Sell Bandit 400 or Cb250 ?

[Lynxx]

I just traded my 1984 Mtx125r with a 200 engine for a 1993 Cb250 and a 1993 Bandit 400. Now which ones better ?
Heres a little list i come up with for the bikes
93 Cb250
Motad chrome 2 into 1 exhaust system, Street fighter headlights, dent in the tank (but getting another one tomorrow from the trader), starts and runs great and needs headlight wiring sorted out (high and low beam are not working but the passing high beam works)

93 Bandit 400
Yoshimura system and needs a brake caliper (according to the last owner) probably just needs a bleed.

Both bikes have a V5 and keys, I am planning on selling one of them and using the cash to make the other road legal. I have an international license with no restrictions. Which bike is cheaper to insure and which is a better bike ? My insurance company told me i could insure a bandit 600 for 450 a year, So is the bandit 400 less or more expensive than a 600 ?

If anyone's interested in either one of these bikes im open to offers.

I will post pics tomorrow after i sort the headlights, petrol tank and the bandit arrives.
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Current: 1992 Suzuki GSF400V - 1984 Honda MTX200 (SOLD) - 1975 Honda Xl350 (SOLD) - 1993 Honda CB250 (SOLD)

[T0MMY]

I'd sell both of them

The CB250 is dull as ditch water and the Bandit 400s seem to be unreliable from what I've seen. I really like the look of them compared to the larger engined ones of similar vintage and on paper they should be good fun. I've tried to buy one several times as I like the idea of a sporty and revvy little unfaired 400 and looked at and ridden quite a few. They've always been completely fucked in various ways and really tatty compared to, say, similar age CB1s. They also don't seem to handle nearly as well which is why I ended up with the Honda to scratch that particular itch.

If you just want it for practical transport the CB250 should be more reliable and cheaper to run. If you want it for fun I'd keep the Bandit assuming it's not knackered.
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[Lynxx]

well according to the previous owner whos delivering it today, its in great shape other than the rear caliper. The Cb he said was in great shape, and the thing looks brand new other than some aluminum oxidization on the rims/ engine. So fingers crossed it wont look too shabby. Ill post some pics later when it arrives and i swap petrol tanks on the CB, btw the headlight fuse was blown, this proves to me that the last owner was not to good on repairing them. The Cb also had the back brakes way out of adjustment.
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Current: 1992 Suzuki GSF400V - 1984 Honda MTX200 (SOLD) - 1975 Honda Xl350 (SOLD) - 1993 Honda CB250 (SOLD)

[P.]

I have a CB250 which should be road legal Saturday but its going to be dull, but I know it will get to the end of my journey no hassle!

The B4, I've seen so many threads on how unreliable they are....but I'd still have one.

Sell the CB

[Lynxx]

yeah and only 80 quid a year extra to change from my Mtx125 to a Bandit 400. So i only need 180 to fix and legalize the bandit. 35 for brake kit, 30 MOT, 35 tax, 80 insurance. Thats 3rd party fire and theft too. It turns out fire and theft is cheaper than just 3rd party.
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Current: 1992 Suzuki GSF400V - 1984 Honda MTX200 (SOLD) - 1975 Honda Xl350 (SOLD) - 1993 Honda CB250 (SOLD)

[P.]

[Lynxx]

i didn't think it was that way, well maybe with less popular models that aint stolen so much :/ Ive always had bikes that get stolen a lot. And it was cheaper to put on third party only and chain it to a lamppost and just not park in shitty areas of town.
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Current: 1992 Suzuki GSF400V - 1984 Honda MTX200 (SOLD) - 1975 Honda Xl350 (SOLD) - 1993 Honda CB250 (SOLD)

[Teflon-Mike]

I wouldn't have swapped TBH.

CB'Two-Fifty' is dull as ditch water commuter with the old Benley engine & 19bhp. Cheap wheels, commuting, but hardly inspiring. And a nice one is probably worth no more than £500 Taxed, texted, ready to ride and devoid of silly faults.

400 Bandit is twenty year old Grey import. When 600's commanded money on the second hand market, they were a cheap alternative, and a slightly more inspiring ride; but they dont have a lot going for them these days, and twenty years in the bargain basement, like the 'two-fifty' likely to have suffered a lot of neglect and improvised repairs, which wouldn't bode well for a trouble free daily rider.

Which to sell? Depends what you want. As cheap wheels, the CB250 probably is the more 'useful'.

But personally, I would probably try and get each through an MOT, and flog BOTH off as quick as possible and hope I got more for them and the effort than I could have got for the MTX, which, learner legal (at least on the log book) would have likely been the bigger cash-cow, on open market.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[DrDonnyBrago]

I'd keep the CB250.


Brother had one about that age. Was pretty fun to ride, like a 125 with enough power to do motorways. It's pretty much like riding a mountain bike with an engine.

2up with my 17st on the back was bordering on deadly though.

[Lynxx]

got some photos of everything today, and info.
CB250 has 27,000 miles. Bandit has 10,000 miles.
here is some photos

Bandit:

https://i43.tinypic.com/123nkzl.jpg
https://i42.tinypic.com/okchk.jpg
https://i39.tinypic.com/2urntd4.jpg
https://i44.tinypic.com/w2q7l.jpg

FYI I snapped the brake lever off, trying to get it into the yard. And the rear caliper is off at the moment, it needs a O-ring where it spits in half. (last owner thought the caliper was broken (idiot))
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Current: 1992 Suzuki GSF400V - 1984 Honda MTX200 (SOLD) - 1975 Honda Xl350 (SOLD) - 1993 Honda CB250 (SOLD)

[Lynxx]

CB250 pics:

https://i42.tinypic.com/14m9q94.jpg
https://i41.tinypic.com/rbdyjt.jpg
https://i41.tinypic.com/15hd6p0.jpg
https://i43.tinypic.com/330vaqc.jpg
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Current: 1992 Suzuki GSF400V - 1984 Honda MTX200 (SOLD) - 1975 Honda Xl350 (SOLD) - 1993 Honda CB250 (SOLD)

[Polarbear]

Bandit for me, that looks quite nice, and pretty modern. The CB looks old. I suppose it depends if you like retro, I do, bit not that almost cruiser look.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[TheSmiler]

Personally I would get rid of the bandit not much for roll cage bikes, however the cb250 looks quite nice and the paint job isn't bad kinda cool.
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CB125>CG125>GN125>ER5>K100RS>R1100RS>K100RS
A2 completed 23/07/15 Ready for the Golden Crisp Packet

[P.]

CB250, I'll give you £100 and I'll pick up tomorrow

Failing that send me the rear wheel and the front brake

[T0MMY]

Bandit looks much nicer...they're much prettier than the 600 version imo.

No point in getting opinions from us though, surely you just need to look at them and ride them and see which one YOU like most.
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[Lynxx]

yeah the bandit is a lot nicer, i fixed the rear brake today. It only needed an o ring and 2 washers on the brake hose bolt. Cheap fix, considering the last owner said i needed a new rear caliper. Now it just needs a battery and a front brake lever. The stock battery is a YTX8-BS with roughly 8amps i found a YT12A-BS that puts out 12 amps and is the same voltage. will it hurt anything or just start better ?
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Current: 1992 Suzuki GSF400V - 1984 Honda MTX200 (SOLD) - 1975 Honda Xl350 (SOLD) - 1993 Honda CB250 (SOLD)

[FBSF]

As long as it fits, shouldn't really be an issue. You'll want to make sure it stays topped up charge wise though - it might over-do the charging circuits if you ride the bike with it completely flat.

[.Chris.]

I'd be in a right pickle having to make that choice, as they're both bikes I really like. Not keen on the twin lights and 'drag'-style handlebars on the CB250 though, plus the Bandit does look pretty clean. 10,000 miles on a 20 year old bike does sound a little implausible, however.

Suppose it comes down to what you want from a bike. Obviously the Bandit will be considerably faster than the CB250, but will cost more to run. Best would be (if you can) to ride both and see which you prefer.
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Chris
1985 Kawasaki Z550F

[T0MMY]

Oh wait...just noticed that Bandit is the later one with variable valve control...there's some little glimmer of memory here from when I was thinking of buying one years ago...

I seem to remember thinking I didn't want one of the VVC ones but I can't remember why...some common/expensive fault they suffered from...might be worth doing some googling because I really can't remember what it was.
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[Lynxx]

yeah the 10,000 does seem unbelievable but the bike has 20,000 kilometers and it has not been converted to mph, it has approximately 12,000 miles. Everything looks clean, i pulled the rocker cover off today to re-spray the rocker cover. and all the cams/ valves/ timing chain all look good. Might be worth setting the valve clearances, anyone know what they are supposed to be ? also stock jet sizes ? I want to know if its running rich, the spark plugs are black and it has a Yoshi pipe on it, maybe the last owner re-jetted too big.
It does run when you jump it off a car, and runs a little bit crappy but revs up to 12k with no problem.

Also problem might of been because the petrol in the bike is not the best, it smells funky.
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Current: 1992 Suzuki GSF400V - 1984 Honda MTX200 (SOLD) - 1975 Honda Xl350 (SOLD) - 1993 Honda CB250 (SOLD)