Uploading causes blog traffic to plummet: “Bandit 1200” oil-cooled maintenance and more

15 June 2023

The Bandit 1200 is incredibly unpopular, and there’s a jinx where blog traffic plummets.

Will this title reverse the curse? Let’s see if the effect actually works…

My homemade Katana 1200 has been converted to Bandit style,
and back in the day, some people did the same with the GSF1200.
Suzuki = Katana (synonymous with popularity)

Well, let’s get moving quickly.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen something “absolutely filthy.” I’ll be straightforward without sugarcoating things.
I’ll give you the unvarnished truth.

Time passes…
I didn’t take photos before disassembly, so we’re jumping straight to the open state.

The cam chain was a bit slack, so I tightened it.
It’s basically “automatic,” but it won’t adjust much unless it’s quite loose.

The cam chain doesn’t stretch uniformly around the entire circumference.
It’s best to adjust after cranking and feeling how the chain is doing.

*Be careful not to over-tighten—that’s the worst.

There were a few light scuff marks in places, but overall it’s pretty clean.
The oil management seems to have been done properly.

I cleaned up the breather cover and applied Gun Coat to the bolts as well.

Don’t apply liquid gasket to the head cover gasket.
It won’t prevent it from falling out, and it won’t help prevent future oil leaks either.

Oil leaks are caused by gasket deterioration.
Whether you apply liquid gasket or not, it will leak.

The most important thing is not to overheat the engine.
If you don’t let the gasket get brittle, it will last a very long time.

The plugs are new, so I’ll reuse them.
The engine damper wear was pretty significant.

Raw material is nice because you can easily wet blast it.
It’s really come back to life.

There’s a mysterious long rod installed.
Thinking about how it works makes it very easy to understand.

Basically“push and pull”motion

If the angle is off like this, during downshifting
the rod“pushing while going down”can be pretty risky.

It can break surprisingly easily from the threaded section…
Switch it back to the short one.

…(‘Д’)

There’s no end to it, so I’ll just drill and leave it at that…

Let’s clean the hidden areas of the case and replace the generator damper.
It was pretty rattly, so it should be quieter now.

I also cleaned up the starter motor and generator at least minimally.

Lately I’ve been replacing the shift oil seal without fail.

I had a bad feeling about it and thought about skipping it,
but I figured it would come up soon anyway…
Doing it now means no regrets later!

Even after lubricating and warming it up thoroughly, it was a struggle.
If you’re thinking about replacing this without proper tools, I’d advise against it.

To be honest, with just the tools I have at home, I couldn’t do it.
“I can’t.”
I might be able to, but the thing is there’s no recovery if something goes wrong.

The scary part about DIY work is
“assuming everything goes right”
and not expecting it to get stuck.
Well, if you think of that as part of the fun, then it’s fun, so I can’t really say…
Just do your best within the limits of what’s enjoyable! (*´ω｀*)

I’m using a tool like this to remove the oil seal.
A threaded rod with a round bar sliding hammer

The tip is a minus screwdriver welded to an M6 threaded boss.
Having this makes a huge difference.
Some people use tapping to remove it, but be careful…

Almost done, I’ll wrap it up tomorrow (*´ω｀*)