Running in the Bandit proved troublesome. Some youth had lost his job and had to hand the machine back to the dealers with only 275 miles on the clock. All the controls felt tight and there was no power to speak of under 6000rpm, which was as far as I was willing to venture with so few miles under its wheels. With a dry weight of just 365lbs, surely a record for an across the frame 400cc four, the machine’s saving grace was that it was dead easy to throw around, feeling more like a 250 than anything else.
Overall appearance was good, too. With an unusual engine finish, bright red frame and cycle parts, and some neat bits of polished alloy, the Bandit looked like the quality option. Having paid £2900 to the dealer it jolly well ought to be, although he reckoned I had the bargain of the month, a new ‘un fetching £3500 retail. Maybe!
After another 400 miles I started opening her up a little. The water-cooled motor began to respond strongly at 8000rpm, leaping into the red with an indecent haste. Flicking through the six speed box, light and precise as could be, was hurried to keep up with the manic flight of the rev counter, the engine threatening to bury itself past the 14000rpm mark!
It was whilst using such revs that handling problems began to emerge. The suspension felt more like the seventies rubbish the Japanese used to shove on to bikes any which way than the high tech stuff employed by machines of the nineties. It was ridiculously easy to lose the front end when over-enthusiastic in corners, only its minimal weight saving the day. I played with the preload on the rear shock and the tyre pressures (there being no other adjustments allowed) to little effect, ending up with the original, recommended settings.
Admittedly, in the coming months the suspension was to become no worse, unlike many other new bikes whose tautness rapidly disappears. Town riding was good with so little mass and loads of steering lock, although the machine had to be screamed in the lower gears to make any progress. Despite the water-cooling, the clutch could be truculent after an excess of town abuse (revved to about 12000, the clutch dropped suddenly, producing a very wild wheelie) when the engine started to overheat.
The single twin piston front disc provided ample braking power when the usual mentally retarded cager decided to get in the way. It was backed up by a surprisingly sensitive rear disc, neither showing any signs of the dreaded wet weather lag, brake fade or, in the six thousand miles I have done so far, seizure. Engine braking was minimal, so it was just as well that the brakes were so excellent even at higher speeds.
The only problem was that the front disc would twist the forks on occasions and on others cause the front wheel to leap up to the vertical when the machine was banked over. These 41mm forks also had a habit of seizing up momentarily under extreme abuse. Backing off the throttle was a much safer, if slower, way of losing speed in corners than employing the brakes. The tubular frame, by way of contrast, always felt taut and there was none of that hinged in the middle feeling of many an older four.
The frame paint finish is of an high order and showed no signs of flaking off even at the cleanly welded joins. Neatly integrated with the rest of the styling, with echoes of their smaller Katanas, it makes you wonder why they bother with alloy beam frames.
The riding position is a mixed bag. The seat height is low but the perch narrow and, after 50 miles, very hard. With a 3.5 gallon tank, was not the fuel consumption poor, range would have been reasonable, although 135 miles coincides nicely enough with a very sore body.
Fuel worked out at 40-50mpg, although the latter would only be achieved at running in speeds, 40-45mpg being much more typical, mostly down to the need to rev the balls off the engine. Oil consumption between 2000 mile changes was zero. Maintenance, by the way, has not been necessary, both valves and carbs needing no adjustment, the rest automatic.
Placing a pillion on the back is not a very good idea. Performance becomes minimal and the front end very light. It's not much use having a good front brake if the wheel isn't in contact with the tarmac. Mind you, the wife weighs about 17 stone, so that may have something to do with it! She complained vigorously about having her legs cramped up so violently and refused to entertain doing more than a couple of miles at a time... which was OK by me!
Top speed also disappeared under such abuse. Solo, it was an indicated 125mph, although it was just as fast in fifth as sixth, which is 13000rpm in top! Usefully, the bike smooths out once into its power band, although it is never so rough as to be a cause for concern. The legal limit is just under 7000rpm in sixth which means it’s out of the power band and needs to be whacked down to fourth which puts the engine on the 10000rpm line, spot on for maximum power, about 55hp at 10500rpm.
Cruising at 90mph in sixth equates to just over 9000 revs, which means the bike has some power in hand for acceleration and the whole thing is smooth, feeling on cam. However, hanging on to the relatively high and wide bars limits the appeal of sustained speeding... it is possible to get down on the tank, with the mirrors at ear level, but backache soon sets in. 80mph was much more sensible, with the engine just starting to get into its power curve.
The faster you go the less stable does the bike become, in direct contrast to the engine's power characteristics. Stability never degenerates to the soiled underwear stage, as much of the loose feel coming from the 17 inch Dunlop tyres as the soft suspension. These Japanese tyres are just about worn out and, of late, have become even more frightening, especially over white lines and the like. I am hoping that a decent set of English tyres will eradicate a lot of the ill ease at speed which currently exists. Pad and chain wear appears very moderate, as it ought to be on such a light, low powered machine.
Having complained thus, I will go on to say that I have enjoyed many a high speed blast in which the speedo has been kept the right side of the ton for most of the time. Despite all its machinations, the chassis never becomes really dangerous; I feel that if you ignore the complaints they won’t bite back and threaten to throw you off. In really dangerous situations, when the brakes are hard on, the machine has to hauled over in an overdose of adrenalin, the bike has always come through with the goods - light weight and stiff frame are the basics that Suzuki have got right.
Minor things like switches and lights all work well. The main beam cuts a swathe through dark country roads and I've never made a mistake with the switches yet. The rear bulb blows every 3000 miles, for some reason, which caused a riot of horns from car drivers who sped up the back, suddenly finding a motorcycle in their path. And one of the idiot lights blew which I have yet to get around to replacing.
Despite riding the machine through the last winter, the finish is still excellent. Not even the exhaust has shown any signs of breaking out into rust. The machine is washed off once a week with Gunk and an ordinary hose, I'm not so perverse as to spend more time cleaning than riding, but am happy with the quality of the finish so far. I have just changed the handlebars for something narrower and flatter but have not yet had a chance to test them at speed... they do make the Bandit even easier to hurl through narrow traffic openings.
Overall, then, although the motor is a bit perverse in its lack of low end power I have come to enjoy screaming around in the power band. The chassis, well the suspension needs stiffening up and the tyres changing but that’s by no means difficult. I'd rather spend out on a set of tyres, new shock and fork springs than try to trade in what is basically a sound, exciting and stimulating little motorcycle. It gets my vote, anyway.
F Grove