bandit 1200/600 exhaust exchange?

[steve.m]

can the exhaust from a b6 be fitted to a b12 straight away?

i have an offer from a local shop to buy a b12 motor for $500 since he can swap the engine easier than to rebuild my 600, and he'll trade the 600 parts for labor.  only glitch is if the exhaust wont swap.  someone out there in ST.N land know what's going on here?

[Jason F.]

What year/generation? I had an aftermarket Bandit 1200 midpipe and can on my 1996 Bandit 600 and had to make no modifications. I have never tried swapping the headers out. The B6 and B12 have slight frame differences as well as swingarm, wheel, suspension, and brake differences it would not be a stretch to think that the exhaust ports have differences in spacing or height even though the engine architecture is pretty much the same.

[steve.m]

year 2000, sorry i forgot to include that detail.

I was under the impression that the B12 motor could be swapped into a B6 frame without any hiccups, thought someone here had said that at one point in time.  Is that incorrect?

[Jason F.]

Oh they can be swapped rather easily you are correct. It has been done a number of times before. There are subtle differences in parts though. The exhaust headrer may be one place the differences show up. I have not tried a 1200 header on my 600 so I can not directly comment on that. I know for a fact the motor, swingarm, and rear shock will bolt right up to the 600 while there are some signifigant differences in the front suspension and brakes. I know the can and slip on midpipe will bolt on as well but you may need the 1200 header. All he can do is see if it lines up and bolts on. If it does not you can find a 1200 header cheap enough though.

[steve.m]

sooo...i can't just swap the motor, swingarm's gotta change too?  feck...

can't see the braking ability being much of an issue, and maybe put spacers in the forks to boost preload.

[Jason F.]

sooo...i can't just swap the motor, swingarm's gotta change too?  feck...

can't see the braking ability being much of an issue, and maybe put spacers in the forks to boost preload.

No no you probably do not need to swap the swingarm. It is an upgrade to the 600 setup but it is not a must swap from my understanding. My point is that the bikes are not identical. While many things will swap and bolt right up not everything will. I was just highlighting some of the differences I know to exist on the two motors/frames.

There is little difference in weight by the way. If your 600 front end is sorterd and sprung properly for you weight than you would likely need no changes. The 600 front end is a real piece of junk with no real adjustment but if it is working for you now than the need to change is not very great. Again I was just trying to highlight differences.

[steve.m]

gotcha, thanks!

maybe need to look into an exhaust from ebay or a junk yard.  no biggie.  thanks for the info!