This is how my daily rider, the ’97 Suzuki Bandit GSF1200S, looked when I first bought it, complete with rear luggage rack and top box, half fairing, and a few cracks and bruises. What you can’t see in the photo is that the end of the exhaust can had been punched out and cut in a failed attempt to remove the baffle, which was clanging around in there for a while. The engine was also out of tune. Carbs needed syncing and due to the installation of a K&N air filter, the bike was running lean and a little jerky off idle.
Looking back, I like the fairing, despite the large aftermarket wind screen. It’s a clean, sharp motorcycle with great color and a huge following of local owners. But hey, I like the look of naked bikes too, chrome headlights and the vintage appeal of a retro muscle bike or cafe racer. The following posts will show that progression.
Coming up: new exhaust, fairing removal, chrome headlight installation, lowing…