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One of my friends is an apprentice at a local bike shop. Last week he said he was tuning someone's Bandit 400 and the guy intended to sell it. I got in touch with the seller and he sent me some pics. I gotta say it looks like it's in great shape. It's been garage kept since the owner bought it and he hasn't ridden it much. He just had everything checked out, carbs fixes, and supposedly it rides great (and I trust him because he got it fixed at my bud's shop). He thinks he'll want $1600 for it. I checked on Kelly's Blue Book and they had it listed at $1640, but they factor in dealer comission and advertising, so maybe I'll try and talk him down a little bit.

Of course, it also only has 2841 miles on it.

What do you think? Good starter bike?

kabob983 wrote:What do you think? Good starter bike?

Yes. Nice looking bike.

His looks even nicer than the one in the picture. It literally looks brand new (you'd never think it was 15 years old).

Price-wise, what should I aim for??

if you can talk him down some, all the more power to you. $1,600 isn't too bad i guess. Start off at $1,450 though. Look it over, put a "hmmmm" look on your face, inspect it and say "would you take 1450?" and at worst, he'll say no. It's all about the haggling.

I'm worried. I think there's a psychic bond between us or something, as I was thinking "hrm...maybe he'll go for $1450" a few minutes ago.

Maybe we're twins separated at birth or something. You're name wouldn't happen to be...Geoff, would it?

It's a fantastic little bike. I have one parked in the garage, a 91 model. Picked it up for 1,600, in awesome shape. They are small and very light, and the 50+ horses it puts down at the rear wheel make if very, very quick. It'll blow past 100, too (don't ask how I know). A great corner carver, just a lot of fun to ride. Very high revving motor with a 6 speed tranny, and water cooled.

If you can get it for 1,500 I'd say you should feel really good about it if it's in as good shape as you say. Dont' feel bad about paying 1,600, either. Those bikes are hard to come by, but a good one is worth it.

Check out http://www.banditalley.com/

God, from all this bike searching, I feel like the most experienced person in the world. That's supposed to be a really good bike (my uncle rode one for years). I'd try talking it down, starting at $1400, and you're probably end up around $1500 or $1550.

The Bandit 400 is probably my all time favorite "under 500cc" bike. It has outstanding performance in a class where performance isn't much of a consideration. Brakes and suspension are excellent, but the engine is very peaky. It makes most of its power at the high end of the range (13K or 14K redline if I remember right). At the lower end of the rpm range it's fairly docile and should be fine for someone just starting out.

They only sold them in the U.S. for a couple of years, so it's tough to find one in good shape. If this one is as good as the mech says, snap it up! You won't regret it.

Edit: Unless you're way over six feet tall. It's not a long legged riders bike.

flynrider wrote: Edit: Unless you're way over six feet tall. It's not a long legged riders bike.

Aww....I'm 6'6"....guess that means no sexy looking bandit 400 for me....guess I'll just have to resort to the 1200 when I get all good and learned up on my little GS

Do they still make it? I like the looks of this bike, definately want it on my 'next bike' list.