MSerfozo

Yesterday I brought my HF tire changer to work and set it up out of the way in the corner of the shop. At lunchtime I helped a buddy change the front tire on his Ninja 650. He doesn't have a front lift that will work with the fairing so we put a strap around the upper triple and lifted it with the forklift! Should have got a pic... We knew we could get away with it because our two safety guys were at an OSHA class all day!!! 😀 He brought the rear wheel in today and well do that one at morning break.

4.0" x2.9" so pretty much oversquare. Peak torque at 6KRPM so 125hp must happen quite a bit higher up.

Mine has had everything short of cylinder machine work done to it. Holeshot header & slipon, Holeshot stage 2 jet kit, and both GSX-R cams. Here's what Dale Walker's dyno showed on his similarly built Bandit (but no cams on Dale's for this series of pulls) I had mine on a dyno once when the Dynojet guy was at Mid-Ohio for the AMA races. It pulled 115hp (Stage 1 & slipon at the time) but the dyno guy wasn't taking time to attach a spark sensor so no direct RPM and torque measured. However, my hp curve was shapes similar to Dale's and would imply at least 80-90 ft-lbs in that state of tune. I think you were selling your Bandit short. My surprise at the FTR's torque numbers was because I expected they'd put a v-twin tractor motor in it with peak torque at 3KRPM like another US bike maker does. The difference between the FTR's torque & hp numbers implies that it revs more like a Ducati than a Harley. Could be a fun motor.

I searched because I thought I saw a thread about this recently but here's info on the official debut at Intermot. Lots of pics on the "View Gallery" link. Looks like it'll be a GSX-S underneath with vaguely Katanaesque bodywork. Can't say I don't like it, but I was hoping for more... https://newatlas.com/2019-suzuki-katana-launch/56565/

Nope, only 85 ft-lbs @6000 rpm - my 17 year old Bandit does that! And 43o lean angle? I guess it really doesn't need sportbike wheels & tires.

Agree! Lack of 17" wheels is a deal breaker IMO.

Wifey says the door is good now. New spring and cables. Apparently the garage door guy commented on my bike. Her text after: "You would have enjoyed the 5 minute motorcycle discussion more than I did."

I put it safely in the back of my garage so the garage door guy can change the spring today. I would be riding it if I could get the &^%&$(# door open!

I watched 2 friends crash right in front of me from locking up the rear entering a corner, then releasing it and highsiding. ABS would probably have saved both crashes. Would have helped this guy too https://jalopnik.com/racer-who-grabbed-another-riders-brake-lever-could-be-i-1828964861

Got the old tires dismounted from the old wheels so I could weigh them to compare to the new Galespeed wheels. Best scale I have is a digital bathroom scale but it seems to be weighing consistently. Weights are in lbs. Stock B12 Hayabusa Galespeed --------- -------- --------- Front 10.6 11.0 8.8 Rear 14.0 12.0 Cush 4.5 1.2 The biggest difference I notice is the 20% reduction in the front. It feels a lot quicker to turn in and generally more nimble (if you can call just under 500 lb nimble). The rear is a lot lighter at 28% but a big chunk of that is the cush drive. A few more pics - 1st shows how much sleeker the rear hub & cush are, 2nd is where I drank my coffee every morning in Murphy waiting for the fog to lift, 3rd is a 4 day old Michelin Power RS.

Do you seriously need a 10mm socket or was that just an excuse to post the meme? The only piece of Snap-On I own is a 1/4" drive 10mm socket - don't have any idea how it came to live with the Craftsman stuff in my toolbox. If you need it, PM me and you can have it.

I was on the southernmost 10 mi of the BRP on Aug 21st and it had recently been chip-sealed. Road had not been striped at that time and there was not a huge amount of loose stone, but enough for concern. I'm not sure how far north the new paving goes, we turned around at Balsam Mountain picnic area. Have a safe trip.

Thanks, howabusa. You won't find another like it! I've had it since new, never let any shop touch it, and I've never stopped modifying it.

Took a picture of it today since the sun was finally shining. Wednesday I put the new Galespeed wheels on with new Michelin Power RS tires. They look great but I haven't ridden on them enough to be able to give a ride report. Leaving in the morning for Murphy, NC so I'll have lots of opportunities to try them out. Front wheel weighs 8.8 lbs Rear wheel weighs 12.0 lbs Cush adapter weighs 1.2 lbs vs 4.5 lbs for the cush parts from the stock wheel. I haven't had time to dismount the old tires to get wheel weights for comparison.

FINALLY! Just got the shipping email. Wheels are on the way from Japan. I switched from the silver ones in the OP to black. And just last week I received a pair of Michelin Pilot RS tires to mount on 'em. But I don't get home from this work trip for 2 weeks...

Upgraded the starter cover. 😎

Rebuilt my seat/helmet lock with some old internal parts I had from the original that broke years ago. Glad I'm a pack rat! Once I got the seat off, I saw the wiring for my SpeedoHealer was frayed from rubbing against part of the frame. Lucky it was only cut through the outer jacket and foil shield - all conductors are OK. Some electrical tape to reinforce it and all is well.

I have 2 pair of the IXS RS-200 gloves and I'm very impressed with the quality and comfort. I have found myself choosing these gauntlets over other gloves on my shelf even in the heat we've been having. Don't buy them without trying them on first - I thought sizing was way off. IP has them on the clearance rack in several colors.

To be a decent street bike it needs 17" wheels, 2 front discs & USD forks - then it would be a nice hooligan!

May I recommend the Haywood Smokehouse in downtown Dillsboro. Been there several times and always had a good meal. Best banana pudding this side of a Southern Baptist Church potluck. And a couple local area craft beers on tap. That's a Green Man IPA in the mason jar...

Pushed it out of the garage to make sure it would start. Gonna ride to work tomorrow after 2 weeks working out of town...

31 bags here. Trimmed shrubs and planted some new crap to maintain later. All day yesterday and most of today!

Here's a tip from a 60 year old who's not planning to stop riding anytime soon. My Bandit has pegs up and inch and back an inch and drag (flat) bars. I avoid the slab whenever possible but when I can't, I find posture and core support makes all the difference. When droning, make sure you are squeezing the tank between your knees and push down with your feet - try to push your heels below or even with the level of the pegs. This lower body posture will tighten your core and take a surprising amount of weight off your arms, shoulders, and upper back. The "heels down" will help stretch the calves and keep them from cramping up. Once you get the load off your upper body, practice keeping arms and shoulders loose by flapping your elbows frequently - think chicken dance. And after you get this down, you should notice you don't have to hold the grips very tight at all. Make sure your gloves fit well, I find too thick or too loose gloves will cause arm pump from gripping too tight. I don't think more than 400mg of Ibuprofen at a time helps to alleviate pain any better. Higher doses are great for reducing inflammation but 400mg before you start riding and every 4hrs or so will be adequate. And, as mango said, Throttlemeister FTW! Pricey, but a very well made product.

Email this morning says the wheels are backordered and expected delivery date is Aug 14! At least that's better than an "unfixed" date like the silver ones. I have a week to decide whether I want to cancel or wait it out... I suppose I would probably have been more surprised if they had them sitting on the shelf. The most recent of the two was last sold on a new bike in '07.

Ordered the wheels I asked about in the Tech and Tips section. The silver color was out of stock and they said the next delivery date is ""ünfixed"" so I ordered black.