Yamaha XJ600S Diversion review

Aggressive, fast, sleek are not words you would use to describe the Diversion. Unreliable, uncomfortable and expensive are also words you would not use. I bought my Diversion when I was 24 (nearly 10 years ago now – bloody hell!) I had just had my first child and needed reliable transport. One particular dealership was offering a years free insurance if you took out credit on the diversion. What I didn't realise was that the Bandit had just been released along with the new Fazer. A new breed of mid‑range hooligan bikes were on the horizon and the Diversion was being left way, way behind.

A lot of reviews describe the Diversion as a shallow boring ride. I disagree. The Diversion is second to none in traffic and as a commuter you can't ask for more, the engine is bullet‑proof and does not beg for regular oil changes (as I proved with several thousand miles between changes). Fuel economy is good and the power delivery is steady if a little low.

Let's put this in perspective folks, if you’re reading this you don't want a sports bike or a custom. So let's not compare it to those. Let's also get away from comparing it to a Deauville or a Blackbird as this is a midrange tourer. The styling actually hasn't dated that much and the Diversions can be regularly seen for less that £700. Would I buy another one? For commuting yes, for touring no. Purely because I have been riding 1000cc+ bikes for several years now and my riding style depends on fast delivery of power (read as hooligan).

Best bits:

Comfortable for any distance ride, tours from sun up till sun down. Comfortable for pillions, good sized seat on the back. Plenty of luggage space and weighed down the bikes power seems unaffected. The Diversion can surprise you with a good thrashing, keeping the revs high will catapult you off the lights and a 4‑into‑1 exhaust will get you a few more bhp. Great fun to throw around and perfect if you down want something that will not scare/surprise you with power delivery.

Bad bits:

Not much tuning that can be done in a cost‑effective way to get more power. Head‑winds can slow you right down with 2 on board and luggage.

My Diversion was covered in giraffe fur, matt‑blacked, camo‑ed and eventually sold to a scrappy 4 years on. Only because because I had neglected her so much! But, despite the neglect the engine still turned first time every time and with a new exhaust she would still be mine today. As with all things money and time would not allow. I can highly recommend the Diversion as a general all purpose bike, Jack‑of‑all‑trades master of none is the best description. My father‑in‑law tried mine and bought a Diversion N (No fairing). He still rides that bike today and has added a fly screen and some short ape hangers (he‑s tall and wanted a straighter back when riding). The F‑in‑L has said he will never get rid of the Divvy because it does all he needs. Need I say more?

* I added straight bars to mine

When I first met Slob, he asked me to take a look at his Divvy as it was making a noise, I took one look and said it would be quieter if he put oil in it. I explained about using the correct oil and filling it up to the high level mark on the window.

A week later he called me again and said since putting in fresh oil it was running quieter but really sluggish and had started smoking, thats because he had filled it up while it was on the sidestand, he had put over 5 litres in.

When it became due for its MOT, it needed front and rear wheel bearings, the front brake calipers rebuilt, chain and sprockets, rear caliper rebuilt, swinging arm retightened, head bearings adjusted, various electrical components replaced and a push bike speedo fitted to make it legal. It also took us 4 hours to remove the oil filter (Motorcycle City had cross-threaded it on its first filter change - we tried to remove it 3 years later) I have no idea how he had kept it going, we had to nearly destroy the header blots to remove them and the exhaust just fell to bits on the way to a Roadhogs do in Kent. It was like being followed by Concorde.

The Divvy went through various paint and fur covering phases, yet it never missed a beat once the oil issue was sorted, I took out the air filter once and decided the various forms of alien life in there should be given a chance to live and just put it back again.

I can't believe how Slob treated it and yet it kept going, he followed me two‑up to the Ogri rally once and the bike had still reached speeds of around 110 and held it.

Eventually he scrapped it, it would have been nice to take the engine apart and have a look inside, but I bet most of the bolts/nuts would have been seized solid.

Personally I think the Divvy is a great second bike, I once took it out with Slob on the back and aside from feeling a bit underpowered (I do ride an FJ1200 though) and under‑braked it did everything we asked of it. Highly recommended as a cheap tool!