2009/2010 XJ600

I buy a lot of the British bike mags, like RiDE, BIKE, T.W.O. (Two Wheels Only) and of course, the old Japanese bike bible, Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.
Anyway, at the back of mags like RiDE, BIKE and TWO, they've often got lists of each manufacturers bikes that are still on the showroom floor. Some might be a year or two old but are still being sold as new.
One of Yamaha UK's more popular models is the XJ600, with half fairing as the XJ600S or without a fairing as the XJ600N. It's considered a very competent budget bike and an excellent value.
Until recently the XJ600 was called the Diversion and a well evolved XJ900 Diversion was being built and sold in overseas markets until just a couple of years ago.
Does anyone know if these XJ600's and XJ900's have the same engine basic engine as our bikes?

There's also an XJ1300R that's sold in the UK and elsewhere. It looks like a Maxim on steroids and with relatively flat bars. But I read someplace that the XJ1300R is actually based on the old FJ engine.

Anyhow, just some trivia for the XJ trivialists out there...

 

The diversion engine is different to the earlier engines. My XJ600 is the same (Very similar anyway) to the FJ600 sold in the states. For what ever reason the FJ stopped being sold in the mid to late 80's while the XJ continued to be sold in Europe.

The XJ600 has almost the same engine as an XJ 550, although it has bigger valves, lightened top end and no YICS. Yamaha claimed 72bhp but sombody on this forum hotly disputed that!! Visually, they are very similar.

The diversion replaced the XJ600 in Europe around 1991 and the most noticable difference is the forward leaning cylinders. I believe the diversion was intended to be a commuter bike and if you wanted a sports model, you went for the FZR600 (Water cooled).

Some of the parts on my bike, like the permanent magnet rotor on the alternator, are found on the diversion (Seca2 in the US) and some of the components are simpler - like the monoshock suspension. On my bike the shock is vertical, with a series of linkages, and on a diversion it just leans forward.

Before I bought my older XJ I read up on the diversion and the only really negative thing said was it does not heat up well in the winter, being air cooled.

Oh, and they can have rattly clutches - like XJ's!!!

PS. The latest diversions are much more sporting, have higher power outputs and are fuel injected. I think these engines are based on the FZ6.

 

Actually, the simple answer to your question is yes they do.

Even the water-cooled FZ motors are an XJ descendent; the original design was solid and they "expanded" on it while still falling back on the air-cooled version for some models. But take a good close look at one and you can see the family resemblance.

There were pretty much two basic versions of the aircooled motor, the "upright" one and the one with the cylinders leaning forward but they are essentially the same.

They still offer them too, in other parts of the world (although this is an '05)

 

Hum, I think I was being too specific - I guess they ARE basically the same!

 

Man 'O' Mannequins! That XJ1300R is one nice looking bruiser. I know, I know, the UK mags say they're wallowy and dated but who cares. I don't need the latest state of the art yada yada yada. Too bad Yamaha Canada in all their wisdom imports the FZ1, the FZ6, the R1, a couple of dirt bikes, a whole convoy of wurlitzer-looking cruisers - and that is it.
But that's the trouble with living in a small market country, very little selection from the manufacturers. But I must say, Suzuki Canada does offer pretty much everything the company makes. However, I'm a Yamaha guy! It'd also be nice to be able to get the XT600X supermoto but not in Canuckistan! Instead we just got the XT250X. Yee HAW!

 

Visually they are identical, the 550 and 600 even have the same engine mounts and can bolt into each others frames, the 600 has a different bore x stroke as well

I'm yet to do it but I suspect the later Seca2/Diversion still shares some mechanical parts like pistons, cams, valves and will be buying a piston to check

72hp I really doubt , but I am hoping to get mine somewhere close when I finish my 550 race bike

 

There was a bit of a debate before about Yamaha's power claims, but I managed to find a magazine test of the era which MEASURED about 62 bhp. I belive early Diversions were lass powerful and later ones more powerful than my old XJ600.

Regardless of how powerful she is or isn't, Audi coupe drivers still want to race me!!