IF YOU consider purchasing Suzuki's $11,990 Bandit 1250A with ABS on value for money alone, you're thinking smart. But if you also take into account how good a bike it is overall then you are definitely on to a winner.

It's no wonder the Bandit has been a big seller since it first hit the market in the mid ’90s. Huge torque, good top speed, decent handling and a comfy ride made it popular with tourers, scratchers and commuters alike. And they have always been great value for money.

There are four versions of the Bandit available: the basic model with no ABS or fairing and simply called the Bandit 1250 (RRP $11,790), one with ABS and no fairing (the 1250A, tested here, $12,290), a half-faired version with no ABS (1250S, $12,290) and the ABS and half-faired 1250SA at $12,790. That's a lot of bike for the money, and until the end of February Suzuki is offering $500 toward registration costs on the entire Bandit range, making the machine even better value. See your dealer for details.

The old mill was an air/oil-cooled unit, with the last major upgrade seeing the introduction of a fuel injected and liquid-cooled motor with a slight increase in capacity.

On the stand

The outstanding part of this motorcycle is its engine. 1255cc and six speed geabox. There's a shade over 100hp on tap, and torque is prodigious. The particular model tested here is the GSF1250A, the 'A' denoting Anti Lock Brakes. It might be a budget model, compared to things like the B-King and Hayabusa, and as such the suspension isn't what you'd call avant-garde. That said, the pre-load adjustable 43mm forks and the single rear shock do a good enough job of keeping things in line, considering how fast this bike is.

A tubular steel frame keeps it all together, assisted by 17-inch rims and four-piston calipers.
An interesting extra, and one which is cropping up on more bikes, is the adjustable seat with a 20mm difference by flipping over the mounting spacers.
Styling in the Bandit has been much the same since the early noughties, but lately the bike comes with a muffler that is so big it's obscene. The exhaust note is pleasant enough, though quiet.

On the road

For a bike which weighs 251kg sitting at the curb it feels surprisingly light and nimble, no doubt helped by the tall and wide handlebars. It has a reasonably tall seat height at its highest setting, but being able to drop it by 20mm should appease most riders. Tootling around town is dead easy on the 'Big Kahuna', the riding position gives you very good vision and the engine is such a big smoothy you can just about forget what gear you are in. As an inner city commuter it's much better than you might think a machine this big could be.

Out on the open road the engine stays just as smooth, the latest generation engine has the benefit of a secondary balancer shaft which helps in this regard. Suzuki's Dual Throttle Valve (SDTV) fuel injection system is pretty much spot on. There's no real hint of throttle snatchiness but we still found the bike tended to run on into corners unless you consciously forced the throttle closed. It was the same with the last model we tested. It's only a minor issue, you might not even find it a problem yourself.

There's so much grunt available that you will scare many a sportsbike rider if you are capable enough. The secret with the Bandit 1250 is that it's usable horsepower. You never need to buzz the engine to get mobile at a rapid rate of knots. Even on a tight winding road the engine is so flexible you can stick it in a higher gear and just ride on the throttle.

At mid to reasonable fast speeds the suspension copes well, even on bumpy roads. When you start to push on to go-to-gaol speeds the forks and shock start to show their inadequacies, with the rear link-type shock getting choppy on rough surfaces.

Speeds over 120km/h will see you copping enough wind blast to take some of the fun out of the ride, but only if you are sustaining those speeds. You could always opt for an accessory small screen or buy the 1250S half faired model.

We found the brakes to work well regardless of how we rode, offering good feel and bite. We even went to the trouble of testing the ABS on a dirt road, finding the ABS to be quite progressive in its action. If we were buying a Bandit it would have ABS.
The Bandit is a very capable tourer, too, although the half-faired S-model might be a bit better. The bike is well-suited to taking both soft and hard luggage systems.

Verdict

It's hard not to fall in love with Suzuki's Bandit 1250. I owned an earlier Bandit 1200 and rate it as one of the best bikes I've owned on a bang-for-buck basis. The 1250 is even better.