So I finally found a bike that didn’t break the bank, was interesting an in good shape. A work college and my boss comute on bikes and have been trying to talk me into getting a bike. Used vehicle prices in America are RIDICULOUS. 2012 600 Super sports for 10K+ USD… Really???
I found this little Gem in a dealer about an hour out of town. The first owner drove it fron new in 2006 for about 7 years and put 8600 miles on it. He then stored it. The inside of the tank looks new and unbelievably the wheels and lower parts of the bike look very nice. The previous owner was very careful with it and at 80 years old he sold it to the dealer. 4500 USD got me out the door. I then replaced the 13 year old tires. Its a GSXF 750 Katana. The Oil and air cooled engine make it very simple.
It looks brand new! Nice.
My god. Haven’t seen one of those in years. 
And You would think that Lightning does not strike twice…
Yesturday I was talking to a dealer about how expensive the new bikes had become. He then told me he had something coming in I might like… He bought it from a guy and sold it to me within an hour…
Super Clean 2008 Suzi Bandito Grande 1250. I don’t know what mods the previous user did but it like to have pulled my arms off the sockets… It’s got 10-year-old tires that the dealer is replacing (free of charge) and it needed service so unfortunately I can’t have it till next week. I am stocked!
Does mean you now have two bikes… Or have you swapped the Kat for this one?
Sold as a Bandit here, everyone I know who has had one raves about them and reckon they are bulletproof
I’ve had 6 bandits. 600, 1200, 1250.
Amazing bikes. I tuned the 600 so much it blew up nearly everytime i rode it. Man that bike was rapid though 
You are on to me… i now have 2 ancient Suzukies. I may get rid of the Kat… im limited by parking to 2 bikes. The Kat no longer fits the "Do Everything " role. Now i want a really sporty bike…
We need Photographic Evidence 
Christ I’ll have to dig out the photo albums lol. I definitely have pics of my red 1200 with the bad paint job and the 600. But the others I’d have to go look
Still running the Versys650 although I have ridden the Versys 1000 helping my friend’s stepdad pick one up way out in Timmins and then riding it back - he let me take most of the ride home as a test ride since we don’t get test rides here in Canada really.
My 650 is at about 31,000km with a worn out chain and rear brake pads I have scheduled to get replaced at the shop on Wednesday. Would do it myself, but many 650 owners report on the owners forum having a hell of a time getting the front sprocket nut to break loose - very often over-torqued on the Gen3’s from the factory apparently.
In September of 2024 I did make a run down to the Tail of the Dragon, and survived - with no parts donated to the tree of shame! Ran it both ways - North and South, once.
I don’t ride my bikes. I don’t get them out the garage.
But i sold my TL-R1000 on a whim for a ducati 848 and regretted it ever since.
One came past me on the motoway about 140ish mph sounding like a spitfire in the dive and I’ve been glued to ebay and FB marketplace ever since.
What is it with blokes and metal. Specifically me. I have also been looking at Bimota Sb8r. Which is the same engine. But a bit sexier.
I need a life
You need a bike. I iwas in love w the TL1000R. Never got there. They were untouchable in Qatar. I did own a Honda RC51, sold it and regretted it all my life. However, life goes on… i got a R1 and was faster on it than on the RC because of a more linear powerband. 6 wreacks later i tottalled it and stayed away from the track for a whole season. The next year i went on a VFR. I called it my Big Fat Cow but it was the way fwd. I was getting better. The next seasons saw me on a GSXR750. It never put a foot wrong. My lap times improved a lot and i found my Zen. All things come to an end. I had a son, left Qatar and never achived the same nirvana…
HOWEVER!!! I am now in Seattle. I have been to the track just to look. Now im contemplating a new sports bike…
Have you considered a dedicated track bike, i.e. one that has been converted for a production racing class?
I don’t know about the US but here you can pick up a 600cc or 1000cc bike for a fraction of the cost of a road going version.
That is what I have, I have my RGV250 for track days and am currently looking at a Honda Africa Twin to get back into touring. Best of both worlds.
RGV 250!!! Wow! What a clasic. I really want a dedicated race bike. However, i move with caution. Ill pick up a sports bike in the winter and if i get enough track time next year i will turn it into track only.
Really nice bikes! And here I was thinking I am rolling in some classic Iron…
Them there bikes are Classic Iron
Noice. And I love the gold tinge that a stainless alloy exhaust gets after it has been through a few heat cycles.
I had a couple of bikes in the 90s. I got a job and moved to Guam and haven’t touched one since. Over the years, between biplanes and helicopters, I’ve broached the idea of getting back into it. But my long-suffering wife has regularly kiboshed the thought. So she thinks. I am taking a MSF basic safety course this weekend. My plan is to maybe rent bikes during European trips. Does the idea feel a bit like cheating? Most definitely. Yet she’s letting me take the course without asking why I am doing it. So I think I may be able to hold on to the marriage and still occasionally scrape a foot peg.
OH HELL YEAH!! If she is letting you take it, I think she is quietly giving in.
I so often hear this from men. The wife that says no. Now before I say anything else… There may be a reason why relationships never stick and I am 61 and single. You have been warned. I do NOT give relationship advice.
When I was 20s I was too wild and knew better than to get one. Then at 25 I got married, settled down and though, “Time to get a bike”. My wife refused and we fought over it many times. After a big fight (unrelated) she moved out. Soon as she did, I bought a bike. We were trying again and she asked me to come over. I took the bike of course. She saw it and asked “Why did you get a bike?” I said, “You know I wanted one” She then said “But I told you NO” to witch I replied “I did not need your permission”. A few weeks later she asked me for a ride… you guessed it, I said “NO!” I never got her back. I was 30. I have never been without a bike more than two years in the last 30 years. There is something about it that is just so damn liberating. And now in Seattle… there is too much to see, too much to live. Had we been “good” I would never have gotten a bike. I would never trade a relationship for getting what I want. Its not the way relationships work. But sometimes, its easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.