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New to Bandit

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Mar 11, 2008
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spring
First Name
Thomas
Last Name
Shimer
I am sad to see her go. i sold my Suzuki Volusia :-( Then i bought a 2005 Bandit :mrgreen: other than the drastic differences between a cruiser and a sport/standard i need to know some general information; chain maintenance is the biggest issue since my volusia was shaft driven.

where is a good place to get parts?
any mods that you would sugest?
also does any one have a service manual in pdf form?

will post picts later
 
A big greeting,

where little robbers & big thieves may occasionally peek in,
but beautiful powerful Bandits is the main topic of discussion!

* Lube your chain every 400 miles, douse it with WD-40 every 2,000, and clean it with Kerosene every 5,000 miles..... replace it somewhere between 16,000 and 25,000 miles.

* Mods? Dale Walker of Holeshot (found on-line) is the Guru of Bandits!

* Yeah.... I want a service manual too, but I want something I can carry out to the garage.


Got a pic' of your '05???
 
Fittty: I have my 1250 manual in my laptop. Do you have a laptop[to carry out to garage?]
 
I keep a whole desktop I got for near nothing in my shop. Music and Manuals galore. ;-). Also run speaker wires to speaker system in Garage so same songs playing in both as I wander from one to the other. Think I have like about 50 bucks invested in the whole set up.
 
well the bike did not come with user manual or service manual, trying to find one online, but there are bunches of Bandit topics, i just need something that lets me know service intervals and how to's (again first chain bike). here are some picts, nothing pretty taken from my works garage, hope to have some nicer ones soon
P1000449.png

P1000447.png
 
also has anyone change out the lights? i am not a fan of the whole "wink" look and was looking into changing that out right away.

also valve adjustment????
 
I love that color scheme on the Bandit, VERY cool!

You have no idea (or do you?) how much money is wrapped up in the seat and those bags.....!

wannabeguru,
I don't have a laptop.... still trying to get 'with the times' having just purchased a new computer to replace my ten year old DELL. I also want t flat screen TV and Blue ray thingie someday, but instead I bought a computer/23" monitor high definition capable, television card, with 5.1 surround sound speakers.

I keep saying that I will be cleaning up the garage and putting a TV & stereo out there (& espresso maker, coffee roaster, beer tap...). But call me a traditionalist, I want pages to get greasy, turn, and dog-ear.
 
also has anyone change out the lights? i am not a fan of the whole "wink" look and was looking into changing that out right away.

also valve adjustment????

Go to a naked conversion if you don't like the style of light... upgrade the wiring harness (Eastern Beaver) if you want improved lighting.

Valve adjustments are called for every 7,500 miles after the initial 600 mile check. Once they seat in they rarely go out of spec and thus my intervals are more like 15k - 20k between checks. If they've never been checked I'd put that on the list ahead of your headlight issues.
 
any mods that you would sugest?

Based on the pics you have an aftermarket can... if the bike hasn't been jetted it's likely running very lean. Stage One jet kit is very easy and will wake the bike up considerably with that Yosh pipe.

FWIW.... I'd upgrade the suspension first and foremost. The bike has plenty of power even bone stock. Replacing the rear shock will transform the bike considerably - there are lots of options depending on available funds. Fox, Ohlins, Penske all make shocks that'll fit... I run a Cogent Dynamics shock that provides good performance for fewer dollars. The cheap guys will put a Busa shock on but that will change the ride height and may require a new set of dogbones.

Front suspension will help too.. Racetec springs and Gold Valves are pretty common - Progressive springs are a cheaper route. I guess if you're just cruising around taking things easy you won't think the stock suspension is all that bad. When you start pushing the bike into the corners harder you'll begin to notice the need for this upgrade.

Other mods for consideration would be upgrading the horn (Stebel Nautilus fits nicely under the fairing), heated grips, braided lines (your's are now 4 years old and might need replacement)... just be careful since mod fever is hard to get rid of.
 
ya i think that i got a great deal. traded in my volusia to the owner (he wanted to get back to a cruiser) and added $1500. probably would have spent that on the farkles anyway:trust:. just running it now, the shocks do not seem bad, but then i live in houston, no twisties here!!

i was thinking about going the HID route. and was definality looking into new grips and new braided lines
 
do you know what lights that it takes. again i have no manual
 
But call me a traditionalist, I want pages to get greasy, turn, and dog-ear.

That's not a hard thing to do. Get the disk and print it out. 685 pages if you do it single side. I print out the pages I need at times but do double pages.
 
I went to a Suzuki dealer (not my local man.... he's a bandit) 32 miles away to ask about buying a manual. He told me how much he wanted, added that he didn't know when it would arrive ("a month or two"), and said that it was sent via the Internet to his printer?!??

What's up with THAT?
 
Don't forget that the 2001 - 2005 models are nearly identical. I use a service manual from a 2001 model with no issues.
 
ok apparently i do not know how much $$ is there. i assumed it is about 2000

i need to take a photo of the wheel nut, there is a cotter pin that does not look like it belongs. talked with the previous owner, no re-jetting and no valve inspection, looks like i will dive right into the bike this weekend.

i do not know if i like the seat, it is a bit slippery with my riding pants, i will try out the stock seat this weekend it seems a bit more coshie.
 
You do know that you can go to any company's online fishe and probably see what your needing to figure out. Try Bike Bandit.
 
I went to a Suzuki dealer (not my local man.... he's a bandit) 32 miles away to ask about buying a manual. He told me how much he wanted, added that he didn't know when it would arrive ("a month or two"), and said that it was sent via the Internet to his printer?!??

What's up with THAT?

He charges you for the time and paper to print it. ;-). Not many companies have a written manual anymore for anything. Last lap top I bought had the owners manual in the start up CD.
 
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