I’ve always been a big fan of naked sportbikes. The performance, looks and windblast all make naked sportbikes one of the most fun motos out there.

I’ve been looking for a GSF400 Bandit for almost 5 years. While not incredibly rare they do tend to have a cult following. People who know what they are scoop em up quick. I almost got one locally a few years ago but missed out by a few hours. That wasn’t the case today.

I am FINALLY the proud owner of a 1992 Suzuki GSF400. It looks like a baby Ducati Monster but instead of having a 90° twin it has a super high revving in-line four with a redline of 14,000 rpm. The tach goes all the way up to 18,000 rpm.

This example was owned by someone who was an enthusiast and who loved the Bandit. How do I know this? It came with a folder full of maintenance and someone even went through the trouble to track down the January 1991 Cycle World magazine where the Bandit 400 is on the cover. Very cool!

You guys will get a kick out of this, I brought the bike home in my Toyota Sienna minivan. Yeah, thanks to bar end mirrors and lower than normal clip ons it fit easily. Unfortunately the bike had just been topped off with gasoline so it leaked in my Sienna.

I’ll post up pics of the bike and even if it loaded into my minivan once my photo sharing app starts working again.

You're in the club! Doesn't matter is it's a tiny Four

So, the "sweet spot" for local cruising will be 7000-10000 rpms. Wow, that sounds loud!

Is it carbonated? Err, make that carbureted?

Yepp. Four carburetors. Good times!!

Nice! I had a Katana 550 for awhile in the early 80's; fun bike!

It's like a little Asian monster.

Cool.

Who are you guys using for photo sharing? My photobucket app has finally crapped itself and it is time to move to someone else.


This little bike has some VERY cool stuff going on aesthetically. The engine is water cooled but the block has little fins so that it looks like the old air/oil cooled engines. The trellis frame is gorgeous. It’s one of the best looking bikes Suzuki ever made.

Postimg for me. I can't see the posted photos, due to work filters, but they work fine outside of the office.

Buddy of mine had a Bandit back in the day. Super light, it would go turn & stop like crazy. My ‘92 CB750 was no match for it.
Do I remember the manual saying something about not expecting more than about 30k miles out that engine?

Pics.

I love the gauges. Seeing 18,000 rpm listed is pretty wild.







The fun, stinky ride home in the Toyota Sienna.

It is beyond fun to get up in the mountainous twisties and just flat wear out the guys on their big sport bikes.

Lightweight high revving inline fours are such a blast. Of course, all roads eventually lead to a straight piece of road where the big boys can overcome their lack of talent but up until then they are toast...

Congrats

Had a Monster, so can relate to the whole IDEA of the bike. Congrats. Always fun to get a new toy/project in the garage.

I’m excited. The paint on the right side of the tank was ruined by spilling gas but I planned on repainting the whole bike anyway.

I need to roll the CB-1 out and get some pics of the two 400cc screamers.

Awesome bike! What color are you thinking on the re-paint?

Paint will be last on a long list of mods but I was thinking of keeping it red or going with a blue like this one. I’d like to find some supermoto style spoked wheels that will fit it.



It really makes the frame stand out

That blue looks great!
18k RPM, makes me want to find a CBR250RR

well that's a bike guy for you, stuffing the bike in the back of the suv....

nice score, paint the tank blue for the USA theme... white wheels, red frame blue tank...

That’s going to be a blast to ride with an 18k rev limit. Great idea of laced wheels for it. Would really like to put laced wheels on my monster but haven’t found an opition for them yet.

Awesome bike !

I also vote for that blue color, maybe with some white in there for a neat old Wes Cooley superbike look.

That GS 1000 Wes Cooley is my grail bike

It definitely has a more aggressive riding position compared to a factory bandit 400. Pretty good drop on the bars with the clip ons.

Nice ride!