The 1250 "Bandit" no longer being made? Any other suggestions?

[gbw]

I spent a day riding a buddies Ninja 250 around NoVA following him on his BMW R1200GS. I really liked it. It had the ergos of my 1250 Bandit but otherwise everything was just less. Less weight, less power, less fuel consumed. We road some scenic back roads, highways, and a bit of interstate. It was a lot of fun. I had no trouble keeping up with him, but I was winding it up pretty good between shifts to do so.

It handled pretty light and I bet would be big fun on a really twisty road. It's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow

 

[Jedz123]

Thats the way to go. I despise having to mess with shims and I absolutely will not buy another bike with shim under bucket design. My CBR was a nightmare that I didn't want to do, and the local shop quoted me $900 to adjust the valves on it. I sold it instead. LOL

My Shim over buckets bikes (FZ1, ZG1400) I did the valves once and it was just checks afterward... both my FZ1 and Concours14 were always in check after the first adjustment...

The Water-cooled Bonneville is SOHC 8V shim with roller rocker actuation ... 20K mile valve intervals. From what I read they almost never go out of clearance. Also the rocker arm comes off for shim replacement so that the bike never looses timing when having to replace shims... The new water cooled twin is a tank of a motor. Very well designed.

Another reason I went 2 cylinder... Half the work on valve maintenance.

 

[Jedz123]

Agreed on valve adjustment requirements. I like the Ninja 250 a bit more than the TUX mainly because of performance and range. 0-60 in under 6 seconds vs twice that, top speed of over 100, 250+ mile range allows some fun road trippin'.

Yup! Great bike! My TUX gets about 200-250 depending on how you ride it on the 3.25 gallon tank... Putting back roads the bike will run all day on gas. Pin it and the bike will hold 70mph all day as well. Each their own, I'm not a fan of fared bikes... However I have seen some AWESOME Ninja 250 builds:

I only need 1 250 in my life... My next little bike will likely be the new Honda Cub 125... I'm content with going the speed limit in my area, I live over an hour away from an interstate and the state limit is 50mph.

 

[RichDesmond]

One thing to keep in mind is that the shim under bucket type very rarely needs adjustment. In fact, many bikes never do, and good percentage of the rest need it only once.
Typically, checking the adjustment isn't any harder than with the shim over type, so you can keep an eye on it yourself.

Doing the actual adjustment yourself is time consuming, but not terribly difficult IMO.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

Yup! Great bike! My TUX gets about 200-250 depending on how you ride it on the 3.25 gallon tank... Putting back roads the bike will run all day on gas. Pin it and the bike will hold 70mph all day as well. Each their own, I'm not a fan of fared bikes... However I have seen some AWESOME Ninja 250 builds:

I only need 1 250 in my life... My next little bike will likely be the new Honda Cub 125... I'm content with going the speed limit in my area, I live over an hour away from an interstate and the state limit is 50mph.

Now, THAT is a sweet little Ninja!

 

[KEITH KRAUSE]

I appreciate the replies. Much more than I expected.
A lot of you like the smaller bikes but I can't imagine riding anything under a 750 to do several hundred miles on the interstate. My GS has no problem with that but I'd like to keep the miles down and keep her "semi-retired".
If I do buy a new bike, it'll have to be easy to work on. I'm tired of taking a bike half apart and then removing cams to adjust clearances. If I can't find such a bike, then I'll just have to stick with my GS.

 

[KEITH KRAUSE]

My Shim over buckets bikes (FZ1, ZG1400) I did the valves once and it was just checks afterward... both my FZ1 and Concours14 were always in check after the first adjustment...

The Water-cooled Bonneville is SOHC 8V shim with roller rocker actuation ... 20K mile valve intervals. From what I read they almost never go out of clearance. Also the rocker arm comes off for shim replacement so that the bike never looses timing when having to replace shims... The new water cooled twin is a tank of a motor. Very well designed.

Another reason I went 2 cylinder... Half the work on valve maintenance.

So do the cams need to be removed to adjust valve clearances? I've never thought of owning a Triumph. I assume the T-120 has ergo's similar to the GS? When it comes to smoothness at around 75 mph and overall power, how does it compare to a good running 40 year old GS1000? How are the electrics and lighting on the new retro-Triumph's (which I assume the T-120 is)? I was brought up to think of Triumph's as vibrating, leaky, underpowered bikes with poor electrics and poorer lighting.
Thanks for any help.

 

[Jedz123]

So do the cams need to be removed to adjust valve clearances? I've never thought of owning a Triumph. I assume the T-120 has ergo's similar to the GS? When it comes to smoothness at around 75 mph and overall power, how does it compare to a good running 40 year old GS1000? How are the electrics and lighting on the new retro-Triumph's (which I assume the T-120 is)? I was brought up to think of Triumph's as vibrating, leaky, underpowered bikes with poor electrics and poorer lighting.
Thanks for any help.

Do Note the Bonneville Received a complete overhaul in 2016 receiving a brand new water-cooled 270' I-2 and my statements refer to the 1200cc variant of that model.

So the Rocker arms need to be unbolted for shim replacement only... The SOHC 8-Valve valve train is designed with high mile valve adjustments. From what I've read these bikes are set it and forget it after the first 20K mile valve adjustment with some bike pushing the 60-70K Mark and no valve adjustment needed since.

As for riding the bike I can most relate it to in power and comfort is a GS1000E but lighter. The Engine is robust stock with 80hp/80 ft/lbs of torque where it delivers a smooth power band to it's 7K RPM redline(I often shift at 6.5K). It smooth. Like stupid smooth.. I rode my Bandit 1200 and it buzzes way more than my T120. Electrics are all Denso, even the flywheel is a Japanese Denso unit... The parts are quality. I have optional cruise control and even with my Thruxton R re-gear (sprockets) the bike purrs at 65-70mph all day. With stock gearing 6th is a definite OD but with my current Thrux-R gearing even at 80nph the motor is churning at 3800RPM. 60MPH cruising the bike will yield mid 50'MPG

The fuel injection is Kehin with ride by wire. Two fuel maps for rain and road. Also traction and wheelie control with full ABS comes standard on any water cooled Bonneville... Cruise Control is an option on which I highly recommend.

USB power source is also located under the seat with heated grips standard on all Bonnevilles...

I have a 3 year unlimited mile warranty on mine. I did have an issue with my radiator in which Triumph happily agreed to fix.

One of the best bikes I've ridden... Reminds me of my Gen 1 FZ1 in allot of ways (except not as fast past 120mph). True modern standard Motorcycle...

More than happy to answer any more Qs

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I truly enjoyed my '03 FZ1. Most fault-free, reliable and near perfect bike I've ever owned.

 

[wymple]

I have a 37 year old GS with far North of 60K showing, and I'm not even close to worrying about taking it anywhere, any distance. There are low miles, well cared for examples available for 20-25% the cost of a newer bike. It's just a case of which way do you want to go.

 

[Jedz123]

Just a baby at 60K. My 19 year old FZ1 has 232K and I'd take it to Australia tomorrow..... if there was a road.

By the way that's one valve check in all those miles, and it was in spec.

One of the best bikes ever made... Period.

My T120 rides very similarly except it's more comfortable 2 up and solo, cruise control is the bee's knees... If I was on a stricter budget I'd be on one however I do budget for a new bike... The T120 will yeild +100K miles over the next several years... As long as it doesn't pull any break down stunts like my Harley did last year. As stated folks are already closing in on the 100K mile mark on some 2016's the new liquid cooled Triumph lump is proving to be a stone of a motor. This bike will be remembered as one of the bests as well...

You did swap the motor correct? I did too at 70K... It burned oil bad but ran like a freight train... I should have kept running it but at 1000 miles per gallon (of oil) it was getting a bit ridiculous and you could tell where I went for there was a smoke tail if I was under hard acceleration. When i had both bikes together (for a short time) we use to call them Smokey and the Bandit. HAHA

 

[Guest]

Yup! Great bike! My TUX gets about 200-250 depending on how you ride it on the 3.25 gallon tank... Putting back roads the bike will run all day on gas. Pin it and the bike will hold 70mph all day as well. Each their own, I'm not a fan of fared bikes... However I have seen some AWESOME Ninja 250 builds:

I only need 1 250 in my life... My next little bike will likely be the new Honda Cub 125... I'm content with going the speed limit in my area, I live over an hour away from an interstate and the state limit is 50mph.

+1 on that sweet looking Ninja cafe.


Was curious about the before pic. Thats actually a kit build based on a 1988 ? 2007 Ninja EX250R.
Kit is very reasonably priced & they have other kits available.
https://bluecollarbobbers.com/kawasaki-ninja-250-gpx-250r-cafe/

 

[GS1150Pilot]

Yep, BCB is a neat little company.

 

[Guest]

There is a new zero miles 1250 Bandit on the show room floor here where I live. Las Cruces Motorsports.

 

[Spyder]

My son had an '08 Ninja 250 R as his first bike. VERY nice riding little bike. Very slow little bike... Granted, the carbs could have used to be properly tuned up, but still lacking where it counts for me... He sold it, and bought a '95 Ninja 600 C. Also needs a little carb help, but a very comfy bike.

I have a '95 GSXR 750 W, with 15k on it. I recently checked the valves (shims under bucket) all were still in spec, no issues there. Much better design in my opinion. Keep us posted on what you end up with Keith.

 

[Nessism]

How come this thread has drifted towards small bikes? I thought Keith wanted something bigger?

While removing cams to change shims does add to the maintenance time, as others have stated modern bikes require only occasional valve adjustments so the burden isn't onerous. The FZ-09 for example calls for 24k mileage intervals for checking the valves. My KZ750 uses shims under bucket and changing the shims is quite simple. A dab from a paint stick on the cam chain link directly over the arrows on the cam sprockets makes simple work of the alignment.

Personally, if purchasing my "last bike" I'd get something lightweight. The Yamaha 900 bikes have a few different models, including some with fairings, that are plenty powerful and reasonably light. I'd lean towards something like that for a bike to take me up to my 70's.

 

[TxGSrider]

If I was going to get my "final bike" it'd probably be a ZX-14 . Its fast, reliable, a reasonable seating position that is comfortable for long rides. And because its fast, and how I ride, it would almost certainly be the reason it was my "final bike".... lol.

 

[RichDesmond]

...Personally, if purchasing my "last bike" I'd get something lightweight. The Yamaha 900 bikes have a few different models, including some with fairings, that are plenty powerful and reasonably light. I'd lean towards something like that for a bike to take me up to my 70's.

+1. A lighter, easier to handle bike would keep me riding longer. The Yamaha 900's are good choices, and a newer (2014+) V-Strom 1000 is a very capable all-around bike that only weighs a little over 500lbs.

 

[Dogma]

I think this must depend on the rider. Earl isn't a big guy, and older than dirt (though not as old as Don, who was fine on a GK or 1100E up until a couple years ago), but he doesn't seem to have any trouble with his B12. If your health starts failing so you can't balance a bike, you'll have to make some life changes anyway. Ride what your want while you can.

 

[wymple]

My son has a newer V7 Moto Guzzi. It's big enough, wonderful torque band, handles and feels very light when muscling it around. Weight is low in the chassis, I'd say. I could finish my days on one of those or the newer V9 quite easily.