Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128624
1IIIIInB=t~ 20 0 1 Suzuki Bandit 1 200/ S EJ:11 ~ THE BANO IT'S LOOT uDD@[1D flfJD@!X3CiJDD@DrJ Not onl y have we been s pe nd ing time lately on the 1200 Bandit, but we've also been putting in seat time on its little brothe r, the Band it 600 (a 2000 model ) . Th e 600 also rece ntly wa s the recipient of a makeover. and th e results are pretty m uch the same - a much-improved motorcycle. The Bandit 600 ha s been a great se ller for Suzuk i, but m ost o f t h ose sales h a ve bee n made in Europ e , where the bike was at one time that co n tin e nt ' s b e st-se llin g motorcycl e . In . America (wh e re motor cycl e buye rs tend to be more attra cted to the extremes ), if it doesn ' t have ra m air , carbon fiber, electronic fuel -injection. and lots of p la st ic and cool shapes, well , it doesn't get tha t much attention from those who are willing to pa rt with some big cash. Of co urse if you want all that. big cash is exactly what it's going to tak e, and there a re some who simply aren't willing or able to spe nd th at much. Now what? Well, that's where the Bandit 600 comes in. For under $6000, the Bandit is an exce llent ba rgain and a great alternativ e to the full-on racer-replica sport bikes tha t ca rry high price tags and high ins urance premiums . But what' s really coo l abo ut the new Bandit 600S is that it doesn 't give away much in the way of perform a nce. And, with its many updates a nd more modern and sporty styling, it's not giving away all that much in the looks department, either. The all-new Bandit 600 actually made its deb ut before the revamped 1200 Ba ndit. so we' ve had a cha nce to rea lly get to know the bike - enough to have accumulated a few thousand miles on our tes t bike. We've enjoyed every on e of those miles on the little Band it. Don't think for a mom ent that you ca n't have as much fun a boar d the Bandit on ba ck-canyon roa ds as you can on , say, a GSX·R600. The Bandit is a nimble ha ndler , it feels light and it loves to be thro wn ha rd into the co me rs - okay , maybe it's not as quick or as stable as the GSX-R, but it rea lly is just as fun (in its own Bandit kind of way) . It takes little persuading to get the Bandit to do what you want it to do, tha nks in large pa rt to its sm allish overall size and just plain goo d frame geometry and ove rall s uspens ion. This bike is not intimidating in any way, sha pe, or form. If there 's one area where the Bandit 600 might be a little weak , it's in the motor department . main ly down low. Power off the bottom is a little sluggish and lazy, a nd it seems to take a long time to spoo l up when you need a burs t of power to mak e a pass on that bus that's ahe ad of you . You quickly learn to mak e a co uple of quick downsh ifts before you open the throttle and mak e your move. (You certa inly don't hav e to do this with the Bandit 1200.) Once the motor starts to scream, however - say above 60 00 rpm - the little Bandit come s to life a nd scoots along adequately. No, it's not a GSX·R, but there's enough power on tap to have fun. The Band it does everyth ing else just fine. The brakes are strong and pre .dlcta ble, it shifts with hard ly any effort, and the clutch has good feel. Not on ly is the Bandit a fun weekend bike , but it mak es a perfect co mmut er , as well. It ha s a v er y relax ed seating pos ition a nd is easy on the back; the seat itself is good for about two hour sti nts; its feathe rweight ha ndling makes it easy for man euv ering in tra ffic; it goes ma ny miles on a ta nk of gas, and hard ly any vibration can be felt through th e handlebar . Just get yourself a tankbag and go . every day . As you can tell , we love the Bandit 600 . It is better than the previous Band it 600 in ev ery way, and although a litt le m ore b o t t om -end power wou ld be nic e, how ca n yo u co mplai n whe n you look at wha t e lse th is b ik e h a s to offe r fo r j us t $5 799 ? You'll be the one making off like a band it. Kit Palmer 28 A UGUST 2 , 2000 ' c ue • e nevvs Th is m odel ha s been la ug hi n g ly referred to in t he past as the "p a rts b in b andit, " o n a ccount of the fact th a t it often gets c o m p o n e nts found years earlie r o n pricier b ike s , bu t th is year th e 12 0 0 got some g e nu ine loot. For a d etai led lo ok at what ch anges were made , see the "2 0 0 1 Updates" si d e b a r e lsew he re in thi s s t o ry , but fo r now, s uffice it to say th a t Suzuki c o n centrated o n in cre as ing perfo r m an c e as muc h as p o s s ib le while only ra is ing t he pric e $ 150. The first thing you notic e about the n ew Band it ve rs io n is that it loo ks better - mo re a gg re s s ive and more c o h e s ive. Th e ori g in a l Band it was a naked b ike with a fai rin g added on , but thi s one w a s p lan ned from the s ta rt. Ye s , it's s t ill got that fam iliarlooking a ir-c o oled motor, but the re st o f th e bik e looks noti c eabl y more s exy . About th e o n ly n egati ve c o m ment we got (if you c a n call it that) w a s f rom folks who t ho ught o ne h ead li gh t was o u t wh en th e d ual bulbs were s e t on low be a m . Wh ile tha t moto r m a y s t ill loo k p re tt y mu ch th e sa m e, it h a s a ls o im p ro v e d not ic eab ly in t he p erfo r ma nce d epartment. T houg h Suzuk i didn 't throw th e wh o le te chnolo gi ca l book at the Bandit, it d id m a ke se veral effic ie n t , " b a n g - fo r- t h e - b u c k" upd ate s , a nd t he result is a p p a re nt with a s ing le flick of the throttle . This bike is torq u ey , an d a c ce le rates quick ly to an im p re s si ve to p speed . Pa ssing is a b re e ze , a nd th e b ike can f!l@@f) fJ/)[jJ@)CiJrJ@0 • Mikuni BSR36 Carbur etors • Oil cooler is 75mm wider (total width: 355mm) • Strong er clutch spring • Larger clutch-relea se cylinder diamet er (from 35 .7mm to 38 .1mm) • PAIR (Suzuki Pulsed Secondary Air Injection Syst em ) • Cam 's exhaust timing altered for less overlap with intake • 5mm shorter wheelbase • 45mm lower seat height • 3mm less trail • 2" steeper head angle • Tokico six-piston front-brake calipers (were four-piston ) • New fork-tube guard • Movab le gas/oil separator in . rea r shock damper • Stiffer fork s prings (15.3 £, 22.8) • Reshaped windscreen • Resha ped seat w/ improved padding • Larger fuel tank • Bigger rear grab ba r behin d seat • Bungee hooks are mo unted higher [, extern ally • Cap acity of storage compa rtment increase d • Leverage point of ce nte r sta nd cha nged • Project or-beam -style headlamp replaces halogen style • Gaug es are now electric instead of cable-actuated • LCD fuel ga uge • Price raised $150