Yamaha XJ6F Diversion

2010 bike

2000 miles when I got it, 13000 when I got rid

Had it for 6 months

Worth about £5000

http://www.visordown.com/news/images/2009_XJ6-Diversion.jpg

I had this as a hire bike for 6 months whilst my ER was out of action being fixed waiting for an electrical part that just never came due to Japan having a tsunami crisis.

When I first got it I was quite excited, R6 derived engine, upward sitting position and wide bars, good clocks and good fairing to keep the weather off. I rode it for a few days thinking it was alright...

Then the penny dropped with a big clang

This bike is the most uninspiring piece of kit I have ever had to ride. The engine is bullet proof but only because its R6 derived and is actually a de-tuned fazer knocking it down to 78BHP. Why they did that I will never know as the Fazer wasn't a jerky bike and I wasn't aware it needed to be softer.

The bike is quite easy to ride though corners but no matter how fast and low you go good luck feeling any sense of fun mid-bend. Its like being on a wet, slow and weedy sounding Bandit. The noise and exhaust box vibration was horrendous

You have to rev it like a nutter to get it to go anywhere but it will hold low revs well if you force it to. But it feels so buzzy all the time that on the motorway it really drives you nuts at 7000rpm doing 70. It only revs to 11500rpm before the redline and I know 136mph indicated is all this has got to give. The SV650 with a V-twin, which in theory should be slower than this pulls to 143mph on the clocks.

Fuel economy is also crap, I got 57mpg out of it on a motorway run. My ER got over 70mpg and the CBR600RR I had before did 65mpg on a motorway run.

It went 2 up fine enough but had to be revved very hard though was as easy to ride 2 up as it was solo. This is not a good thing when you can't distinguish between the two.

End of my stint with it I'd racked on 11,000 miles and thoroughly wanted to chuck it off a cliff. However despite all this I have to give it credit. It was mind numbingly reliable, it did what it said on the tin and for a budget bike the Brembo brakes bit very well and gave great stopping power.

If you want a bike for pure purpose and you arent too bothered with having fun then this is your bike but there are better in class than this. It is spacious but the naked one makes more sense.

If you buy one make sure its second hand, make sure its naked, and fit an Arrow exhaust system to try to give it a bit more grunt and a nicer noise. It needs it.

Thanks for the Review,

Im getting the XJ6F Diversion ABS in a few days they are giving it me new but its a 2011 bike so cheaper, I test rode it on the Motorway and didnt really feel the buzzing or vibrations, but i have heard reviews of people saying it does and it dosent, It is also mainly for the newer rider stepping up a peg, as jumping straight on an R6 might rip the arms off someone not used to violent acceleration, although its not stupidly fast at acceleration i had no issues overtaking or getting to 70mph in fact from a standing start it took 4.5 seconds to get to 60 mph so its not that bad, as for comparison with the bandit, this wins on looks and bandits from what i have heard rust and rot like mad.

But everyone is to their own and some people like it some dont, i like it or at least i came back with a smile on my face and it was more fun than an er-5, as for top end speed unless your on a track i dont think 140mph really matters, however i have scene them race and they are fast enough to keep up.

Finally the Naked version is cheaper and looks good but faired is better in this British weather.

The naked is better to me, the full faired looks good but I still dont see why it hasnt got the Fazers 90+BHP

The buzzy nature refers to how much it needs revving, if its your first big bike then you wont notice in the slightest as anything with 600cc will feel great. I think it was because I have had an CBR600RR8, an ER6F, an SV650 and now a CBR600F6. It ranks bottom of those to me as the ER felt better all round, the SV was sportier and had the V-twin sound and the CBR's are just epicly smooth and extra powerful.

But to draw comparison the Divvy does just over 7000rpm on the motorway at 70mph. The ER6F and my CBR600F both do 5000-5250. With the same redline as the ER you can see why I liked the ER more, as it had more acceleration and speed as well as comfort at motorway speeds.

Also ive seen ER's keep up and overtake R6's on track, bikes are only as fast as their riders true. So now imagine that rider you saw keeping up with the sports bikes riding a Ninja. Would the Divvy keep up then?

Im getting another ER6F soon I think, if you get a divvy ride it for a while and then if your not too far away or im nearby we'll swap and compare then, think we'd get a clearer idea of the bikes and our perspectives then

I think Fozzie is being a little unfair to the XJ6. I test rode an ER6 alongside the XJ6 and instantly preferred the buttery smoothness of the 4 cylinder Yamaha engine over the jerky noise of the Kawasaki twin. There wasn't much to choose between the bikes on paper and I thought the Yamaha was better built, better for slow speed riding and looked nicer than the ER6 (subjective thing so everyone to their own). Having ridden mine from brand new for 6 months now (and ridden around 4000 miles on it) I think it was a superb choice as a first "big" bike. Looking back I do think the XJ6 needs to be thrashed to get going, but get going it does, it's very stable and very comfortable with forgiving suspension and a great upright riding position. I've had mine fitted with full GIVI luggage and now use it as my sensible ride if I need to go shopping or just need to go somewhere on my own and it saves me some fuel in the car. The XJ6 is super reliable, easy to ride, perhaps a little on the heavy side but nothing you can't get used too, very economical (I average around 55mpg) and a great all rounder - not a hooligan bike by any means but a sensible choice for the newbie rider or someone who needs a reliable commuter.....thoroughly recomended in my book!

GL

Missed this post.

Your points do stand... However I was just disappointed with it as it really wasnt as it should be.

With 15BHP more, less weight and the fazers suspension youd have a good package, however as it stands i dont like how it makes me rev so much for not enough!

very economical (I average around 55mpg) and a great all rounder - not a hooligan bike by any means but a sensible choice for the newbie rider or someone who needs a reliable commuter.....thoroughly recomended in my book!

GL

Im after a smooth commuting bike from a step up from the YBR 125 and off the L plates. This is a bike i might be considering.

This sounds daft but how many miles do you get before you start shuffling with a sore behind?

I do about 60miles on my YBR and get a bit of a numb bum.

On my Diversion I have ridden about 200 miles before stopping for a break and I was absolutely fine.

Missed this post.

Your points do stand... However I was just disappointed with it as it really wasnt as it should be.

With 15BHP more, less weight and the fazers suspension youd have a good package, however as it stands i dont like how it makes me rev so much for not enough!

Wouldn't that just bring it too close to the fz6?

Its prob supposed to compete with another uninspiring detuned bike the cbf600 a detuned CBR detuned again from the hornet6.

I have the full faired version I got about 10 days ago and also did 3 days on the naked version whilst doing my DAS course. Clocked up around 400 miles in my first 10 days.

I do think these bikes seem a little undergeared and I notice once your getting close to 70 it does feel a little buzzy. Clearly something is going on because my rear swinging arm mounted tax disc holder rotates the tax disc as my OCD lined it up straight and it's no longer how I left it.

I find 6th gear gives me an indicated 10% higher speed than the revs in 100s of rpm so 6000 rpm comes out about 66 mph. It's got bags of torque and more than enough acceleration for a first big bike.

Despite the minor annoyance of the buzziness, I'm loving everything about the bike and I'd certainly recommend one to new riders.

I think the buzzing might be a slight inbalance in the engines of these bikes between about 6000-7000rpm but there's easy ways and means of avoiding it by avoiding the rev range that cause it and using a different gear.

In terms of economy, I drive pretty sensibly and am getting around 55 mpg out of it which I'm quite happy with.

If you find one and want to buy one, go test drive one and buy it. I'm pretty happy with mine.

Sold mine after 13 months. What an excellent bike it was. I miss her already but only ever was a stepping stone. Did about 7500 miles in that time and apart from the slight buzziness was an excellent first big bike. Averaged around 55mpg botomming out at high 40's and going up to low 60's depending on road types and riding style.

Never had an issue with comfort and full fairing provided good weather protection.

I shall miss her

So all in all still a great choice for an inner city dispatch rider after all these years, that's pretty much what they were used for. I used to know a dispatch rider who worked in London and he had the old diversion (years ago) and pretty much most his colleagues had them too