Most of you know I had a 1st generation Bandit 1200, a 1997 year, "S" model, it was pretty beat up when I got it, but the commanding howl of the induction system, the rasp of the Yoshimura full system, and the feel of that monster engine coming to life under me was surreal every time I put a leg over that bike... but there was always the pull to find a turbo system for it!!
A matter of weeks before the riding season was to finish up and I would begin the process of putting together a Mr. Turbo style draw through system for the hunt to find those outrageous power numbers (pretty much doubling the engine output!) that a boosted B12 is so known for in the first place, I crashed the bike. Much to my dismay it was a total loss and most were amazed I was even alive. :nuts:
It wasn't anything like your usual crash. I wrote that bike off in one down. Even the engine had damage beyond repair and I was through with riding for the season at that point. But the love for the bike was still so strong, I was still so attatched.
Fast forward almost 5 years, alot has happened, and alot has gone very wrong in life, but I still have had that silent pull toward another Bandit. That hollow, thousand yard stare in my eyes when I was deep in thought about one, I really couldn't live a life that I considered fulfilled and well worth it without a turbo Bandit 1200 as "my bike" some day, some way...
Last night a fellow CF member dropped off my new '98 Bandit 1200... hunting for a Mr. Turbo kit as I type this.
Toc just couldn't leave the factory optioned seat alone...
PO pulled the clutch cover but never replaced the gasket so it leaks a little. I was joking it was just marking its new territory. I would feel threatened as well if I was that thing. A YZ400F and a CBR900RR mere feet away from it, I would be asserting my dominance as well.
Yup, that is a correct reading of mileage, under 10k on the clock.
^^
EVERYONE I know that has seen this pic says they haven't seen me smile like this for alot of years. I say there hasn't been much to smile about. But this bike, this makes the fight worth it, it makes the work and all the tragedy and loss weigh out even in the end. As insane as that sounds, this bike is my salvation, it is what will keep me from madness. I feel like I've been climbing a mountain through my life and when I get to the summit there will be a clearer and brighter day. Somehow... a turbocharged Bandit 1200 is the top of that proverbial mountain.
The original gangster, should have been a turbo bike...
18 hours before my crash...
Example pics of a turbo Bandit. Happens to also be a pic I took, of a fellow CF members bike, at an annual moto get-together back in 2007. The bike has since undergone a bunch of modification and adjustment, but this state of tune was always my favorite for a turbocharged Bandit.
Not only do I get a B12, but I also get to finish the CBR900RR build while I am working on this thing. Plus I am still balls deep in my supermoto project and Toc still has the CBR250R tracker and the KZ1300 six cylinder. Plus the many, many other projects and bikes between us, I think life is finally cutting me a little slack and allowing me to enjoy the things I do have right at my finger tips.
Remember kids,
A matter of weeks before the riding season was to finish up and I would begin the process of putting together a Mr. Turbo style draw through system for the hunt to find those outrageous power numbers (pretty much doubling the engine output!) that a boosted B12 is so known for in the first place, I crashed the bike. Much to my dismay it was a total loss and most were amazed I was even alive. :nuts:
It wasn't anything like your usual crash. I wrote that bike off in one down. Even the engine had damage beyond repair and I was through with riding for the season at that point. But the love for the bike was still so strong, I was still so attatched.
Fast forward almost 5 years, alot has happened, and alot has gone very wrong in life, but I still have had that silent pull toward another Bandit. That hollow, thousand yard stare in my eyes when I was deep in thought about one, I really couldn't live a life that I considered fulfilled and well worth it without a turbo Bandit 1200 as "my bike" some day, some way...
Last night a fellow CF member dropped off my new '98 Bandit 1200... hunting for a Mr. Turbo kit as I type this.
Toc just couldn't leave the factory optioned seat alone...
PO pulled the clutch cover but never replaced the gasket so it leaks a little. I was joking it was just marking its new territory. I would feel threatened as well if I was that thing. A YZ400F and a CBR900RR mere feet away from it, I would be asserting my dominance as well.
Yup, that is a correct reading of mileage, under 10k on the clock.
^^
EVERYONE I know that has seen this pic says they haven't seen me smile like this for alot of years. I say there hasn't been much to smile about. But this bike, this makes the fight worth it, it makes the work and all the tragedy and loss weigh out even in the end. As insane as that sounds, this bike is my salvation, it is what will keep me from madness. I feel like I've been climbing a mountain through my life and when I get to the summit there will be a clearer and brighter day. Somehow... a turbocharged Bandit 1200 is the top of that proverbial mountain.
The original gangster, should have been a turbo bike...
18 hours before my crash...
Example pics of a turbo Bandit. Happens to also be a pic I took, of a fellow CF members bike, at an annual moto get-together back in 2007. The bike has since undergone a bunch of modification and adjustment, but this state of tune was always my favorite for a turbocharged Bandit.
Not only do I get a B12, but I also get to finish the CBR900RR build while I am working on this thing. Plus I am still balls deep in my supermoto project and Toc still has the CBR250R tracker and the KZ1300 six cylinder. Plus the many, many other projects and bikes between us, I think life is finally cutting me a little slack and allowing me to enjoy the things I do have right at my finger tips.
Remember kids,