Fazer 600 or Bandit 600

[Az]

So, my insurance comes to an end in December and i'm thinking about selling the trusty Bandit and getting an older Fazer 600.

Now, I know everyone says how bland and boring the Bandit is, but is a 1999 Fazer 600 really that much better than my 2000 Bandit 6?
Is it worth going through the headache of selling my Bandit, buying and finding a new bike etc' for a Fazer?


So far this is how i've weighed it up:

Pro's
-Fazer has better mpg
-Half faired/Wind protection
-Lighter
-Probably won't lose much money, sell the Bandit for £1k, buy a Fazer for £1k.
-I get the impression they're much better bikes than the Bandit from others.

Con's
-Cost £400 to insure the Fazer where as the Bandit is £250
-I'm now very familiar with my Bandit and I can actually service and maintain it myself now (amateur still, I know ).
-I prefer the looks of my Bandit over the Fazer.

Another worry is that the Fazer may not be as reliable as the Bandit. The Bandit came with a lot of service history and receipts for work when I bought it and it hasn't let me down this whole year, not once and i've done over 8,000 miles since December.

It only recieves basic maintenance by me to and it's still survived, only the basics are done (basic services, chain adjustment and consumables) it doesn't recieve any extra love/luxurious such as cleaning or big services (although I may have the carbs balanced and valves checked if I keep the bike).

[Atomic Punk]

Hornet 600
Better than both of those IMHO
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I may have lost my way but I'm way ahead of schedule.

[instigator]

Run your bandit into the ground and only change it when you need to. When you get round to changing it, then consider the Fazer. Because I really don't think they are worlds apart in performance & reliability so I dare say you would be disappointed if you were to sell the blandit now and get the fazer.

I recommend throwing the blandit off a cliff and buying a cbr600f instead.

[Amber Phoenix]

If you go for a Fazer, try to find a 2002-2003 'foxeye' one. Better styling, much better headlights, better mirrors and bigger tank. Probably only be a smidgen more.

Not ridden a Bandit, but had a 2003 Fazer for 2 years - put about 14k on it, commuting everyday and many weekend rides. I've downed the bike a few times, but only reliability issues I've had in that time is rear brake caliper seizing up - apparently pretty common as its a poor design. Have no swapped on a Fazer 1000 'blue spot' rear caliper for princely sum of £60 - much better. Also the original downpipes rotted through. Swapped on some Motad stainless pipes and can on for £230. Oh, and internal battery on original Meta alarm died, so had to swap control unit (£130). Chain and sprocket seem to last ages (not had change yet) and I've only had to put one new back tyre and two front on in time I've had it.

Maintenance is easy, the mini fairing doesn't get in the way of anything and tank is doddle to remove to access air box, radiator filler cap, carb nipples etc.

I average about 50mpg, around 200miles from tank full to low fuel light when commuting. Around 220-230miles per tank if on longer runs. It's comfy on long runs, fun and nimble on the twisties, handles two up fine and plenty fast enough win you more points than you want.
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Beginner Biker Adventures Blog
Yamaha FZ6 S2 2007

[Pol Anorl]

id go for a newer fazer, mines the 99 with shit headlights, not so bad if you change the left bulb to an osram and remove the shield (fuck other drivers)

the rear calipers are shit to so change for trx/tdm, thundercat or fzs 1000 caliper.

once youve done that its all good.

if taking pillions it can be an issue if theyre tall.

My gf is 5ft 9/10 and i had to raise the rear seat and buy the longer fzs 600 hangers for her to be comfy.

my thread here:

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=292593
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[Berserkz0r]

+1 for just sticking with the Bandit

I traded my decent condition 2002 Bandit 600 to a dealer for the grand sum of about £500 to get a 2004 GSX-R1000 on finance in February and although I absolutely love my gixxer, part of me wishes I could simply switch back now and drop the finance payments and rip-off insurance.

I used to own my bike outright and pay all of £22 a month for insurance, and now finance + insurance comes to about £190 a month.

Obviously your jump would be nothing like the one I made in terms of cost or performance but I have to say that I could have appreciated my Bandit a lot more than I did and I am really poor now.

[N cee thirty]

my fazer was very good to me and very reliable, but i would say stick with the bandit ' stick with the devil you know'
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[angryjonny]

[Az]

The reason i've limited myself to a Fazer and not a Hornet or CBR-F is because i'm on an A2 license.

After reading everyone's opinions, I'm tempted to keep the Bandit until I can do my full A in December 2016 and save, then buy a bike I actually want.

[DrSnoosnoo]

[Baffler186]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it (or swap it).

However if you are hell-bent on changing to the fazer then I would consider it the better bike, having owned a 97 bandit and a 2004 fazer. The Yam out-trumps the bandit on nearly everything; better ride, better brakes, better engine and slightly faster. Only downside is the lights on the FZ are shit, but that doesn't bother me.

That said, you would still be swapping a 600 IL4 for a 600IL4, so you'd not notice a massive difference. The only reason I would swap one for the other is if the Bandit was giving me problems (and mine did)
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Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic

[wr6133]

Another vote for stick with Bandit. Not ridden a Fazer but I think the bandit looks better and I can't imagine the fazer performing that much better or at least not enough to bother with the faff of selling one to get the other. If you are after MPG and build quality get an old Honda CB500 (though I still wouldn't bother and stick with Bandit).

[gdj444]

I've changed bikes lots over the last few years, sometimes because a fault developed, sometimes because I wanted to ride different types of road and sometimes just because I had an itch to scratch, looking back I have most regretted selling on bikes that had no faults, I knew and trusted and did almost everything I wanted, all I ended up with was more cost (insurance swap over and inevitable bling), and on the bikes I replaced them with I never really gained anything (roughly same price) apart from an uncertainty on reliability for a while and a new eBay search for accessories.

So I would recommend staying with the bandit if it does 90% of what you want it to do (even though I've had 5 or 6 Fazers over the years)

Until you change to something way different / more expensive / cheaper it is definitely a case of better the devil you know

Jonesy

[Amber Phoenix]

Ermm, the FZS600 appears to be borderline 70kW power output. Is it actually can it legally be restricted and ridden on A2? I'm searching the net, but finding conflicting opinions.
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Beginner Biker Adventures Blog
Yamaha FZ6 S2 2007

[Az]

[P.addy]

Would keep that Bandit, run it till it goes bang. Performance wise you won't see much difference, mpg just ride a little smoother and to be honest, save up for the A licence and a new bike

[Itchy]

Fazer, the bandit doesn't hold a candle to the Fazer, only the MK2 ones mind!

The Mk1 fazers have poor headlamps.

The MK2 has a bigger fuel tank better headlamps.

The post 2003 versions don't have blue spots.

Kitty has ridden hers to 93,000 miles and it hasn't broken, the only weak spots are bad stock suspension and rotting downpipes. As they were painted mild steel.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Thorn]

Keep the bandit, overall the FZS600 is a slightly better bike with a more exciting engine, but certainly not worth the effort of swapping for one.

[gavcarter]

Spend a grand getting the bandit swapped to the 1200 engine and turbo'ed.
Not a new bike, wont solve any of the problems you have with it, but being propelled forwards at a rate fast enough to push your eyes into the back of your head, your nuts disappear like a well-trained sumo wrestler, and you will have shoulders like Arnold Schwarzenegger may just be worth the effort

[Carvel]

Vfr400 NC30

Commuters are boring.
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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.

[DottyDuck]

[stonesie]

Keep the Bandit, fit a front sprocket with 1 less tooth, maybe a rear with a couple more teeth... It will be more revvy but will move it's lardy arse along with a bit more haste

My MOT tester did that to his 600 bandit hack and now hardly rides his 1200 bandit, says the hack is just too much fun to rag about without getting into stupid speeds.