IL4 250 Bandit

[KiwiCol]

Bloke I work with has recently brought a 250cc 4cyl Bandit.  I never knew they existed, I thought Hondas' 350 4 was the smallest.  Apparently this thing rev's it's nuts off, is doing around 9,000 rpm at 110k (65mph) & goes out to around 15 - 16,000rpm!  Makes about 48hp he said.

Anyone had a crack on one? or owned one?   Looking at it ya wouldn't think it was a 250cc, big down pipes n all.  Just a curious thing, to me anyway.

[grog]

Col, i think all big 4 Jap brands made a 250, 4 cylinder at some stage. Honda had 5 cyl, 125 race bike. The motor in that is worth reading about, amazing tiny bits. Ill try to find the link about it. As for the GSX you wrote about, if i lived in a city id have one. Revs would be fun.

[Bob]

Mate of mine bought a ZZR250 kwak, he was new to bikes and asked me to see if it was ok, nothing until 9000 then still mot much up to 18000 even with standard exhausts it sounded good as was sewing machine smooth

[KiwiCol]

These sort of revs make me cringe, 15 thou, 18 thou!   Brrrr

[GSXKING]

Yes Col @KiwiCol  they are a bit of a sewing machine. The engineering to have a four cylinder four stroke rev to 16 or 18 thousand RPM is quite remarkable they are very small pistons and travel a very short distance and all the valves have to keep time with everything else spinning faster than the naked eye could see. Suzuki made a baby Bandit with red tappet cover similar to Ferrari Testarossa. 

[froudy]

Here are the specs for the little 250 Bandit...

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/suzu/suzuki_gsf250_bandit%2090.htm

They pop up on a few of the Bandit pages on Facebook from time to time, but not in the UK. There aren't that many 400 Bandits in the UK either.

[Snapey]

Don't forget the Suzuki GSX250F Across. Another 250cc in line four cylinder that just revved and went really slow.

[KiwiCol]

Here are the specs for the little 250 Bandit...

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/suzu/suzuki_gsf250_bandit%2090.htm

They pop up on a few of the Bandit pages on Facebook from time to time, but not in the UK. There aren't that many 400 Bandits in the UK either.

Thanks Froudy, interesting read.  120 mpg!!  2.35l/100k     Very economical wee beast for something that's revving that hard.

[Irish in Oz]

I have an Across which is a fully faired one of those, thirsty little thing does about 15k to the litre and it has about a 10 liter tank.

[Irish in Oz]

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/suzu/suzuki_gsx250f_across%2090.htm

I'm sure I will be able to put mine on historic plates next year.

[black14]

This new one from Kawasaki doesn't sound like a sewing machine...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNK6UKzpTrU

I think it sounds awesome!

[grog]

I agree, sounds bigger than a 250.

[Irish in Oz]

I fitted a Kerker silencer off a GPZ900R sounds awesome even on idle it sounds like a 750.

[Irish in Oz]

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/suzu/suzuki_gsx250s_katana%2091.htm

And here's another one not many know exist, been around just as long a mate of mine has two. I did the Across up for my son would have done the Katana but the Across was a fraction of the cost.

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Ah the good old gsf250 bandit, its how i fell in love with suzuki in the  first place. First bike i owned many moons ago.  Awesome bike to learn on. I rode  one rain hail or shine in Melbourne vic for about 3 years, never missed a beat. Revved its nuts off, went very well.  They had a version with the red cam cover that ran vvti.

These engines were fitted with mikuni flat slide carbs, one per cylinder, awesome throttle response.  Ended up selling it for what i bought it for, coz moving interstate, went and bought a daytona 675 after that, then  my current 1400.  Thought about  the 1200 bandit, but the 1400 does it for me.