Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I have pretty much made up my mind on purchasing a new Bandit this spring and am looking for any news or rumors on it.

Am also interested in hearing about the BMW R1200ST, and from our European friends who have had the air cooled Suzuki 1400 and water cooled Honda 1300 available to them for a while.

The 1250 frame/suspension/parts appear to share much with the 1400 and may ride similar to the Honda 1300.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

The new 1250 will either make or break the mighty Bandit.
I personally believe that the engine is what made it so popular for so long and to put a completely new donk in and still call it a Bandit is not a good move.

The Bandit's never had the best suspension set-up due to keeping the MSRP down but with a few mods they can handle very well.
It also runs a monoshock on the rear as opposed to the GSX and CB which have a dual shock set-up. This is a good thing as performance-wise a mono is a thousand times better (but some just prefer the retro look).

Mintbread wrote:The new 1250 will either make or break the mighty Bandit.
I personally believe that the engine is what made it so popular for so long and to put a completely new donk in and still call it a Bandit is not a good move.

The Bandit's never had the best suspension set-up due to keeping the MSRP down but with a few mods they can handle very well.
It also runs a monoshock on the rear as opposed to the GSX and CB which have a dual shock set-up. This is a good thing as performance-wise a mono is a thousand times better (but some just prefer the retro look).

Thanks for your input MB.

I figured I would spend some money on a fork internals upgrade of some type. A top box behind the seat and heated grips (aftermarket?) would finish the job.

The only other bike I am considering is a newer model used BMW R1200ST. But the price would need to be lower than I believe I can get it for.

kali wrote:The only other bike I am considering is a newer model used BMW R1200ST. But the price would need to be lower than I believe I can get it for.

First model year for the R1200ST was 2005, you don't have much range of choice for used there. Right now there's one on IBMWR and three on Cycletrader, prices from $10.9K to $12.9K. None are in New England, though. If you like that kind of bike, you might want to look at older R1150RS and R1100RS bikes, you'll have more to choose from.

I'm planning on getting a Bandit 1250S ABS as soon as they hit the showrooms.

I think the new Bandit will be a success, with price being one big reason why. The closest standard with ABS in price to the new Bandit is the Tiger 1050, with an MSRP of about $11,500. The Bandit will have an MSRP of $8,800.

I think the new Bandit will be a great bike overall at a great price.