2002 Suzuki Bandit 600S Sport Bike reviews

As my first motorcycle of any type, I think it has been a great first pick so far. I just passed 12,000 miles, and finally need new tires....good stock sound, and rides smoother than any car I've ever owned... Show less

I bought my 2002 Bandit 600S new in January of 2003. This is my fourth motorcycle, and I've ridden many bikes over the years. I bought my Bandit because it is comfortable to ride, it's fast, and is good for long distance travel as is. I added a Zero Gravity windshield, which I recommend (the company was good to work with). The seat is fine, even after 6 hours in the saddle. I love the looks, the inexpensive full coverage insurance, and the performance. I'm 44, and have been riding since 1969, and I've not found a better blend of performance, cost, comfort, and handling. Excellent brakes for a street bike. No, it's not a racebike, but if you've ridden a racebike, you know they are pretty sorry rides for daily riders and road trips. The only issue is a buzz through the seat and bars between about 60 and 70 mph indicated in sixth gear. Downshift or speed up, and the problem goes away, no big deal. Gel Grips help here. MPG is averaging about 44 in mixed city/backroads. If you are going to own one bike that can do almost anything, I'd recommend it. Love the color (red), the handling, the silver unpainted motor, and the ease of maintenance. By the way, it also handles off road fine, within limits, but that's a story for another time. Show less

I have had this bike for over 2 and a half years now and have never had any mechanical problems. The drive chain does seem to loosen up on its own some times but that's about it. Bike has good performance but can seem a little heavy at times. The bike offers good performance and low operating costs. I found the insurance premiums on this cycle to be lower the most others. Would recommend this bike for pleasure rides and or commuting Show less

My 2002 Bandit 600S is my first bike and so far it has been great. I don't have a lot of miles on the bike but then again I only purchased it to ride on the weekends and for play time so I plan to have the bike for a long time. As with most of the reviews there are more pro's than con's for the Bandit. First with the bad, and they're not that bad. The rear view mirrors are pretty much useless above 20-25 mph becuase of vibration but then again you should always do a head check so this just helps out with safety, right?? Also there is a bit of engine vibration between 5k-6k rpm's which can lead to some numbness in the hands. But you know my father-in-law rides a 2001 H.D. Heritage Softail and his hands get numb even though he has a throttle boss and he spent thousands of dollas more then I did. Last and least the stock seat is a bit hard but then I should just stop complaining and go out and buy a gel seat to fix the problem. As for the rest of the bike, it is built solid and handles really well dispite my size of 6'/230lbs. As for the power, it has plenty of it. My bike makes my brother-in-law want to trade in his H.D. Electra Glide for a sport bike, he tells me he is amazed that the thing never runs out of power compared to his bike. All in all I would give this bike 4.5 stars out of 5. I recommend this bike to anyone as their first bike, I'm sure they will love it as much as I have. Ride safe and stay out of blind spots. Show less

I have had my 02' bandit for almost a year and am very pleased with it. If you go on day trips or longer this is a good choice. I mainly ride by myself so I can't tell you much about 2 up yet. I think this bike has been excellent for the trips I've taken. The only things to change I recommend would be a jet kit (pipe optional) to even out the carburetion. As most import bikes it's lean at first. I got a stage one jet kit and a slip-on pipe and it fixed that. An aftermarket seat could probably help too. But that again goes for most stock seats as far as long trips go. If you want to pose this is probably not the bike for you. Get a GSXR and ride up and down main street like all the posers do around here. Otherwise, I really like the looks of the newer bandits. The seat height could be a little tricky for some couple with the fact it can be a tad top heavy at slow speeds. (Parking maneuvering and such) that's all folks! Show less

Hey, I know there are more Bandit riders out there than this. Come on, post your reviews. This is my second season with my 2002 Black Bandit, I put some custom graphics on the fairing, put on a Holeshot stage 1 modified Jet Kit and a Yoshimura RS3 pipe. It runs like a rocket and sounds awesome. I had a Buell Lighting riding with me who had a very hard time keeping up. No Problems to report so far. I love this bike. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Show less

bought a new 2002 last month.ihave been riding since 1971 and have had everything from a moped to a goldwing. i bought this to screw around town on and take my wife for weekend rides up to a hundred miles. it does both well.i am not looking to race, pull wheelies or scrape the pegs, just have fun and look good while doing it. this does it! Show less

I have a 2002 Bandit, it's black and I love this bike. It is my first bike, I purchased it back in June of this year. I have almost 1K miles on it which doesn't exactly qualify me as the crustiest biker in the world but.. I thought I was ready to move up to a bigger bike and started looking at cruisers. I almost got sucked into the whole Harley illusion. I was going to get a cruiser in the spring but I realized that the Bandit has more HP than most cruisers. This bike may not be a GSX or other Super Sport but it kicks ass! Oct 2002 issue of Motor Cyclist rates the Bandit 600S at 72.9HP at 10.750RPM and 38.6@9000 torque, 1/4 mile time is 12.59 which is a faster time than what is listed for the SV650, roll on speed 60-80mph is 6.76 this is all stock. I rode my bike today and realized how smooth it is and how fun it is to ride expecially as I blew past two Harley riders on the highway. I bought this bike new for $4895 and think I got a hell of a package for the price. I am going to keep this bike for a while. It's got all the power I need, it handles great, I can't think of one negative thing to say about it. I love it's looks and I like the black color. I am going to put a Holeshot slip on and Stage 1 Jet kit which will give me over 80 HP. I may put the Holeshot headers on at some point too because Dale Walker (Holeshot owner/designer) says the full system will produce at least 12-14 HP especially mid-rage and top end. That is mid 80's HP folks, more HP than a Ducatti Supersport 900. I will blow away any Harely (except the V-rod) and most other Cruiser and other bikes. I am 42 and feel like and young buck riding this bike. I highly recommend it espescially for first time buyers trying to save a buck but still want allot of fun for the money. You really can't go wrong. The Bandit will take a lickin and keep on tickin. It's the blue collar hero of the street bike world. Good luck and ride safe. Show less

I own a 2000 bandit and wrote an article 2 years ago "the review you've all been waiting for" I'm writing this to give an update. My bandit 600 now has over 22k miles on it, I've been riding my other two bikes a lot to keep the miles off of all of them. The only problem i have had with the bandit was a right cylinder burning out at around 8k miles, under warrenty off course, cause: the bike was running too lean, i installed a stage 2 jet kit and a vance and hines exhaust and haven't had any problems since. I still stand with my initial feelings that this bike rocks... I had it put on the dyno and it was making 73 hp at the rear wheel with the nicest arc you've ever seen. I know it's not a gsxr 600 putting out 90 hp but it's still good. i love this bike, it's not the fastest, or the best handling bike out there, but for the money it will blow away a lot and keep up with the best. It's the best real life bike available, the most miles i ever put on it were 1800 in 48 hours. no that's not a typo, i took at weekend and went from pa up to mount washington newhampshire(no highways) and wrode back, with my girl friend on the back. I had to make a backrest for her to make it a comfortable ride. Anyway hope this helps some of you younger guys make the decision that you'd have to be a moron to buy a gsxr unless you're gonna be on the track, the bandit is all the bike you need. Joe Show less