Suzuki Bandit 1250 Common Problems

The Bandit 1250 is a pretty solid bike. The engine and gearbox go on forever and the chassis parts, although basic, are decent. But like any other machine there are a number of common issues, none too serious or costly, if you're in the know.

#1 Starter Motors: I've owned two 1250s from new and the starter died just out of warranty on both, so it's a fair bet that you'll come across this one. The original starters are just poor quality and the magnets fall off the inside. Initially, the symptoms look a lot like a flat battery: The starter becomes sluggish and you may find that the clocks reset themselves when you try to start the bike. By all means test your battery if this happens but unless the battery is ancient it's almost certainly a dead starter.

Suzuki want stupid money for a new starter but pattern ones are available on eBay for around a quarter of Suzukis price. Changing the starter isn't that difficult. Access is tight but contrary to the factory manual, there's no need to remove the throttle bodies. Removing the regulator/rectifier and inner sprocket cover creates sufficient wriggle room to pull the starter. Refitting is the reverse of removal...

#2 Gear Position Sensor: AKA the Neutral Light Switch. The first symptom is the neutral light failing to activate, although the sensor does more than just switch the neutral light: It tells the ECU which gear the bike's in and there are different fuel maps for each gear. They can sometimes be fixed temporarily by removing the sensor and soaking it in contact cleaner but once they start playing up replacement is the only cure. The current Part No. 37730-18H02 replaces all previous versions.

#3 Coolant Overflow: If you find a puddle of coolant under the bike chances are you need a new radiator cap. After years of use these give up the ghost and allow the coolant to boil over into the expansion tank which then overflows. Suzuki want over £60 for one but Wemoto do them for about £20.

#4 Fuel Pump: The symptoms are typical fuel starvation: The bike loses power, shudders, vibrates and feels like it's going to stall. There are two possible causes: Failure of the pump motor or (more likely) clogging of one or more of the filters. Suzuki's “Solution” is to sell you a whole fuel pump assembly for a whopping £700! So it's eBay to the rescue with a repair kit containing a new pump motor, filters and gaskets for around £30. No brainer.

There are plenty of fitting instructions on the web just make sure that you clean out the small fuel way shown in the picture. There is a small, non removable mesh filter in there which gets clogged so get a piece of wire or similar and carefully clean it out.

These are the most common issues from the forums, just bear in mind that not every 1250 will suffer all of these issues and many that do will have covered a high mileage. And, apart from starter motors, these issues develop gradually so you'll get plenty of warning before anything actually fails.

Choosing Parts: Genuine Suzuki parts are expensive whereas pattern parts are often the exact same part in a non-branded package for a lot less money. There are also uprated after market parts which are both better and cheaper than OE and should be used wherever possible. I'm not generally against good used parts but I wouldn't recommend a used starter, rad cap or fuel pump since these are highly likely to be in the same state as the one they're replacing.