Because i like tinkering with stuff I’ve already got a fair shopping list of mods I’d like to do, suspension will be first cab off the rank. At the moment planning on giving the forks the racetech spring and gold valve treatment, adding a decent aftermarket shock to the rear with remote adjustment as I’ll be putting the luggage and the gf on the back for some touring on occasion. Also planning on cleaning up the rear end with a tail tidy and repainting it from the stock maroon. And eventually I’d like to do the full Holeshot stage 2 treatment with a full Arrow system, though I’m fairly happy with the power for now  
Anyway thanks for the add and hope I’ll see a few of you out on the road at some point.
-Dave

Hello Dave,
mine had" fuelpump-itis " as well when I got it.
Gus's fix is a gem.
They are a UJM - Universal Japanese Motorcycle.
Enjoy it and the forum

Welcome to the forum .

GSX1100G wrote:Hello Dave,
mine had"  fuelpump-itis " as well when I got it.
Gus's fix is a gem.
They are a UJM - Universal Japanese Motorcycle.
Enjoy it and the forum

Yep it’s definitely a modern (or at least recent) UJM, which does it for me cause I grew up admiring a lot of the original ones as a kid

Took me a couple of goes to get the fuel pump sorted, hopefully I’ve got all the residual crap out of the system now and it’ll be good for 10K or so til I change the teabag again. At least servicing it isn’t a difficult job, draining the tank is about the hardest (or at least most annoying) bit! Mine had a bit of rust around the filler which I cleaned up and treated with rust guard, hopefully that was the extent of it as from what I can see the inside of the tank looks totally clean.

Welcome Meatbix

Welcome to the forum Dave.
As you've found there is a wealth of information here.
Gotta wonder if the previous owner got rid of the bike because of the lack of performance due to fuelpumpitis

madmax wrote:Welcome to the forum Dave.
As you've found there is a wealth of information here.
Gotta wonder if the previous owner got rid of the bike because of the lack of performance due to fuelpumpitis

I wonder how many are being sold for that problem. 
A bloke I know got a GTR1400 cheap a few years ago, it had similiar fuel problems , bought cheap pump from eBay and all good.

The thought crossed my mind too. Was an old blokes commenter/tourer so I doubt he was reviving it hard often, the problem likely crept up. Especially given the 1250 is so torquey you can happily potter around town on it without even cracking 3000rpm.

Meatbix wrote:The thought crossed my mind too. Was an old blokes commenter/tourer so I doubt he was reviving it hard often, the problem likely crept up. Especially given the 1250 is so torquey you can happily potter around town on it without even cracking 3000rpm.

My bikes PO was 82.

Welcome to the Forum Meatbix.

A few weeks in and I’ve ironed out a few kinks in the bike and it’s just getting better. Got baffles for the Ixil slip-on and they improve it 100%. Noise level is not obnoxious but still sounds good, bike feels much smoother and doesn’t fart and pop all over the place when decelerating. Might have lost a fraction of top end but nothing worth worrying about when it takes a couple of minute to remove them if I really want to squeeze the last few hp out. No sign of any more fuel issues so I think that’s sorted now too. Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity for a solid ride in the next couple of days to really test things out more but I’ve been commuting daily in it and enjoying it a lot.

Hi Meatbix,
Welcome aboard
I have revamped the suspension on my 1250FA (2015) and the result is a massive improvement.
It is so settled in the bumpy stuff like you find on the old pacific. I could feel the difference on the test ride after the bits being fitted.
I used a mob called Shock Treatment at Wallacia. Their workshop is something to admire alone. They did the front shocks as you described with gold valves etc The rear shock was replaced with a Matris that was set for my weight and has adjustable preload so I just need to turn it right up when the Wife joins me.
Anyway happy riding
Regards
Darbs70

G’day Meatbix

Sounds like I’m the other end of the height spectrum at 166cm. I’ve just bought a Bandit here Canberra that is very similar to yours. I’m new to this forum too.

I’m trying a few things to get my feet ‘flatter’ on the ground. Going to try softening the rear suspension tomorrow; maybe even looking to customise the seat to get me closer to the ground.

Read your post & noted the part about the riser. Would you consider selling it?

Thanks, Hingy88.

Welcome to the forum Hing88

Jump on the intro thread and tell us a bit about yourself/ride

Welcome Hingy88,
the seat can be lowered by about 25mm( maybe someone can remember how, I can't sorry )

GSX1100G wrote:Welcome Hingy88,
the seat can be lowered by about 25mm( maybe someone can remember how, I can't sorry )

or raised, it come in the lowered d position from the factory

Hi Hingy, I’ll think about parting with the risers- I doubt I’ll be putting them back on in a hurry.