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/128636
Suzuki Bandit 12005 comb in ed with e xc e lle nt feel. Th e suspens ion is stiff , yet comp liant , offe ring the rider ample fee dba ck and confide nce . He re is an example of a n o lder motor that still impresses. It m a y not have the m ost gr unt in this grou p, but it stil l pu mps o ut enough p owe r to ke ep everyo ne sat isfied . Du c a t i apparen t ly isn't sa tisfied though , hence the Monster 54 , wh ich p romis es to quench the horsepower junkie 's thirst for more. The fuel -inj ection is more hit than miss. It wo rks perfectly on the o pen road and in th e ca nyo ns, but it does have a te ndency to cough and sputter at stoplights from time to time. Same thi ng with the transmission , it is one of the best on the move , but it still gets fru strating tryi ng to find neutral when stopped. 2001 SUZUKI BANDIT 12005 Th e Bandit, as you can see, has a fa iring , s o it can't be c a lle d n a ke d . But it's not a full fair ing eithe r, it just forgot to wear its pants . Suzuk i is bring ing in th e c o m p lete ly unfai red vers ion in e arly 2001 , wh ic h is wh y we inc luded the Band it in this test. The nak ed ver sion will be mechan ically id e ntic a l to th e c urre nt. 1200 , except for the s p ri n g rate s in th e forks . Th e Band it r e c e iv e d a ma jo r update for 200 I, but it wa s lim ite d to the c ha s sis and sty ling mo re th an the mot or. The mot or is th e same bored out ai r/oil -cooled motor from the old GS X-R1 100. In its current configura- tion , it displace s 1157c c , ha s DOHC's and fou r va lves per cylinder. Carburetion is handled by a bank of 36mm Mikun is, but the y are now fitted wit h a th ro ttle-po sitio n se nsor , whic h feeds information to th e d ig ita l ignition m o d u le to o pti m ize fuel/ air mixture . The we t mul ti-p late c lutch has bee n upgraded for 2 0 0 1 wi th heavier springs, to keep the plates from frying . The chass is is all-new fo r 200 I , with a new double -cr adle frame design , new rake a nd trail figu res, and a shorter wheelbase - all in an effort to im p ro v e hand ling . The forks are 43mm right-side -up un its , which are adjustable for preload . The s ix-p iston c a lip e rs replace the o ld fo ur -piston ca lipers for 200 I, a nd clamp down on 310mm discs - out ba c k is a 240mm disc with a two- pi ston caliper. The single rear shock h a s provis ion s for preloa d and rebound adjus tment. Rub ber consists of a 120j70ZR17 fron t and a n 180/55ZR 17 rear. Th e seating position is up rig ht and com forta b le, with up right, wide bars a nd a cus hy sea t , and good wind pro te cti on from the fa iring . Th e Bandi t doesn 't ha ve the c h aracte r of th e oth er bikes in this test, b ut it wal ks quietly and carries a really big s tic k . We a ll agree that th e s ty ling is a huge improvement over t he la s t ge ne ra t io n o f th e Band it. Th e new upp e r fai rin g appea rs to be in tegra te d in to the new Band it . whereas the fairi ng o n th e o ld Bandit looked like it was thro wn on as a n a fte r-thought. The Ba ndit ha s a re p ut ati on as a parts -bi n b ike , but we in the tooth whe n it comes to "S u p e rb ike technology ", b ut it sti ll make s a p e rfe c t streetbike mo tor. The 1 157cc powerplant provides ple nty of horsepower and a ton o f torque , but the nic e th ing is that the motor is o nly a pipe a nd jet-kit away don 't see th at a s a bad thin g at all , because that's how S uzu ki keeps the pr ice so low . Wha t ca n we say about the motor that ha sn' t alr e a dy been said somewhere? It's a 15 -yea r-old des ign that still wo rks very well. It may be lo ng c ue I e n e _ S • OCTOBER 25 , 2000 39