What defines a sport bike? Is it its power and performance? Handling? Braking? Boy/girl racer image? The “Omigod, I can’t believe how fast this thing is...I think I just soiled myself” factor? The painfully uncomfortable yet visceral riding position? Wind-cheating aerodynamics? Or is it all just a marketing ploy by the manufacturers?
Whatever it is, the Suzuki Bandit 1250 has most of the ingredients. No, it doesn’t have a fairing or body work, nor is it especially uncomfortable. But it goes like a sport bike, has state-of-the-art braking, and corners like....well, like a bandit.
It’s also on the receiving end of a model overhaul for 2007. With the same transverse four cylinder configuration and four valves per cylinder, the engine is up some 50 cc in displacement and is now liquid cooled, with fuel injection. The previous version featured air cooling and a bank of Mikuni carburetors. As usual, Suzuki is mum about power output, but it’s likely somewhere in the 95 to 100 hp neighbourhood, as was its predecessor. Transmission is now a six-speed and final drive is chain. This drivetrain combination is just as agreeable as the last go-round, if not moreso, and you’ll look long and hard to find a more precise shift mechanism.
Brakes are a pair of four-piston discs up front and a single disc in back, and you can also order ABS with this model, for $500. I suppose the extra money is worth it; it’s not much to pay for the additional security of binders that won’t seize up in the wet. I still have mixed feelings about ABS, but it’s nice to have it available.
But what mainly sets this version of the Bandit apart from the last one is the elimination of the buzz quotient. I’ve ridden the Bandit on several different occasions over the years, and although it’s always been one of my favourite all-round street bikes, it could get kind of frantic and buzzy on the highway. A full day of riding would inevitably result in frozen fingers and loss of all feeling in your backside. The five-speed transmission that came with the previous version could probably be blamed in part for this situation. But with this year’s model, you can cruise along at 100 km/h in top gear and the engine is ticking over at a placid 3500 rpm. With its 19-litre fuel tank, the new Bandit could almost double as an all-day rider.
The “numb bum” syndrome is still there - though not as severe as before - but the vibrating handlebar issue seems to have been resolved. I had this bike for a couple of weeks and overall found it to be much more civilized and better-behaved than the last iteration. Power and throttle response feels about the same to me, but during cold starts in the morning, there is no choke to fuss with, and no warm-up time. Basically, start the bike and leave. And I’m happy to see that Suzuki has kept the ultra-cool four-into-one exhaust on this edition of the Bandit.
Also intact is the bike’s essential sporting nature. The Bandit is eminently tossable and you can take it deep into the corners with confidence. “Pure” sport bikes, like - oh - Suzuki’s Gixxer, Kawasaki’s Ninja line-up and so on may be faster, but for 99.9 per cent of us, the Bandit provides more than enough riding thrills. It has the pucker factor in abundance and, at the risk of repeating myself, if a machine like this isn’t fast enough for you, perhaps you should think about embarking upon a career as a professional racer. Or giving up on motorcycles altogether. Think about it: with 100 snappy horsepower on a bike that weighs in at 225 kilograms, the power-to-weight ratio is comparable to a formula race car. My test bike had virtually nothing in the way of “chicken strips” on the back tire, so you know this is a bike that likes to be ridden hard.
It’s interesting to note that Suzuki offers an optional rear wheel stand $98 that levers the back wheel up into the air in two seconds....just like the ones professional pit crews use when they’re changing tires in superbike racing events.
Elsewhere, seat height is a reasonable 810 mm, and, with the built-in adjuster, can be lowered to 790 mm. Riding position is more or less upright, British style, and, on the scale of things, this is a fairly comfy motorcycle. A small windscreen keeps some of the wind away, but not much. The Bandit ain’t no cruiser, but I know some riders who find cruisers to be excruciatingly uncomfortable, so there you go. It also comes with centre and side kickstands, which is handy.
Suzuki is offering the new Bandit in two colour choices: black and dark grey, and it starts at $10,799 for the non-ABS model.
|
