LocostUSA.com

I've got a friend at a bike breaker that turned me on to a motor that recently came in.
2007 Bandit GSF1250. Was in a front end crash that destroyed the forks and cluster, so unknown miles.

He's done a compression/ leakdown test and it checks out ok.

I'm seriously pondering a fun little A-Mod build. I've got a line on a starting point chassis, diff, brakes, uprights, and a passable body.

Is the Bandit motor a good for this application? Looking at reviews it seems like they're tough as nails and pretty dang inexpensive to own

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Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

Make sure to look into how it handles lateral Gs, something it never sees in a bike. Some bike engines are fine as-is in a car while others will fail at the first hard turn. Going the road lesser-traveled can be fun but also frustrating due to the lack of support. There's a good reason why the Hayabusa is expensive - it's sturdy and has a huge market. The question to you is, how important is that and do you care?

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

lateral g's matter because I plan to build a can to stick like glue.

That's really the purpose of the post. I'm looking for real world experience from the forum.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

One thing to keep in mind is that the bandit engine is air/oil cooled and has way less power than a modern engine will have. Even though it's a 2007, that's a pretty antiquated engine. Cooling in the back of a racecar could be a real issue too. I have no idea as to what you might need to do to the oiling system, if anything, to make it live.
Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7587
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18172

The Bandit 1250 had a completely new (at the time) water cooled engine, unrelated to the 80's GSXR1100 derived air/oil cooled 1200cc engine the name is most associated with. It's still torquey (good for a BEC) with that nice linear powerband that I loved about my 1200, but also better in every measurable way. However, I do believe it also still peaks at "only" a little over 100hp at the wheel. So probably not exactly ideal for a dedicated racecar. Oiling at sustained high lateral G's will likely be uncharted waters. I'm unaware of any having been used in any type of BEC, let alone a racecar...Although, not that I really follow then that closely.

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-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

Must have been the 1200 bandit I was thinking of being built on the old 80's gsxr engine then. I thought all the bandits were the old style engines though. They're definitely tuned more for torque than absolute power.
Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7587
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18172

The later Bandits used a detuned Hayabusa motor instead of a detuned GSXR motor. The air/oil GSXR motors had pitifully weak clutches, sized for a wimpy 600-ish motor. I went through three clutches on mine in not much more than 10,000 miles on my '97, and that was with Barnett springs and no drag racing.

I quit riding a few years ago when arthritis sucked all the fun out of it; that's when I restarted the Locost project. I considered using the Bandit motor, but there's no way the clutch would handle the weight of a car. The engine had more than enough power, but it would have required cutting off the transmission and mating it to a car transmission, like wossname's Hayabusa-powered Miata. And he's stalled at some horrendous driveline resonance issues... I'm glad I didn't go down that route.

I did some digging last night on the old interwebs. It seems the Bandit 1250 motor is a pretty popular swap into old minis in the UK along with the R1 and Honda Fireblade. There's also a guy who developed a reverse trike kit based around the Bandit and a couple of other motors. I've reached out to him and waiting for some feedback.

We'll see if this is the right engine for this project or not. I need to make a decision pretty quick as I'm keeping a buddy from putting it up for sale. Breakers are all about turnover to keep the cash flowing

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216