Bandit 1200 K6 Deco-mainte

8 March 2023

The oil-cooled 1200 series—“probably the best-selling model worldwide” Bandit 1200.

Why don’t we see them much anymore?
It’s because… “practical bikes” maybe?

Basically, this oil-cooled or even a 1250 would work…probably.

Let’s get to work.

The tire has the manufacturing date printed on the sidewall, so when you check it once in a while, it’s kind of amazing.

As you get older, you realize it was “5 or 6 years ago” pretty often…

The rear brake is almost due for replacement. It’s good to check the pad thickness and decide accordingly.

We’ll clean and lubricate the lever area too.

Let’s clean and lubricate the throttle cable and accelerator cable.

We use the so-called premium Tri-Flow.

↑ TRI-450A might be hard to get these days…maybe it got popular?

When lubricating cables, you don’t need to “spray it like crazy.” If you need to apply a lot of lubricant, the cable should be replaced because it’s reached the end of its life.
This is the same as constantly
“cleaning the caliper”
when the caliper seal is actually worn out.

Maintenance extends the life of parts, but “what’s done” can’t be undone.

We check the tire and wheel runout.

It’s surprisingly common to “bend a wheel without realizing it.” Sometimes tires have runout issues too, either from manufacturing defects or
“the bead not seating properly,” which is rare but happens.

If we catch it here, we can say “ah, that symptom could be from this”
and get closer to the answer.

Let’s check the axle shaft runout too.

The rear axle gets pulled hard by the chain, so it’s prone to runout.

It’s not too dirty, but we’ve cleaned it up nicely.
Clean is always best.

The wheel bearings should be fine.
Wheel bearing problems have become very rare in recent years.
I think “the shaft got thicker and the bearing got bigger too,” which
works in our favor.

Basically, as long as “there’s grease left and the bearing and distance collar are positioned well,”
they won’t fail easily.

But even so, we’d like to “replace them at 30,000 to 50,000 kilometers” of use.

We apply premium fluorine grease to the oil seal lip

There won’t be a dramatic change, but the smoothness and durability are top-notch ☆
“Keeping things in good condition for as long as possible is what matters most,” I think.

Places the owner can’t reach are where we come in.

“It’s hidden, so” we don’t do it. Whether we do it or not, “there’s no benefit,” so we don’t do it.
There’s surprisingly a lot of that in the world.

I think to myself “that’s not really how it works…” (*´ω｀*)

Work buddy “No-Touch”

Perfect for dusty and dirty areas. It gives a “fake shine.”
Instead of obsessive cleaning, “regular use” keeps dirt from sticking easily and quickly.

If you can clean quickly and easily, you’ll keep up with it.