There are any number of middleweight Jap fours on offer for around the two grand mark, but few that were only a year and less than 3000 miles old. A private deal via the local paper, I was first on the scene, took one look at the gleaming bike and the deal was done. A couple of years ago it would've taken ages to find a bike in such a condition for under three grand. Praise be to the parallel importers.
The XJ600S Diversion has been around since 1992, prices go down to as little as a grand for the early stuff and because they attract mature owners even these old bikes can be a good buy. Two grand would normally buy a two year old with about 10000 miles on the clock but with prices of new bikes still falling the second-hand market is a mess where bargains can be picked up if you act fast. The naked version, the XJ600N is even cheaper...
The owner wanted to trade in for a 900 Diversion, but the margins on the parallel import were so low and the potential price fall of new bikes so high, that the dealer wouldn't give him more than 1700 notes! He wanted to trade up because he found the 600 needed too much effort in the 80-100mph range he employed during his Continental cruises.
The smaller four made only 60 horses at 8500rpm but wasn't over endowed with torque by way of compensation. It was easy enough to ride, just sit on it, point it where you wanted to go, twist the throttle and work the gearbox and clutch. Nothing intruded or annoyed, it just never built up any power to a ferocious degree.
I wasn't complaining, it did the daily Central London commute with nary a complaint and was fine for 300 mile treks on the weekend. The only area where the bike was a bit naff, the single front disc (later models have better twin discs, worth hunting down!) needed an awful lot of effort to make it squeal the front tyre and there were times when I wasn't sure how it was going to react; not enough feel. I put Goodridge hose and new fluid on my shopping list but never actually got around to them.
The weird thing about the cooking Diversion is that the air-cooled, four cylinder engine is set up like it means business - slant block with down-draught carbs - yet it's the ugly old FZS600 Fazer that gets all the power and applause. Life's just not fair... there isn't even much tuning kit available for the Diversion, nor any big-bore kits. Hmmm, OK, it took me about a week to get bored by the way the XJ600N put down its power! I was soon thrashing it everywhere, yet not getting anywhere fast, if you see what I mean.
Still, it was pretty difficult to fall off, it carries not that much weight low down, has a nice neutral feel and rarely bites back - the front forks are a bit on the soft side but I barely weigh ten stone so it ain't too much of problem. Porkers will be riding along with the exhaust scraping the tarmac. The tubular frame's plenty strong enough, the mono-track rear end just about adequate, although the linkages are open to the elements and probably wouldn't much outlast the guarantee. Nothing's hard charging enough to really stress the chassis, at least not with my minimal weight aboard.
For a budget machine the finish is pretty good. Stainless steel exhaust system, for instance. Well finished wheels and engine, the paint was immaculate still. The ugly extended rear fender was cut down with a hacksaw - the only offensive item on the whole machine. Some call it bland, but the way the tubular frame wraps around the engine and the petrol tank follows the line of the upper frame tubes is pretty sexy to my eyes - looks like one person designed the whole lump.
110mph the most I've got out of it, but my licence is on the chopping block and I wasn't going to push my luck - 145mph? Not much more, the power was running out and the aerodynamic forces were gathering. The faired version goes a bit faster but I like naked bikes (at least my licence does!). 60mpg was easily attained, 65mpg not impossible, though cruising above 90mph for any length of time brought it down close to 50mpg - why don't the fuckers fit a single carb to such a mildly tuned four, which as well as improving smoothness and economy would remove one more maintenance chore?
Changed the oil every 1500 miles, the filter every 6000 miles, do the carbs every 3000 miles and leave the valves alone because they don't need any attention (thank god) - my figures, not the factory's. Ignition and camchain tensioner were maintenance free. The rather cheap final drive chain wasn't. Brake pads haven't worn out with 8500 miles on the clock, neither have the OE tyres. Minimal weight and power add up to a relatively easy life for the consumables - I'm very happy to report!
What else? Not much, it's one of those bikes that gets on with the job without making a fuss about it and you only realise it's a good ‘un on reflection. Think about the technology, energy and sheer cleverness that goes into making a straight four both extremely reliable and cheap to produce, there's nearly forty years experience behind bikes like the XJ. Pretty amazing!
My future shopping list includes the following: better seat as it goes off after the first 90 miles of riding; do something (anything) about the front brake; flatter and narrower bars to make high speed work a bit more comfortable (the pegs are placed far back enough to take it); a set of Avon tyres to stop the slight slackness in the wet; a louder end can for the exhaust in the hope it might liberate more power; a suspension upgrade because I can feel it going off (a few more thousand miles it'll be mush-city) - nothing too traumatic nor expensive, just stuff I can do along the line, improve the bike a bit as time goes by. It was so cheap, such a brilliant bargain, that I can afford to blow a bit of dosh on an upgrade.
Gerry Day