Ownership Verified: Rossco and The Bandit!

[Rossco]

Well, I figured it's about time I had a PYC thread for this bike. It's the official replacement for my old '83 Honda Shadow. a 2003 Suzuki Bandit GSF600s. It's not the most sophisticated bike I've ever owned, but it should pull me through until I get my nighthawk running.

And the proof pic:

Sorry for the crappy camera phone photos, I should have some more photos (and hopefully better ones) as soon as I can find a decent camera.

 

[Der Stig]

Nice Bandit! How many miles are on it?

 

[Rossco]

:lol: It had 9600 when I got it, it now has 11300.

 

[Aston Martin]

I was expecting a Burt too.

 

[Donington]

I too, was expecting a Trans Am, but the proof picture written in blood made up for it.

 

[Rossco]

I too, was expecting a Trans Am, but the proof picture written in blood made up for it.

......It was actually red magic marker.

 

[BlaRo]

Considering your past motorcycle ownership, that is way nicer than what I would have expected from you. :lol:

How much did you get it for?

 

[Crazyjeeper]

That looks like its in great shape. How does it ride compared to your past bike?

 

[Rossco]

What better way to break in the bike than with a roadtrip! Eat your heart out, Jed Clampett!

Considering your past motorcycle ownership, that is way nicer than what I would have expected from you. :lol:

How much did you get it for?

Yea, it's so nice to have a motorcycle that's not older than me :lol:.

That looks like its in great shape. How does it ride compared to your past bike?

It brakes and handles soo much better that the old Shadow. The engine doesn't have quite as much low end grunt as the Shadow's V-twin, but it more than makes up for it with the impressive, yet smooth, power delivery.

I'm also kinda liking the sporty riding position. The bike fits my 6'2" frame very well. With the Shadow, the cruiser position on such a small bike just felt awkward.

 

[Rossco]

I'm currently having to correct something done by the idiot previous owner. You see, somewhere along the line, he must have been doing some kind of service to the rear wheel and lost a spacer. Normally one would just end up ordering a new one and waiting a few days for the new one to come in. However, this idiot decided to find a slightly smaller spacer somewhere, and the overtighten the axle bolt. Which then messed up the swingarm.





This makes putting the back tire on, a nightmare, and adjusting the chain is impossible.

So I'll be installing a newer (read not tweaked) swingarm as well as new chain and sprockets and should finally get this bike running again.

 

[Crazyjeeper]

Wow, that has to be up there with some of the scariest stuff I've seen on a bike. About the only thing I've seen that was worse was the melted fusebox in my parts GL because it was loaded up with 30a fuses.

 

[Der Stig]

Wow indeed. The PO's brain must have been similarly overtightened.

 

[Rossco]

I forgot to mention this, but a few weeks ago, the chain de-railed. This was partly due to my ignorance of chain maintenance, the aforementioned bent swingarm, and the previous owners stupidity.

But is was mostly my fault.

When the chain de-railed it also took out the sprocket cover, and it snapped this.

That's the clutch pushrod.

Removing it when it's broken requires removing the clutch cover, pressure plate, and then driving out what's left of it with a screwdriver.

It's not fun.

And it's why it's important to service your chains kids.

 

[Rossco]

My Sw-Motech crash bars finally arrived today! They had been backordered since November.

Nicely made however and definitely worth the wait.

Was a bit rainy today, so I worked in the garage shared by my Dad's Saab, which is undergoing a turbo replacement atm

 

[Rossco]

So, a few months ago, I bought a Givi Monokey rack for my bike.

Not only did this open up a whole new door for hard luggage options, it also made a great mounting surface to strap things to.

Like tires :lol:

I have been wanting a bike with hard, lockable luggage since, not long after I started riding back in summer of '09. So after I got the rack, I started researching on what bags to buy, whilst putting aside some dough for a set.

Well, I finally got around to deciding on what bags to get. I went down to The Twisted Throttle factory store in Exeter, RI and pulled the trigger on a set of givi E21's.

I was going to buy a set of cases similar to the ones that Spectre has on his 919. But they were a bit too big for me, and I'm more a fan of top-loading luggage as opposed to clamshell types.

 

[Der Stig]

Looks good.

They seem to have a slim profile as well.

 

[Rossco]

My folks called the demons at HEL and got me a little birthday present.

Can't wait to install these. I'm also planning on obtaining some European switchgear, that way I can have 4-way flashers, headlight shutoff, and the little "pass" buttons.

 

[Rossco]

One thing I noticed is that after 200-250 miles on this bike, my knees start to hurt. So I ordered some MWF Vario adjustable footpegs. They should arrive in a few days and should hopefully end my legroom woes.

 

[Rossco]

Got the pegs installed today.

They went on without a hitch. I did have to adjust the shifter though.

Took the bike around the block.They feel different, and they definitely are an improvement over the stock pegs. I went with the "racing" style of pegs since they were the cheapest and appeared to be the lowest profile offering the most cornering clearance.

Haven't yet tested these in the long run. I think if I plan on doing an Iron Butt next year, I'll definitely need to get MFW's highway pegs that attach to my SW-Motech crashbars.

 

[Rossco]

Got my iPhone mount installed today. Now I can tweet and text at 70 mph :lol:

Just kidding, I actually need it for navigation.

One thing I have to worry about when using it at this time of the year (and yes, I am still riding) is the phone freezing up due to exposure to the elements.