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Took the "new" Bandit out on some of my local riding roads today. Other than commuting, this is the first real ride since I got the bike home a week ago. Oh joy, I love this bike. So here are some thoughts after spending about 4 hours (including lunch) out riding.
It is pretty windy and noisy once you hit 70 mph. On balance, I'll take the wind over the barn door fairing of my ST, but if I end up doing any long rides I may opt for something like the Skidmarx double bubble. At lower speeds, I'm pretty happy with the stock shield. I know a lot of people don't like it, but it seems to work for me. There's much less buffeting and back-pressure than on my ST1300. Maybe being 5'8" has some advantages?
I still want to pull the bars back, and raise them slightly. Gotta get that new brake line ordered. The stock ones are better than I thought they'd be, but my neck is bothering me a bit. Unlike many people, I guess, I don't seem to have a problem with the angle of the bars. My wrists haven't bothered me at all. As someone else said, though, the bars are kinda' wide. Sliding my hands inward so they're on the switches seems significantly more comfortable, at least for the short intervals i could hold them there. What's the easiest way to remove the pins that hold the switch housings in in place on the bars? Any drawbacks to doing so?
The pegs are a little high, for me, for extended riding. They're fine for now, but if I do decide to start touring on this thing, I'm going to need to lower them a bit.
The Spencer modified seat is significantly better than stock. On the stock saddle on the bike I test rode I was starting to get sore in about 45 minutes. Today, I was starting to feel it after about 90 minutes, but it never really got any worse than that. This saddle will be fine for anything I'm likely to do in the near future. True long distance riding might require something better.
I put on a pair of much heavier bar-end weights, and some Grab-on foam grips, and they've pretty much taken care of any vibration through the bars.
I do wish there were some small storage bins in the fairing. Some place to stick a pair of glasses would be handy.
The Michelin Pilots on this bike don't thrill me. Compared to whatever the stock tires were on the '09 I rode, the Pilots seem to turn in quite a bit more slowly, and seem to want to take a set at particular lean angles. On fast sweepers, the bike seemed to lean in part way and pause, then lean in some more as I applied more pressure to the bars. The OEM tires were much more neutral. (Although I understand the OEM tires wear real fast.) The Pilots aren't terrible, but I've certainly ridden on tires I like better.
Yesterday, I added my grip heaters, too, and they were very nice when the air turned chilly at "higher" elevations.
Did I mention I love this bike? Comfortable enough to get me to the fun roads, fast and agile enough to be good on the fun roads, an engine that almost makes the gear box unnecessary, and enough power to scare the piss out of me. (OK, call me a wimp, those of you who had to go to Dale's stage 2 kit because the Bandit's too slow. It's fast enough for me.)
The first four cylinder bike I ever rode was a '77 GS750, and it was a revelation at the time. The Bandit is that bike on steroids. The one bike I probably had more fun on than any other was a Suzuki GS850. That bike had a better seat, and the shaft drive was great for touring, but the Bandit makes me remember all the fun I had on that. It's a keeper.
It is pretty windy and noisy once you hit 70 mph. On balance, I'll take the wind over the barn door fairing of my ST, but if I end up doing any long rides I may opt for something like the Skidmarx double bubble. At lower speeds, I'm pretty happy with the stock shield. I know a lot of people don't like it, but it seems to work for me. There's much less buffeting and back-pressure than on my ST1300. Maybe being 5'8" has some advantages?
I still want to pull the bars back, and raise them slightly. Gotta get that new brake line ordered. The stock ones are better than I thought they'd be, but my neck is bothering me a bit. Unlike many people, I guess, I don't seem to have a problem with the angle of the bars. My wrists haven't bothered me at all. As someone else said, though, the bars are kinda' wide. Sliding my hands inward so they're on the switches seems significantly more comfortable, at least for the short intervals i could hold them there. What's the easiest way to remove the pins that hold the switch housings in in place on the bars? Any drawbacks to doing so?
The pegs are a little high, for me, for extended riding. They're fine for now, but if I do decide to start touring on this thing, I'm going to need to lower them a bit.
The Spencer modified seat is significantly better than stock. On the stock saddle on the bike I test rode I was starting to get sore in about 45 minutes. Today, I was starting to feel it after about 90 minutes, but it never really got any worse than that. This saddle will be fine for anything I'm likely to do in the near future. True long distance riding might require something better.
I put on a pair of much heavier bar-end weights, and some Grab-on foam grips, and they've pretty much taken care of any vibration through the bars.
I do wish there were some small storage bins in the fairing. Some place to stick a pair of glasses would be handy.
The Michelin Pilots on this bike don't thrill me. Compared to whatever the stock tires were on the '09 I rode, the Pilots seem to turn in quite a bit more slowly, and seem to want to take a set at particular lean angles. On fast sweepers, the bike seemed to lean in part way and pause, then lean in some more as I applied more pressure to the bars. The OEM tires were much more neutral. (Although I understand the OEM tires wear real fast.) The Pilots aren't terrible, but I've certainly ridden on tires I like better.
Yesterday, I added my grip heaters, too, and they were very nice when the air turned chilly at "higher" elevations.
Did I mention I love this bike? Comfortable enough to get me to the fun roads, fast and agile enough to be good on the fun roads, an engine that almost makes the gear box unnecessary, and enough power to scare the piss out of me. (OK, call me a wimp, those of you who had to go to Dale's stage 2 kit because the Bandit's too slow. It's fast enough for me.)
The first four cylinder bike I ever rode was a '77 GS750, and it was a revelation at the time. The Bandit is that bike on steroids. The one bike I probably had more fun on than any other was a Suzuki GS850. That bike had a better seat, and the shaft drive was great for touring, but the Bandit makes me remember all the fun I had on that. It's a keeper.
