The dawn of the nineties saw the rise of
the big retro-style bikes. Their design
harked right back to the fifties. This
tendency was led by the Honda CB 1000, the
Kawasaki Zephyr and Yamahas XJ 1100.
Then in the middle of the decade a bike named
Bandit hit the streets.
Suzuki’s GSF 1200 Bandit spawned a
million stunters, and under-inflated rear tyres
became the fashion all over the world. This
was thanks to Bandit’s 100bhp and enough
torque to lift the front wheel in almost any
gear. The Suzuki soon became the ubiquitous
big bike: it appealed to everyone from rappers
to reminiscers. After a reign of ten years at the
top, the 1.2 litre GSF was replaced with a
1250cc Bandit.
I have been looking forward to test riding
the new bike and to seeing how it measures up
to its predecessor. In France we have the
choice of four colours: black, grey, very dark
blue and Bordeaux red. The two available trim
levels are N (naked) and S which is half faired.
It is very well equipped as standard, with side
stand, centre stand, under saddle storage and
adjustable saddle height. In addition to the
obligatory safety device whereby if you put
the vehicle in gear with the side stand
deployed the engine cuts out, Suzuki likes to
fit the additional security mechanism which
prevents the starter motor from operating
unless the clutch is pulled in.
The GSF 1200 Bandit ‘s exhaust system on display
My mount for the day was naked with
Bordeaux livery. The saddle was very
comfortable and the height perfect for me.
Straight away, even before starting the
machine, I noticed that it was not too heavy,
about 230kg. Turn the ignition on and you
hear the fuel pump pressurising the system
while the digital dash runs through its selfcheck
cycle. Everything except the rev counter
is in the digital dash: speedo, fuel gauge,
clock, odometer, double trip and temperature
warning. Check that the neutral engaged light
is on, pull in the hydraulically-operated clutch
and press the starter. The motor hums into life
and is silky smooth, just as a 4-cylinder,
double overhead cam, 16-valve engine with
electronic fuel injection should be.
Once on the road and heading towards the
bluff of Lectoure I start to get the feel of the
Suzuki. The riding position is perfect for me,
plenty of room and leaning slightly forward
onto the handlebars. I experimented with
gears and brakes – the latter are fabulous, even
without ABS (option €600). The bike has six
gears and a slightly notchy gear change, but
then so have a lot of bikes. The GSF, being
light and endowed with an immense amount
of torque, will pull away from stationary
happily in first or second or third, or even
fourth gear. In sixth you can go down to 50kph
without any problem, pass though a village
and then just accelerate away, with no need to
bother with the gears. This, combined with the
bike’s stable behaviour and well-cushioned
saddle, makes for relaxed and pleasant motor
cycle riding. Up the long and winding road
into Lectoure, the city of Art and Melons, the
climb was a cinch for the Suzuki, and it took
the U-bends with aplomb. In traffic or in the
steep and narrow little back streets it’s easy to
get along with. The road which leads from the
city of melons to the old bastide of Saint-Clar
stretches across open countryside and this
fabulous motor cycle is totally at home on big
roads, smaller roads, and the deserted country
lanes of the Gers. Its excellent frame and
suspension keep the bike steady and the rider
comfortable even on very broken surfaces.
Saint-Clar is pretty and sleepy, known best for
its August red and white garlic festivals.
The GSF 1200 Bandit in the town square at Fleurance
Soon I was en route once again, my
destination yet another ancient bastide, the
market town of Fleurance. On this faster,
straighter stretch of road the Suzuki is a joy:
always comfortable, always relaxed, at any
speed, in any gear. On the naked version wind
turbulence becomes a problem at speeds in
excess of 130kph. I like the big digital readout
for the speedo which is clarity itself and
takes just the quickest of glances. You can
forget about the analogue rev counter, it
matters not a jot what the revs are – just twist
the throttle and hold on.
Once in Fleurance I headed for the town
centre and parked the Bandit in the old
arcades which skirt the whole market place.
The square in Fleurance is exceptional, the
centre being covered, not by a simple tiled
roof, but by the town hall, which is supported
on 60 enormous vaulted limestone pillars.
So is Suzuki’s bigger Bandit better than its
old big Bandit? Well, this is a simple question
to pose, but a very hard one to answer. The
crux of the problem lies in the adjective
‘better’. If an all-new water-cooled engine is
better than the old air/oil-cooled one, then yes.
If more torque, power and top speed is better,
then yes. If fuel injection is better than
carburettors, then yes. If far superior road
holding and handling are better, then yes. If
better means higher quality body fittings and a
first class paint job, then yes again. If we are
talking here about such qualities as comfort or
even of the compliance with the new strict EU
emissions law, then yes. In any showdown the
new Bandit will always outdraw the old one.
Having said all that, I’ll still tip my hat to the
illustrious old rough diamond Bandit, which
still offers a fistful of character.
Stanley Goodsell
Price new Suzuki GSF 1250N Bandit €7,700
(with ABS €8,300)
Price secondhand 1200N Bandit €3,300
Type ‘bandit owners club’ into google and you get
212,000 responses
Test bike supplied by Magasin Patrick of Lectoure,
Gers 05 62 68 82 18,
www.magasin-patrick-salles.com
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