Hi, Still haven't decided on a bike yet. Wondering if anyone with a 6th gen VFR has any experience on a Suzuki S 1250 Bandit. My riding entails cruising down a straight highway once a week, for about 60 miles each way. Really windy and boring. However, I will be taking a motorcycle tour through the mountains, so I was looking for something with good brakes and handling for tight mountain curves. Thanks, J
Ya..I had a 05 vfr, i have a 00 now, both did mostly long trips, check my links..anyway..looking to replace the 00 as I just want a new bike! nothing wrong with the vfr..and thats the problem.. I have done a fair bit of testing out on the bandit, also the fz1 and others in my quest. Bandit..its totally diff ergos of course,No doubt you realize they dont have much in common with the vfr? , but u know the diff I'm sure. The $$ had me wanting the bandit, and its a nice comfy standard bike for the price, but it certainly lacks the finesse of the vfr . The ones i drove felt much clunkier in the controls and tranny, not bad, just not buttery like the vfr and it is noticeable riding them back to back. I could certainly live with it, but it acts closer to my 81 900f than it does the vfr. Thats not a bad thing, just noticeably different. The vibes are very low,close to my vfr's, I hate buzzing bikes, and the bandit made me happy there! its smooth! Good was the fairing and shield, while not giving the protection lower like the vfr,(unless you get the TE version with lowers, which works close..of course not the same protection as you are sitting up more..but good enough) It does work great in the windflow area...same as my vfr's, nice clean no turbulent airflow from the neck up.(yes its wind, that which you need to hold u up and take weight off ur arms, but its nice clean airflow).and that is getting hard to find in todays bikes. Its a smaller fairing, so dont expect to be totally wind free..If you are a guy who buys a sport bike and tries to get out of the wind with mods, dont buy these, just get a st or fjr.. Handling is just fine,more than enough, maybe not as crisp as the vfr if you are playing racer, but like most every bike out there ,with a good rider will leave a average one behind on the vfr, so that wont be a issue in the mtns, like any bike..... Power is deceiving..u heard it all im sure..torque bla bla, . yes it has, but I found it alomost boring as there is no hit to give you that thrill....it just goes, and its all over pretty fast at a low rpm.BUT it does get you going and quick.yes it feels like a ton more power,and it has down low,but runs out of rpm real fast, but in the end it does go about same as my vfr in pickup, slower on top., (I know this after much "testing" so power is plenty! It is a very easy bike to drive. maintenance will be a snap, same with fiddlin such as if you need to change bars as they have good old fashioned 20$ handlebars! comfort..that is up to you, the more situp and reach to the bars is comfy, but this puts more pressure on the butt, and the seat sucks by most opinions, ( IT hurt me every time within minutes) Even with the adjustments, it slopes ahead..Personal thing tho u would need to try. seems to be about the same or better than my 6th gen on mpg. Protection in the wind, the vfr wins, comfort? for me the vfr, smoothness and finesse, the vfr. I still find my old vfr a all round nicer bike, but otherwise the bandit is a good one! I did really enjoy the bandit 1250, hard to beat for the money,but in the end its not coming to my garage. find some to try out!! good luck!
Nice review by Nitronorth! Each time I demo bikes at Bike Week or Biketoberfest, I come away with a better appreciation of how good my VFR really is. However, I was very happy with the Bandit 1250S. I really like the upright seating position. Unlike the VFR, the Bandit feels much lighter than it is. An an ABS Bandit with factory luggage and fairing lowers is priced much lower than my similarly- equiped VFR. If I didn't have the VFR, I would probably buy the Bandit. Nevertheless, like Nitronorth says, the Bandit doesn't have the refinement of the VFR. What does? I'm standing pat with mine.
