Thoughts after 1st medium length trip (500 miles) and questions

I took my first medium trip as a shakedown cruise on my new (to me) 2008 Bandit with ABS. It was virtually brand new with less than 3,000 miles on it. It really looks like it just rolled off the showroom. There is a ZG DB windscreen and Givi luggage (not Suzuki version). It has the BIG rear Givi bags (45 liters).

I pretty much rode the 500 miles straight other than stopping for gas. I can say the stock seat isn't terrible IF I compare it to the seat on my SV. Compared to the Corbin on my Vee it is a ***!!! I'll just say I tolerated the seat and if I was only going to do 500 miles on an easy day I could probably tolerate it then as well if I spread it out over 10 hours of riding and not the 6 straight hours I did today.

I need some help figuring out if it has an 18T or 17T front sprocket. My revs at 78 mph are about 4,500. This works out to about 17.3 mph per 1,000 rpm in 6th gear. I forgot to ask the previous owner if he swapped out the sprocket so can anyone else give me an idea of what they are seeing with their bike and what gearing combo (17 or 18)? I also have brand new tires on it so they are a bit taller. The speed listed is NOT from the speedo but from 2 different GPSs. They both said the same things. The stock speedo seems to be off almost 10% so I am thinking it might be the 17T up front but sometimes it seems to be off only about 6%.

I was pushing pretty hard most of the time. Cruising about 80-85 mph per the GPS and the occasional blast into triple digits. In spite of all that (and the big bags hanging off the bike and a pretty heavy load of gear, I still was getting about 42.5 mpg (US). With the same size bags on my Vee I am seeing about 37 mpg but its been regeared (lower), pipes and a PCV as well. Normally that figure also includes all 125 lbs of her as well as stuffed V52 tail box as well. It seems like I'd lose one of the little "bars" on the fuel gauge about every 36 miles or so they seem to be slightly less than a gallon. Closer to 3 liters for each one.

Motor is amazing. If this bike was on a diet, it would pull really hard. I definitely miss the top-end rush of the SV. It feel like you are riding and electric motor with such a flat torque curve. I am pretty sure my SV is quicker than it though in acceleration and the Vee is not far off from it if it is a little slower but the Bandit just does it all so easily. Both the Vee and SV have pretty good V-twin motors. The Vee has such a wide torque curve and pretty light weight that it moves along pretty nice even though peak torque is less than the Bandit. The SV has more HP, maybe less torque than the Bandit but almost 100lbs lighter and a nice top-end rush to redline.

I definitely will go to Stage 2 ASAP as I REALLY miss that top-end pull. If I can have the top-end pull without losing much off the bottom I am definitely in!

The headlights at night are definitely far worse than either the Vee or SV. I'll have to do something about that immediately as well. Probably HIDs or mount auxiliary LEDs. I used the ADVmonster LED lights on my Vee in addition to the excellent stock headlights and you can light up the road like a 747 is coming in for a landing without using a ton of watts. Very important on these **** Suzukis where they are very stingy with alternator output.

On some easy backroads and the super slab the suspension isn't even half bad. The brakes are feeling better too. I don't think the previous owner even really bedded in the pads. I did a few progressively harder stops to get a feel for the ABS and by the 5th run there was noticeably better bite and better feel. When I really had to use them an hour later on the road, they were MUCH better than when I first road the bike and good feel with no mush lever. Maybe no reason to swap out lines just yet and I'll see how the hold up in the mountains when I go riding this weekend.

This is truly one of the best all around bikes I've ridden in a long time and it definitely feels much better than it price would suggest. I have a lot of experience for a basis of comparison. I was an MSF instructor for several years and I've owned so many bikes it would be boring to list them all including some pretty exotic ones such as RG500, RZ500, DR Big, 851, 888 and so on. If I had to chose just one bike to keep it would be hard to chose. I have 7 in the garages at the moment. I think motorcycles are like golf clubs, by the best bike for the purpose at hand if you can. So if it came done to only keeping one, it would be either the Vee (heavily farkled) or the Bandit ABS.

I'd love the Bandit motor and ABS in the Vee chassis. Or the SV motor and add ABS to the Vee chassis. Not that the Vee chassis is the best handling bike since sliced bread but because I like the cockpit room for my wife and I. I also have the suspension dialed in and I can still go on some fun fire roads and light off-roading. We can put in 1,000 mile days 2-up and my wife never complains. She is one heck of a lady and the Vee is comfortable on a trip.

Hopefully the Bandit will be OK in that area. Fortunately it will be in an area where we'll ride where the distance aren't so great like riding in the South Western US. I figure the most we'll ride on a day in the SE it 500 miles. We'd often do that before lunch when riding from Albuquerque.

I can see why most people on this forum like their Bandits so much. I had looked at one before buying my Vee but I really wanted the offroad capability of the Vee. I really wanted ABS but a Wee (650 V-strom) just felt underpowered to me and downright anemic at high altitude and even worse when riding double.

I'll be ordering a different seat and most of the stage 2 parts next week. I can't wait to begin the transformation. Once I can ride with my wife I'll see what I have to do with the suspension. It looks like having the ABS makes rear shock swaps more challenging from the perspective of potential down bikes. Maybe Sasquatch could re-work my factory shock like he did the one on my Vee. He positively transformed that bike. It rides like I have an Ohlins in the back for a fraction of the cost.

Re: Thoughts after 1st medium lenght trip (500 miles) and questions

Your sounding about right for stock gearing.
As per suspension, I spent over 100k miles between 2 BMW R11**GSs , then to a DL1000 (16K miles ) then to my '07 Bandit (just over 55K at present ) . After the miles on the GS suspension, the DL1000 sucked and then the Bandit sucked more. . But with 8 wt oil in the front at present, it does what's needed for me.
Seat, went to a Corbin but it still has a bit of forward lean to it. Putting a sheepskin on it helped loads and makes those 4 to 5 hundred miles days easier.
Think the most complaints I read about for passengers is the peg location has their legs up pretty tight. I'm always solo so really can't vent on that.
Fuel mileage is great on the bandit. I've had as much at 56 mph in the mountains down to about 36 with a big head wind, 100 degrees and 80 ish mph across Texas.
I too love the electric motor like response of the 1250 Bandit. I ride 95% of the time in the 2500 to 5500 rev range so don't know much about the higher rpm stuff.
I've done nothing to the engine cept 2 plug changes, 1 TB sync at about 10 or so thousand miles. After that, Check air filter, change oil and filter, 1 chain/sprocket set around 22k miles, on my 7th set of tires, 3 sets of brake pucks and the rear capilar is getting pretty sloppy in it's holder from wear, several windshields till my present set up of a ZG touring with a Laminar lip on it , 2 inch Rox risers, Cooscase rear box with Givi PLX luggage.
Gonna see if I can put this thing over 100K miles .

Re: Thoughts after 1st medium lenght trip (500 miles) and questions

Thanks for the feedback achesly. I think you hit the issue that is driving me crazy about the seat, the forward lean. My huevos are scrunched up against the tank and after a while the nether area starts to go a bit numb. That wouldn't be as terrible as the pain I feel when I actually start to regain feeling there.

Does raising the seat help with that? If so, I'll have to find out how to do it on the web somewhere. I looked and I don't happen to have the manual with me.

How is the ZG toring windscreen without the lip? If I lay my chin totally on the tank, there is a totally dead silent air pocket for me. Unfortunately I can't see through the tinted windscreen at night. The ZG DB isn't terrible by far and if sit up a bit I have virtually no turbulence at all and just enough to be annoying at my normal sitting position. I have a tall seated height so someone 6' and under might really like it. My seated height is for more like someone 6'4" or so but with a 32" or so windscreen.

I'd like a bit more airflow up and over my helmet if possible. I needed to stop more often to clean the bugs off my windscreen than for gas. I am not joking. After about 50 miles I'd have so many on my faceshield I couldn't see. It wasn't a really "buggy" night or area and I rode through here in similar conditions on my SV and almost no bugs. It has the ZG Touring screen on it. While it is noisier on the SV than the Bandit is with the ZG DB I seem to get better bug protection.

I'll be riding in the N. Georgia mountains over the next few days so I'll see how the mileage is there. I am going to put on the speedohealer this morning while killing time at the hotel.

FYI - anyone traveling through Georgia needs to really watch the police enforcement. I counted 19 cop cars from Valdosta to Atlanta! I never seen that level of enforcement (and I lived in Georgia for over 10 years). Also a lot of almost unmarked SUVs. You know the ones, dark SUV with dark decals on it. Watch the road construction areas for sure. There was a lot of instant on radar and lidar. Thank god the Bandit decels in a hurry just by letting off the throttle. Definitely a lot of compression braking.

Just found a great link for adjusting the seat.

http://forums.banditalley.net/index.php?topic=9058.0

I think I'll just try moving the front part of the seat up and leave the rear down. Maybe I won't slide forward so much...

Re: Thoughts after 1st medium lenght trip (500 miles) and questions

The ZG touring windshield takes the wind off your chest but without the lip you get a good bit of buffeting as it hits your helmet. I don't have the lip yet either but will probably be getting it soon! Yes the seat adjustment up front will help. Also bump up your front preload from the middle to one tighter (turn it in) I believe you'll be going from 3 to 2 and that will reduce the front dive under breaking A LOT on the stock suspension also I get better turn in this way go figure!

Re: Thoughts after 1st medium lenght trip (500 miles) and questions

Great comments on the your impression of the Bandit as compared to your Vee. I have owned both and currently have the 1250. I had them both at the same time and needed to let one go which was a tough choice for sure. For me it came down to the engine on the bandit is the best by far of all of the dozens of bikes I have owned over the years. It is also fairly easy to make it into what you need it to be with all of the goodies available. I have a XR650R which is dual sported so that fits the off road duties well so pavement duties are for big red.

The right seat for my bandit was a trial and error thing. I've tried the spensor mod, regular sargent, low sargent, factory gel, gsx650 seat and a russell sport seat. I ended up sticking with the sargent low seat and the russell. I use the sargent for all day trips and put the russell on for when I am heading out for multiple days. I think I have the right combo now that works for me. With regards to gearing I ended up putting on a 19 tooth front sprocket which puts the speedo just about right on and also gives me a very relaxed highway rpm which I really like. The bike stills pulls plenty hard for me with my stage 2 set up.

Wind management is like seats. I been through just about all of them and have settled on a modified MadStad which works great for me.

Have fun with the customization process!

Re: Thoughts after 1st medium lenght trip (500 miles) and questions

I've run my 1250S Bandit down quite a few gravel roads and even some pretty loose limestone runs. It's not my KLR , LOL< but, with it set up so I can stand on the pegs pretty easy ( rotated footpegs and 2" risers ) I find it as good or better than my DL1000 due to lower center of gravity , even with the 17" front and 38 psi in the front. I've never had it in a really muddy situation as I've had my R1150GS , but , I would put it very close to it as far as control goes on gravel roads. Of course , at a slower speed as the Bandit suspension is not going to match that Telelever front end or the rear suspension of the GS BMW.
The Corbin seat is not as bad as the stocker on the forward lean, but, tis still there. I thought about shimming up the front a bit as the gap would be filled with the tucking in for the sheep skin I use. I tuck it between the front of the seat and the tank so it won't fold backwards when I stand up.
LOL I went though about 1200 bucks worth of seats and mods on my DL1000 and never was happy. Ended up with a Rick Meyers for local and stock corbin for tripping in the end. Had Corbin cut down a seat for me when going though Hollister in '07 and it felt good in the parking lot. But, so sucked after about 300 miles in the saddle. Had them cut too much out. ;-( . Oh well , live and learn.

Re: Thoughts after 1st medium lenght trip (500 miles) and questions

Yup the Bandit 1250 engine is spectacular...My RC51 felt like a slug compared to the bandit even though it had 20 more HP...I couldn't believe the difference..Close to 80 ft lbs at 3,000 rpm on the bandit must help.

Re: Thoughts after 1st medium lenght trip (500 miles) and questions

My '07 Bandit has approximately 200 Watts of RESERVE power from the stock electrical system. I'll go out on a limb and say yours does too! Enjoy adding all the electrical extras you want to!

Good to know about the electric capacity.

Thanks so much. I had a chance to ride quite about 120 miles today on an already sore butt. With the seat front in the higher position, I could feel a marked difference. It no longer is the medieval torture device it once was. I could actually feel my butt starting to recover instead of getting even more tender. Definitely worth the effort as I am no longer sliding into the tank all the time. So maybe the stock seat isn't such a *** as I first thought.

My first tank over 200 miles. I had to be almost on fumes though. I went 202 miles on 4.7 gallons. I had 88 miles on the highway (between 75-110 mph with the big Givis on) and the rest around town in heavy traffic. Still in the 42 mpg, almost 43. Probably was 43 as I filled the tank up a bit more than last time. I think I might be able to get close to 50 mpg if I kept it under 80 and didn't have the bags on.

While cruising around I stopped by Cycle Gear and promptly dropped a load of cash. I happened to have the bags off and almost needed to drive back to the hotel to pick them up just to carry all the stuff I bought. They are having a great deal on their "track" leather suits. By the suit and get a free pair of boots and gloves (sort of matching style) with the suit. They claim it is $225 value. Not exactly as the have the boots on sale for $75 until the end of the month which is about half price. The gloves are a decent track style glove with a MSRP of about $79.

The suit price is listed at $399 in their catalog. It is a perforated leather with a few stretch panels and impact armor and a small speed bump on the back. All in all not a bad deal for leather suit, leather boots and leather gloves.

Anyway I couldn't find pair in my size and they let me have a pair of boots that were slightly more expensive for my "free" pair. I found a nice waterproof pair that will be a decent sport touring boot. I looked around and finally found some gloves that would match. Now here is the kicker. When I went to check out, the suit rang up at $299!!! I asked it if was right and he scanned it again. Yuuuppppppp, $299!!!!! So let me see, I got a suit, boots and gloves for $299 (+ tax). What a smoking deal. Dang, I almost paid for my trip just on the savings for these items.

I bought some other things that were on amazing close out/clearance prices like disk brake locks for $9.99 and scenic ride maps for $2.99. A pretty good deal on a little mag tank bag and next thing you know I've spent another hundred in useful items. They have some nice handlebar mount power ports (like a cigarette lighter) for $9.99 with the waterproof cover. I picked up several of those. I'll be wiring one up on the Bandit in the morning.

Speaking of power ports, I bought a nice little waterproof USB one from an SV forum guy. It does a great job charging my phone or GPS. I mounted it up on the triple clamp where the wire guide is for the brake lines. It blends in great there. While working on the wiring for it I installed the speed healer.

For some reason I can have it about right at one speed and then it is off at other. If I get it accurate at higher speeds 70-80 or so, then it reads low (actual speed higher than indicated on the speedo). Or the opposite. It is almost as if the gearing ratio to the speedo is changing in a non-linear fashion. For example at 70 mph I can have the speedo and GPS dead nuts even. Then at 35 mph true (GPS) the speedo reads about 32. If I then correct for the speedo at 35 mph then it ends up reading about 74 mph when true is about 70 mph.

On a different topic the ABS saved the bike almost for sure today. It just started raining and the roads were pretty slick yet. Some moron looked right at me and pulled on in front of me at an intersection. I braked pretty hard but not so hard to lock up the wheels at first and needed to squeeze even harder. Still no issue but then the tires hit the big painted crosswalk likes and the ABS kicked. There were 3 wide stripes, very close together. As hard I was braking the front end probably would have tucked under if it wasn't for the ABS kicking in. As it was I just missed the car by about a foot.

Speaking of the rain, the ZG DB didn't due too badly. Still not my ideal windscreen and I see a ZG touring one likely in my future.

Next on the mod list will be some sort of cruise control. I may just go with the Cat o-rings I've used on some other bikes. I have a Throttlemeister on my Vee. Love it but **** it was dearly priced.

As soon as I can find a big pipe I am taking care of the wheelbarrow handlebars too. For some reason it bother my left arm more than the right one. I am half tempted to just go to Home Depot and buy a short pipe and get it over with. In general though the higher front part of the seat has improve the comfort of my legs and also my seat-handlebar relationship as well.

I might have to buy some Vee handlebar guards for the bars as well. It would have been nice in the rain. One thing that was great in the rain was the very tractable motor. It was surprising how hard I could accelerate and if just a little wheelspin dial it back just a wee bit and it hooked right up. Definitely and easy to modulate motor other than there is a bit of abruptness when going from about 15% throttle and dialing it down just a fraction it totally cuts the power. Maybe a TPS sync will help or maybe is just how the fuel injection is mapped. It does make it hard to be really smooth at small throttle openings.

All in all I am really starting to understand the Bandit. I am loving the motor but wishing more and more for a few more ponies. Easy to get from the looks of it. I can honestly say I don't "need" them but I do want them. The bike is whisper quiet too. Almost too quiet. Ok, not almost, it is TOO quiet!

In the morning I'll be heading up in the N. Ga. mountains. I love riding around Dahlonega and Suches, Georgia. I'll likely stop in Helen for lunch. If you've never been up in that area you should make the trip. Helen is a nice little tourist trap but still fun. It is sort of a like a little German/Swiss village that has been transplanted in America. In reality it is more an American interpretation of a Swiss village but it still fun. Good food and some amazing riding areas and some beautiful waterfalls. I lived in that area for about 10 years and I spent almost every weekend riding the roads. Nothing like embarrassing the Ducatis and GSXRs on a big dual purpose bike...

One last thought. I am absolutely amazed how many times I've been told its a nice looking bike. I thought it would have been invisible. At the gas stations people come and talk to me about it. At the cycle shop I was parked to a 996 Duc. People started walking over to the bikes and I thought they'd look at the 996 but they wanted to look closer at the Bandit. I ended up talking to a couple guys for about 20 minutes about it. They were very enthused. It is almost like the Bandit has a closet cult following.

Maybe some of you are old enough to remember the OLD Honda commercial "You meet the nicest people on a Honda". Perhaps the Bandit has that sort of mild, you-can-approach-me-and-talk-to-me-because-I-am-not-such-a-serious-bike look about it. It isn't pretentious like a Duc can be or some other wannabe type bike. When riding my Duc almost nobody would stop and talk. Ditto on a lot of my other bikes. The only bike that seemed to be about as "approachable" is either my Vee or my 650 Burgman Exec maxi scooter. It is sort of neat and totally unexpected.

The idea of a 19T sprocket might be cool for flat land touring it if would improve mileage quite a bit. Something to think about. As it is now I don't mind taking the refueling breaks to give the rear end some time to recover.

If anyone happens to be in the area this weekend shoot me a PM and maybe we can get together and ride. I know there are other than Texans on the board.

I'll never forget my first trip to the N. Georgia mountains on my , then new '95 R11GSa. What a wake up call and meeting all the people at Suches, Ga and Hank drawing me a map of the area a piece of paper ( which I still have hanging on my wall ). Intro to Tail of the Dragon. What a memory.

Day, the fuel mileage is surprising on the big motor....If you ever do just highway and keep it at an indicated 65-70 you can get over 240 miles per tank..I've gotten over 52 mpg like that before...But it's hard to ride that far continually at such a pace because the bandit's so smooth higher speedsare neccessary to feel like you're going anywhere...lol

It was an amazing day to ride after the rain passed in the morning. I ended up riding from ATL up into the N. Ga. mountains on up into North Carolina and back. I rode through about 2 tanks of gas today. Best mileage ever so far, I easily went over 200 miles about the time the first blinky light came on. It ended up being a 46 mpg average on the last tank. Had a headwind dead on the nose for about 45 miles of interstate and I was running between 70-80 mph. Pretty good mileage anyway.

I was parked by a couple Victory cruisers and I had one of the guys asking me about the Bandit. I ended up talking to about 5 different people about it in a short time. Only the snobbish Harley people paid it no attention. I had to admit she did look good. While hanging out at the hotel this morning I rolled it under their check-in car port and gave it a good cleaning after riding in the rain. I also waxed and the black paint was really glistening. I ended up installing the power port I bought at cycle gear but the wires turned out to be about 6" too short. I found a temporary place to mount it for now but I'll extend them later or mount it in the left fairing like I did on my Vee.

All in all it was a great day to ride and I felt as relaxed when I got done today as if I had spent the day on a tropical island somewhere. Riding in the mountains is my favorite stress reliever. The Bandit is a willing partner up to about an 8/10ths pace. Above that it needs better suspension. My brakes were working great today. It'll never be the ultimate back road blaster because of the chassis and suspenders but the motor is pure honey. I could easily hit triple digits on short straights and grab a handful brakes, rinse and repeat until I ran out of light. There are few things better than a ride like today in the area I was. With the Bandit you can maintain a pretty face pace without much drama. Even my wife wouldn't have been sinking her talons in my ribs if she had been riding with me (as long as she never saw the speedo).

It really is better sport tourer than I thought it would be. The Bandit is one of the best kept secrets in all of motorcycling. Sure there are better bikes but they are much more finely focused. Few bikes are such a good all around bike as the 1250 w/ABS. The ones that are better cost a lot more and aren't that much better. Through another $1,500 in add-ons on this (stage 2 and better suspension) and it would be an amazing bike. Even more so if it could lose about 50-100lbs as well. Were is all the weight in this thing? Is the motor a heavy chunk of metal? I can't believe my Vee even with gas and luggage weighs a lot less than an empty Bandit.

While my speed is pretty close to true, my odometer reads high about 7% compared to the GPS and mile markers. I pretty much give up. I'll stick with close to accurate on the speedo as I don't want to get a ticket.

One more day of riding and then back to Florida. I am definitely going to miss the riding here. Just need to find a riding buddy for the next time.

I found out how to cure the crappy stock seat without buying a $400 replacement seat. The $299 leather tracksuit made a HUGE difference today. I spent about 9 hours in the saddle today. With the nose of the seat lifted to the highest position and wearing the tracksuit I could actually feel my bum starting to RECOVER while I was riding instead of getting worse. To say I was amazed would be an understatement.

Speaking of the suit is such a smokin' deal I am going to probably buy another one (a spare in a different color) or maybe buy one for my wife and guess at her size. It was amazingly comfortable. The day started how high 50's and I was just a bit chilly in the suit but tolerable and by the time it warmed up into the high 80 and over 90 in traffic I was still very comfortable. The perforated leather worked great! I can't say I'd use it for an actual track day but for the street it seems like a good option.

The roads were pretty clear of traffic. It is amazing how flexible the Bandit motor is. Just for the heck of it I ran it down to 20 mph in 6th gear and it pulled smoothy out of a fairly tight uphill turn. I was able to carry a fairly high average speed and with the whisper quiet exhaust I attracted almost no attention at all. At least until I popped up over a ridge at a decent clip and found 3 GSP (Georgia State Patrol) officers looking almost as surprised as I was. They were standing in the middle of the road setting up a little checkpoint. I was "lucky" enough to be their first customer. A check of my license and a few minutes digging out the insurance card and I was on my way. Even got a nice bike comment from one of the troopers.

Another said he never heard me coming until he heard a clicking sound and then saw the bike. Yes, it was the ABS when I made a serious attempt to scrub off speed so I wouldn't get a ticket. A guy on a Ducati after me I had passed earlier wasn't so lucky... You could hear it bellowing up the hill and he popped over the little ridge and instant-on radar put a dent in his day.

I ended up in Helen for lunch. I had to walk abound in the suit. I stood out like a circus freak at a funeral but I didn't care. It was comfy and wasn't a real pain to walk in. Girls seemed to dig it. Good thing my wife wasn't with me. Hard not to smile back when a hot looking 20-something smiles at you. Women love men in uniform and this definitely was my uniform for the day. I heard so many young kids asking their parents if that was a motorcycle uniform/costume. Some of them had that same look in their eyes as I did when I saw a motorcycle and new I'd have one for myself some day.

Based on my lessons learned from the trip, I have plans for quite a few mods. I have a Sargent seat on order. I went with the standard height one as I won’t mind a bit more legroom. I don’t think I’ll need to lower the footpegs for myself but I’ll likely have to do something the passenger pegs when my wife rides with me. I can’t easily move the footpeg brackets because of the mounting points for the racks.

I have also ordered a different exhaust. It should be here later this week. I am going with a Morimoto HID kit. They seem to have the highest quality kits. DDM while OK, doesn’t always send you what they say. For example I’ve ordered a 4500K light and got a totally different temperature bulb but the box was marked right. I have had great luck with the retrofit source in Atlanta and outstanding customer service. They sell OEM quality HID lights.

Next on my list of upgrades will be a TUTORO chain oiler. I’ve used one on my Vee. It is very affordable “automatic” chain oiler. It has really extended the chain life on my Vee. Since putting a new chain on it, I’ve needed no adjustments in over 2,000 miles while using the Tutoro chain oiler.

I’ve included a thumbnail where you can look through one of my albums. It shows how I’ve set it up on the Vee. I also show my Goldwing footpegs adapted to the Vee. I might try them on the Bandit for my wife. They were very comfy for us both on long trips and gave a bit more legroom.

I also plan to mount LED "driving" lights for a better safety triangle. I just need to find a good way to mount them. There was an awesome bracket for my Vee that mounted to the chin of the main fairing. I mounted some 10 and 20w driving and pencil beam lights. Boy did they light up the desert at night. Saved my butt more times than I care to remember. I could pick up a coyote's eyes at an easy half-mile away. I put a little PWM dimmer so I could dial them down when needed.

Last short-term mod will likely be a different screen. The ZG DB did ok but I had a ton of bugs on my helmet and jacket. I am really leaning toward the ZG Touring or the V-stream 22”. I ride a lot in hot weather so I realize a big screen is a double-edged sword. On REALLY hot days it keeps the blast furnace heat off of you and cooler days very nice as well. The no-mans land for me is about 85-95 degrees. No cooling air when have a big shield and it isn’t that hot that I need to be protected from the blast furnace.

One consideration of the bigger screens it is might spoil the lines of the Bandit a bit. The DB looks pretty good on it but isn't very effective for me. Too darkly tinted to see through when tucked on the tank at night.

Now a little bike porn. This was taken outside the old Dahlonega Georgia courthouse. Dahlonega was the site of the first gold rush in the US, long before the California gold rush.

ZG touring is better at keeping wind off your torso, the v stream is better at the helmet area (depending on your inseam and height that is)...I like the idea of a ZG touring with a laminar lip attached.

Thanks for the feedback. I did think about that combo but looks like a real **** to clean between the 2 shields. I don't mind wind at my shoulders as much as I do any buffeting at my head. Also the noise from the wind turbulence drives me crazy even with ear plugs in.

I do have another concern with the long-term effect of the laminar lip on the top of another screen. If the main screen is of mediocre quality there would be a greater chance of cracking the main screen due to the extra weight and where it located.

Something I didn't see discussed anywhere looking through hundreds of posts is the effect of the aftermarket windscreens on fuel consumption. When I went to a large screen on my 650 Burgman, I lost about 5 mpg on the highway and about 6 mph on top speed. Obviously a well designed screen could actually improve mileage and performance. I don't see much talk about the windscreens at pretty high speeds either. I ride a lot between 80mph-100mph. I realize this might not be an option everywhere but I spend a lot of time in that mph range. My typical slowest average cruise is about 75 mph on any of the highways I ride.

I'm the same way, don't like the buffeting at the helmet area and don't mind it on the shoulders...Well with the v stream it seems like you get more wind around the waist area..I'm 5'8 with a 31 or 32 inch inseam so I don't sit too high on the seat and the v stream works really well around the helmet area for me, so much so it's now quieter without ear plugs...Folks with shorter legs sitting higher on the seat may not fair as well there..The downside is the wind likes to lift my shirt up...So depending on your stature either of the two screens might require some extra height to eliminate helmet buffeting...

Regarding fuel mileage the screen has had an effect on mine as well...Without the screen I got 48 or 49 mpg highway at 70-75 mph..If I went 60-65 I'd get in the low 50's...With the screen on it's mid 40's...Keep in mind I'm light and ride solo and no luggage.

Your bike looks nice BTW!

That is a pretty big hit on the mileage. I might have to carry extra fuel some of the places I ride. I would have been stuck in the desert one time on my Vee if I didn't have a small can with me. I rode one to one town in West Texas heading to ABQ. Next town was about 90 miles away and figured I'd fuel up just before the long gap. As luck would have it no gas station was open and it was a good 40 miles back to the previous town.

So I decided to press on as according to my calculations I should have about 10 miles to spare. Muphy's Law jumped up and smacked with an ugly stick. I new sooner got about 10 miles out of town when I got hit with the mother of all headwinds. I had an earlier taste of this as a crosswind the day before in Iowa. The Vee was leaning at a 30 degree angle just to go straight down the road.

Anyway with this headwind all the way across the bike started showing the signs of running out of gas long before I made it across. Out came my fuel bottle (2 liters) and I made it on in to the next town on pretty much fumes. I of course know it wasn't good for the fuel pump and all that jazz. Turns out my mileage for that tank was an all time low for my Vee and I was never near that level again. I averaged 32 mpg with a 65 mph average. Typically with my bags and big screen, fully loaded and running 75-85 mph I was at least 42 mpg. Good lesson learned there and almost the hard way.

I don't mind giving up a few mpg (2-3) but more than that I might stick with what I have.

As for the looks of the Bandit, it is definitely growing on me. I wasn't an emotional choice of a ride, but mostly an intellectual. Having said that I've become more emotional about it the more I've ridden it. Sort of like the girl next door who you never appreciated in junior high and then blossoms into someone pretty attractive by the end of high school.

The Bandit was not my cost-no-object choice of a ride but it ticked off a lot of boxes on my list of criteria. It happened to do it at a price I was willing to pay. I decided to pay it more attention when talking to people who gave up their Vees for a Bandit. I can't say I would do that but it it is a nice addition to the stable. With a few mods as planned it will give it a bit more character. Of course I am preaching to the choir here. Most of you already own a Bandit. It reminds me a lot of my first year GSXR1100. Swap out the exhaust and a few other tweaks and you were paid very nice dividends.

too much to read right now so forgive me if it's been addressed - put the stock seat in the high position by swapping the front rubbers under the seat to face the other way. You won't lean as much forward then. Then, throw that thing in the trash and get something else. I have a sergent so I'm biased on which is better.

I did that already but thanks. If I hadn't done that I probably would have never made it back. My butt is still recovering from the ride. I put almost a 1400 mile total on in 3 days. Not a lot of riding for me in the usual sense but on that *** seat in the stock position it was torture for the first 500 miles.

I also have a Sargent seat on the way. I hope it will be hear next week.

which cut did you get? Mine is the high standard tourer (I told the guy I was 6'2" just to make sure they put it high enough (they didn't) LOL

I went with the high standard tourer. I definitely didn't want the short one. I don't want to be any closer to the pegs than I already am. As it is now I am not too close to be comfortable.

It will be the first Sargent seat I've bought. I've been a long time Corbin fan. I have them on all my other street bikes but the one for the Bandit looked too low for me. Hopefully I will like it as much as I have the Corbins on my other bikes.

Gentlemen,
Let's keep the profanity out of our posts. This thread is giving the filter a run for its money. Please keep it clean.
Your understanding is appreciated.

The Management

I don't understand the issue? I haven't used any profanity unless you consider dam* seat profanity...

Exactly. Also, abbreviations of profane terms. When you see lots of **** replacing words in your posts it's because we're simply trying to keep this little piece of the internet civil.

No harm done.

It will be cleaner than a Catholic church here then.