Bandit 1200 Valve Cover Removal

It's been several years since I've posted about Bandit maintenance. During the gap I've replaced the OEM auto cam chain tensioner with an APE after market tensioner, added a Pingel fuel filter, rebuilt fuel petcock, brake & clutch master cylinders, replaced brake & clutch hydraulic lines, and replaced the rear shock with a Hagon unit.  At some point I intend to write up everything I've done, but time is limited and there isn't much interest in maintaining old air-cooled Bandits these days. Current mileage on the old Bandit is just over 115k and I still ride it to work a few times a week.

This is a re-write of a procedure I covered indirectly in the valve clearance inspection procedure but thought I'd write it up on its own for ease of searching.

Gasket List

• Gasket, cylinder: 11173-06B03
• Signal generator cover gasket: 11491-27A30
• 4 x oil journal bolt washer (Gasket): 09168-08029
• 8 x valve cover bolt gasket (Washer): 09161-11008
• 2 x oil hose o-ring (O ring): 09280-14011
• 2 x spark plug gasket type 1 (Gasket, head cover): 11178-27A02
• 2 x spark plug gasket type 2 (Gasket, head cover): 11179-27A03

Valve cover gaskets

Note, photo also includes APE cam chain tensioner and gasket which are not required for this service. The crankcase breather gasket is not replaced unless it's leaking.

Seat and Tank Removal

First remove the seat, then the gas tank. Tank removal procedure is here.

Tank removed

Valve Cover Removal

• remove the 4 hoses from the PAIR valve on the right-hand side of the frame, then remove PAIR valve from its frame mount with the single hex bolt.
• Unplug spark plug wires and move them out of the way
• Remove the breather hose from the breather on top center of the valve cover, then unbolt the breather and remove it and its gasket.
• Unbolt the two oil hoses from the back of the valve cover and throw away the o-rings. These need to be replaced.
• Unbolt and remove front and rear "shoulder bolts" from the valve cover (hex bolts with no gaskets underneath).
• In a criss-cross pattern, in several steps, unbolt the black hex bolts that hold down the valve cover, and the 4 silver-colored oil journal bolts that run down the center of the valve cover. Start with the silver oil journal bolts.

Plug wires removed

Gently pry up the disc-shaped gaskets from the valve cover and throw them away. They will need to be replaced. Also throw away the metal washers underneath the silver oil journal bolts, those need to be replaced as well.

Pry up disc-shaped gaskets

Finally remove the valve cover by lifting it straight off, and gently working it out on the left side. Most likely the valve cover will be stuck hard and can be very difficult to remove. Whatever you do, resist the temptation to wedge a screwdriver in there and pry. That is a sure way to damage the surface of the valve cover and/or cylinder head, and possibly even put a chip or hole in the valve cover. I used to take my bike to a reputable shop in SF to have valve clearance inspection done, and as a result have a crescent-shaped hole in my valve cover, presumably from where a mechanic jammed a screwdriver in there to pry it loose. You can hit it with a rubber mallet, which sometimes works, or tie some twine around two hex bolts protruding from either side of the valve cover and lift up.

With the valve cover off you can see the valves, cams, and cam chain.

Signal Generator Cover Removal

If you have engine guards, which you should, the right-side guard will have to be moved aside to remove the signal generator cover. It is not necessary to totally remove the engine guard. Remove the hex bolt and loosen the 17mm bolt at the top of the engine guard. The nut at the back of the 17mm bolt is very hard to see, it is 14mm. Hold it with a wrench while loosening the bolt. There is a 3rd bolt at the bottom of the guard which is missing from my bike. That has to be removed. Then swing the engine guard forward.

Next remove signal generator cover by removing all hex bolts. Note the bolt at the top has a washer. If needed whack the cover with a rubber mallet to get it loose.

Reassembly

To be continued...

Bandit 1200 Fuel Tank Removal

I've covered this elsewhere but thought I'd write it up as its own procedure for ease of searching.

Tools & Supplies Required

• 10mm socket
• Small Phillips screwdriver
• Long needle-nose pliers, Long angle pliers
• wood 2x4
• Rag
• Milk crate or sturdy box

This should take no more than 15 minutes. Begin with bike on center stand. Remove seat, then unscrew and remove fuel petcock lever. Lever can be in any position except PRI.

Remove the 2 10mm bolts and the base of the tank, and the rubber mounts underneath the 2 metal tabs.

Pull the tank about 2" toward the rear of the bike, then lift the front and move it forward again. There is a metal tab on the front of the tank that sbould rest on the front rubber tank mount.

Prop the rear of the tank up with the 2x4 on the low height.

With the tank in this position, remove the overflow hose on the left side by moving the clamp down the hose about an inch, and pulling the hose off the tank fitting.

On the right side, unclip the fuel sending unit and pull off the vent hose next to it.

Move the 2x4 to the tall height.

Put the rag under the fuel petcock to catch any gas that comes out.

Remove the 2 hoses from the petcock. The smaller hose is a vacuum hose which can be pulled off. The large hose is the fuel hose. Unclamp it with the long pliers and move the clamp about an inch down the fuel hose.

Pull the fuel hose off and be ready for some gas to come out.

Finally, lift off the tank and place it on the box or milk crate, making sure no weight is on the fuel petcock or hose fittings under the tank.

Reinstallation is the reverse. I couldn't find torque specs for the tank bolts. Finger-tight plus a quarter turn should be plenty, do not over-tighten.

Bandit Turns 100

I got my '01 Bandit used in '04 with only 4000 miles, for a reasonable $5k OTD. After nearly 12 years of daily commuting it finally rolled 100k!

Not bad for an old air-cooled dinosaur. But it hasn't been without effort. In addition to the usual tires, oil, and chains here are a few of the various services I've done:

• 15k - replace head gasket due to slow oil leak
• 80k - replace brake lines, rebuild brake & clutch master cylinders
• 90k - replace carb float needles & seats
• 98k - replace cam chain tensioner due to excessive cam chain noise (write-up coming soon!)

And I've replaced the fuel petcock at least 3 times and the suspension and brakes are completely worn out at this point. But overall I've been very happy with this bike. It's reliably taken me to to work & back 55 miles a day, every day, Alaska, 2 Canadian provinces, and numerous trips back home to the California Central Coast to visit my folks. A lot of people have told me "Jap crap" isn't durable or reliable but this proves them wrong. I'm hoping for another 100k out of it!

Bandit 1200 Rear Wheel Removal

I've covered this indirectly in the chain & sprocket replacement procedure but for the sake of thoroughness and ease of searching I thought I'd write it up as its own procedure.

Tools & Supplies Required

• 24mm socket - rear axle
• 12 & 14mm sockets
• 10, 12, 14mm combination wrenches
• needle-nose pliars
• Torque wrench
• multi-purpose lithium grease
• solvent
• wood block, cardboard

Begin with the bike on the side stand. Start by tying a reminder to the rear brake so it's not accidentally pressed when the wheel is off.

On the left side, remove the cotter pin and loosen the rear axle with the 24mm socket.

On the right side, loosen the 2 brake caliper bolts - 12mm.

Loosen rear brake torque arm (upper nut in photo, bolted to black U-shaped connector) with a 14mm socket in back and 14mm wrench on the nut.

With all that out of the way the bike can be put up on the center stand.

Loosen the chain adjusters on each side. The lock nut is 12mm. On the right (muffler) side, loosen the lock nut by turning up. On the left side, loosen the lock nut by turning down. Then loosen the adjusters with the 10mm wrench--turn them the opposite direction as the lock nuts.

Push the wheel forward and prop it up underneath with the wood block.

Remove rear axle nut, washer, and left side chain adjustment block, noting orientation of each.

Optional, but makes chain adjustment easier--remove chain guard.

Remove rear brake caliper bolts.

Rotate the rear caliper down a bit to free the brake rotor.

All nuts, bolts, spacers, etc. removed should be cleaned in solvent.

Remove rear axle, spacer/caliper mount, and right side chain adjustment block.

Pull the chain from the rear sprocket.

The wheel can be pulled out by angling it toward the left side of the bike, and kind of wiggling it out of there.

For tire service the rear sprocket can be pulled straight up and out of the left side rubber mounts.

Congratulations, your wheel is off.

Reinstallation

Reinstallation is basically the opposite of removal.

Push the rear sprocket back into the rubber mounts. If it's stubborn a little tire lube or other water-based lube will help it go in.

Clean and re-lube the axle and wheel bearing cover/spacers with multi-purpose lithium grease.

The next part of the job is a lot easier with a helper.

Position the wheel back in the swingarm and prop it up on the block. Reinstall the chain on the sprocket.

Position the axle and right-side chain adjustment block, and push the axle through. It should go in easily. If it doesn't go don't force it. Reposition the wheel and try again it it gets stuck.

Push the brake caliper over the rotor and finger tighten the mounting bolts.

Crank the axle nut down about halfway so there is still freeplay in the wheel.

Quick & Dirty Chain Adjustment

You can spend as much time as you want making sure the wheel is on straight and the chain tension is correct. Strings, laser sights, rulers, levels, etc. However, my experience with the Bandit's chain adjusters is that they aren't well-enough machined for precision adjustment, and I've just had to tolerate the fact that Bandits go through chains faster than other bikes.

Tighten the chain adjusters an equal amount on each side. Use the marks on the end of the swingarm as a guide. Crank them down until there is about 1.5" freeplay at the loose part of the chain under the swingarm. When you check the freeplay the chain should be able to just touch the front end of the swingarm.

When the adjuster blocks are even, tighten the lock nuts with the 12mm wrench while holding the adjuster nut in place with the 10mm socket. Left side lock nut tightens up, right tightens down. Snug down the axle bolt and re-check chain tension. It will probably be a lot tighter. Freeplay should be about 1", which is tight enough so it will almost touch the front end of the swingarm, but not quite. If it's too tight, undo everything and loosen up the adjusters maybe a quarter turn. Shove the wheel forward as hard as you can, then tighten everything up and check again. When the chain tension feels Ok, sight down the chain toward the front of the bike while rotating the rear wheel counter clockwise (normal forward travel direction). Chain should move easily and travel straight. It should not wiggle or appear to travel off at an angle.

If everything looks Ok it's time to torque everything down.

Torque the rear axle nut to 74 ft-lbs and re-insert the cotter pin. It's Ok to re-use it once in spite of what the manual says. I've never had one break.

It's Ok to loosen the axle nut just a little to line it up with the hole in the axle for the cotter pin. Conventional wisdom is to tighten the nut to get everything to line up, but I've had much worse luck over-torquing things on Bandits, than leaving things a little under-tightened.

Torque the rear brake caliper bolts to 18 ft-lbs, and the torque arm nut to 26 ft-lbs.

Re-attach the chain guard, and remove the rear brake reminder cable.

And don't forget to thank your helper!