2008 Suzuki Bandit 1250 ABS review

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Of the 20 bikes I considered, it was the BMW R1200, the KTM 990, the Triumph Tiger, the Kawasaki Councours, the Honda ST1300, and the Yamaha FJ1300 that distilled out to the final contenders. This was a painfully slow process of visiting bike shops, reading magazines and web forums, talking to riders at the rallies, etc. I knew what I didn´t like about my Bandit that I´d drove for 10 years. None of them were ´ideal´. I was about to choose either the KTM or the Triumph when I stumbled across an almost brand new Bandit 1250, and bought it at a great price. What I learned was that the new Bandit had fixed all of the things that bugged me about the old one. Fuel injection rather than 4 carbs to synch. Liquid cooling. A sixth gear. Fairing mounted mirrors. It wheelies easily, reaches insane top speeds, gets very good mileage, handles very confidently, just an all around great bike. Most of my buddies chose the BMW, I wont knock them because they´re great too, but I paid 1/3 the money, can keep up with them on the logging trails (the ST1300 and Councours turn for home) and I can blow the BMW away on the highway, and keep up just fine with the Councours and ST1300. My second choice at this time would be the KTM 990 if it was just a tidbit faster, or the Councours or FJ1300 if I planned to stay on nice pavement. They are all double the price of my Bandit. Cant beat that. Only downsides, mirrors point into my shoulders and are hard to extend, wind pocket is slightly buffety at high speeds, and the factory seat gives numb bum after 2 hours (as most stock seats do!)and needs upgrading if you go traveling. Factory hard luggage is great too.