End of An Era

The RED BANDIT has come to the end of the road.

After 133,347 kilometres the RED BANDIT is parked.

It's a bit hard to believe , I really didn't expect this time to ever come.

The good news is that the BLUE BANDIT has arrived.

45000 Km's Blue and a 1250S . Hello EFI! and liquid cooling!

First impressions are fantastic , But also quite familiar .

A fuller report on both bikes to come.

PD13

Friday the thirteenth in Port Dover .

Had NO interest in going this year but a good friend wanted a riding companion so I went.

It was not a classic ride. 407 to Burlington and 403/6 the rest of the way.

But it was great ride. My MP3 player was serving up great tunes all the way there, it was sunny and warm and the highway was empty most of the way. My friend was riding very well with me and I never had to worry about where she was. The OPP were out in force but we had no problems .

Somewhere in Oakville I had a bit of an Epiphany . I was looking at a Field of yellow flowers and it dawned on me that i have a great life. Yes people I love have cancer and I was just dumped and it hurts. But I had 3 three great months with a great woman already this year and I've had lots of great moments over the last two years with a couple of others. Some people never get that . I've felt as though I've touched some souls. And definitely felt loved . Nothing in life can compare and I am so lucky to have had that. After a bleak period I am looking forward to more relationship adventures . It may turn out as bad but I think I can handle it now knowing that the pain is worth the connection. And it is.

As for Dover? Same old thing .  Cruiser after Cruiser after Cruiser with a scattering of scooters and real motorcycles . :) Sportbikes in other words!

I bought a t-shirt ( NO Skulls,No Knives,No Choppers It has a spark plug. Ftting for a guy with the Nickname Tinker) I saw  a few friends and we left at lunch time getting home before the rain.

A very good day .

Bearings

I changed the Steering head bearings on the Bandit. Boy they must have been in bad shape. Steering  is way better and the bike feels lighter . Going to be a real pleasure to ride the twistys! My confidence is up while riding.

I also got a GIVI top box . Should have done so long ago. Really convenient and it's so nice to be able to lock things up!

Life

Wow Been a weird combo of great and horrible the last 6 months.
Horrible -Got diagnosed as clinically depressed and ADD
Great -Have awesome friends who can be counted on.
Horrible- My Brothers Lung Cancer came back. And it's worse.
Great -A woman named Cristy came into my life and really made me feel loved .
Horrible -A woman named Cristy came into my life and really made me feel loved .Then dumped me after spending 3 months living with me by announcing her engagement to her ex boyfriend on the internet. Without mentioning it to me first. And without actually moving out. I had to pack her crap myself. Nice.
Great-Got some treatment for the depression and ADD and it's working ! OK the horrible above is challenging the anti-depressants but I think I'll be on an even keel sooner thanks to them.
Horrible- A wonderful friends daughter has been Diagnosed with melanoma .They found it after removal of a Brain Tumour.  Radiation treatments and a lot of bad days to follow.
Great- Still have those awesome friends. Boy that makes a difference.

The Bandit

So about the bike. It (not SHE it’s inanimate!) is a 2001 Suzuki Bandit GSF 1200S, it has 54000 or so Km’s on the odometer and I absolutely love it. It does not have a name. I don’t get the name thing.

It’s not perfect. There are more comfortable, faster, more fuel efficient and possibly better looking bikes. But not by enough to make a difference to me. I’m just not skilled enough to hit these bikes limits. Someday maybe but not now maybe after I go to a race school. .
This particular bike was bought used in 2008 for $4700. I could have got one cheaper but that’s life and I don’t care. It is a second generation Bandit 1200 and 2001 was the only year they came in Red in Canada. I have no idea why as the red is spectacular. Really, it looks way better than the far more common silver and blue. Of course YMMV on the colour. (Red is the FASTER colour of course)

The basics are this. Inline 4 Cylinder engine 1200cc’s (Ok 1157 sheesh!) DOHC, 16 valves, 485 lbs and it’s RED.

I want to Mod a bunch of things but have not done everything I want to yet. I’ll be on a newer Bandit before I get everything done unless I win a lottery. Of course that brings up the question “If it’s so great why mod?” To which I answer because I can. If I had a Harley (No Chance but that’s a whole other topic) I’d be chroming it up like mad. Because that’s what Harley guys do. Ok that’s my impression but I do have some evidence. If I had a BMW I would be modding it, Honda likewise. And so on. It’s a customizing thing that every rider I know does. Different Seats ,different exhaust (YOSH RS1 installed last night within 20 minutes of it hitting my hot little hands) different windshields etc,etc.

I can’t articulate what it is about being on this bike that gets me. Just getting on and out the driveway puts a smile on my face. A lot of life’s difficulties seem quite trivial when I’m moving. Being leaned over and focusing really makes me happy and glad I’m on the planet. I don’t always feel that way so it’s pretty important to me. Now almost any bike gives me some of that . Bikes are like that, riding is like that. But I’ve ridden quite a few bikes and none are quite what my Bandit is. My brother in law and a friend both have 1200 Bandits and neither one does it for me. The brother in laws is a first generation and I find it vibrates too much. My friend’s is a 2002 and it just didn’t fit, it should have but it didn’t.

And that’s about it I suspect I’ll return to this again. And Again.