Suzuki GSF600 Bandit

It was one of the best-selling bikes from the 1990s: it combined decent looks with swift performance and offered proper value for money. The Bandit 600 is still a popular bike all these years later. The build quality was always its biggest blight though. Find one that’s been loved and cherished and you’ll be set up for some great biking memories, buy one that’s been neglected and you might live to regret it. We all love a project but when it comes to buying a Bandit 600 it’s worth paying a bit extra and finding the best you can. Thankfully prices for the humble Bandit 600 haven’t shot up: there are still bargains to be found although some dealers will advertise them for more than the going rate. They can be found for below a grand, un-faired versions are harder to find than the more popular faired offering. This one came and went very quickly and it’s a no brainer why. That engine will trundle on forever, just give it some oil and fuss along the way is all it asks for. It’s always worth budgeting a few quid for a suspension overhaul, any original shocks will be well past their sell-by date. The biggest expense that lurks in the wings will be an exhaust: original headers had a habit of snapping where the silencer fits. In two decades I’ve never seen a decent repair to this annoying problem. The earlier models like this one are the best looking ones, later K series bikes aren’t quite so distinctive in appearance and can often be found for less money than the older model, so don’t rule it out if you want to do things on a budget. Recently Bandit 600s have made their way to the racetrack in a one-make race series. There are plenty of parts from other Suzuki models that can be used to perk up the Bandit 600: these can range from CDI swaps to fitting GSX-R750 engines (not that the racers do anything like that of course!) Prices for used parts are still pretty low, though tanks are now getting harder to find in good solid condition. Speedos in mph are a pain to find too, if you’ve ever lived with a km/h pod with a mph overlay you’ll soon realise why you would want to change it!

“The Bandit 600 was one of the best-selling bikes from the 1990s. It had decent looks and sweet performance. Build quality was its biggest blight. As for the H1, well, why did I sell it for £750? ZXRS for less than a grand are now a distant memory! How things can change in five short years!”