Summer 08 on a Bandit

[daddymakk]

After losing 2 months of riding from a broken collar bone I took off on my new bike to get in as many miles as possible over the summer.
Here are a few pics.
My buddy rides to Vancouver with me on his freshly rebuilt 1985 Yamaha RZ500. Here is the Lions Gate bridge from Stanley Park

The top of Rogers Pass B.C.
Highest point on the Trans Canada highway.

The Hope Slide in B.C.
1965- Just before 7 AM, a small earthquake below the mountain triggered the Hope Slide, which obliterated the mountain's southwestern slope. The slide buried the victims and their vehicles under a torrent of 46 million cubic meters of pulverized rock, mud, and debris 85 metres (280 ft) deep and 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) wide, which came down the 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) mountainside .

Some of the great roads in the Kootenay area of B.C. It looks colder than it was in this pic.

A rest stop by one of the many lakes in the Kootenay area of B.C.

Some of the desert area near Kamloops B.C.

One of the hair pin turns on the Sea to Sky highway

Mile Zero of the Trans Canada Hwy (3rd longest hwy in the world and the longest in N America) in Victoria B.C. You have to snap the pic quick before the busload of Japanese tourists swarm in.

[demenshea]

Love how those hard bags look Daryl and love the area. I do hope to return this coming summer...probably after the girly ride in July. I want to go back to the Nelson area and Ainsworth Hotsprings. I also love the Ferry across the lake and the roads over into Alberta. It is on my HOT list!!

Thanks for sharing the pix!

[daddymakk]

Thanks demenshea
This is a Canadian only model. The bags are by Givi but offered with Suzuki labels on them.
If you are looking for an excuse to come to the Ainsworth area check my posting in the events section:
http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21223
2 days of professional comedy at a campground that caters to riders. It makes an awesome base for day rides. Aug 7,8.

[stephenwc]

Superb stuff Daryl

Great looking bike. What's it like for comfort after 6 or 7 hours?

Great photos and interesting facts. Makes me think I need to be heading that way one day soon.

Stephen

[demenshea]

Originally Posted by stevewc

Superb stuff Daryl What's it like for comfort after 6 or 7 hours?
Stephen

Granted, I'm not Daryl, however i do have the old bro to his bike. I had to lose my stock seat, much like his. Never did like it. I have a corbin now and love it...wouldn't leave home without it. I have spent 10 hours in that saddle and lived to speak about it!!

[daddymakk]

Originally Posted by stevewc

Superb stuff Daryl

Great looking bike. What's it like for comfort after 6 or 7 hours?

Great photos and interesting facts. Makes me think I need to be heading that way one day soon.

Stephen

I find it very comfortable. This is the smoothest engine I've ever owned and the bike has lots of mid-range torque that makes passing effortless.
I once did 11 hrs in one day from Calgary AB to Vancouver BC and it rained almost the whole way. Other than my heated grip controller crapping out I was comfy. I am looking at a gel seat just to raise me up a 1/2 inch and give my less than meaty ass a bit more padding.
I use a throttle rocker
http://www.throttlerocker.com/ which really cuts down on wrist fatigue. I shaved mine thinner to make it narrower so it would not interfere with my glove when I hit the twisties.
This past summer I did many 6 to 10 hour days in a row and loved it. Much more comfy than my old Concours. In fact if I get off the bike after only 5 hours I feel cheated on my ride.
The only other mod I am doing is a Laminar Lip as I still get some helmet buffeting being 6'3"
http://www.laminarlip.com/bandit.php

If you are coming up this way drop me a line and I'll point you in the right direction to great roads and biker friendly places. I posted an event for Aug 7,8 that may give you a destination/event that will get you smack in the middle of the most amazing roads in Canada. Even if you miss my KGB show, the campground that hosts it is a spot all riders need to know about.
See posting above in this thread for the link

[rockweiller99]

Demenshea, I had the really older brother to both of your bikes,a 1993 GSX1100g. It weighed quite a bit more than a Bandit too.I had a Corbin seat on the bike and loved it. Daryl, great pics of your trip to B.C. and I like the Givi bags too. I've been trying to decide if I should get a leftover ZX14 or an 09 Concours and the fact that I can get a set of those bags for the ZX14 would make it a sweet Sport Tourer.

[daddymakk]

Originally Posted by rockweiller99

Demenshea, I had the really older brother to both of your bikes,a 1993 GSX1100g. It weighed quite a bit more than a Bandit too.I had a Corbin seat on the bike and loved it. Daryl, great pics of your trip to B.C. and I like the Givi bags too. I've been trying to decide if I should get a leftover ZX14 or an 09 Concours and the fact that I can get a set of those bags for the ZX14 would make it a sweet Sport Tourer.

I had the older 1000 connie and it was a decent ride but the new Bandit blows it away.
I had looked at the new 1400 Connie but guys were expressing some maintenance issues with some things being very expensive to maintain.
check out the concours owners group forum for more info.
http://forum.concours.org/
A good site with lots of info.
The bags I have are Givi's and I have seen the exact same ones (minus the Suzy badges) on FZ1's, Kawasaki Versys and on GS650 Suzys too.
Lots of room, watertight (I have tested that on many days) and easy to carry in to the hotel. They also use a separate key from the bike so you can pop them open while it idles and they have to be locked before you can take the key out so there is little chance of them opening up and tossing your undies all over the road.
Your GSX1100 looks set up nice for a long haul. I'll bet you could get brackets and switch them to the new ride.

[Turkus]

Daryl ~
thanks for the great pics now I'm homesick

[rockweiller99]

Daryl, I ended up giving the GSX1100G and one of the top cases to my brother and got a set of brackets for my ZZR. I thought the ZZR1200 should have been the logical successor to the Connie 1000 if they had shaft drive and a little higher risers.