The Yamaha Diversion XJ6 is like the VMAX, a Ghost from the ’80s brought back to life by Yamaha in 2009. After years of the FZ6 acting as Yamaha’s entry level model into multi-cylinder motorcycles, the Yamaha XJ6 is back in Europe! Its aims are to be easier-to-ride-slow, less power, but with more torque in lower revs and, above all, to be even more affordable. After Honda proved there is a market for friendly middleweights with the CBF600, Yamaha has decided to do the same in the new Yamaha XJ6 series. The concept is pretty much identical to the original Diversion of the ’80s and ’90s, but in all-new trim. To achieve that, it needed to be less sharp than the R6-derived FZ6. The current FZ6 sports around 100 horsepower and everything from the engine to the chassis can be traced back to the pre-2006 R6 model.
The Yamaha XJ6 differs in several key areas, such as the detuned FZ6 600cc in-line four engine, new and simpler chassis, and different ergonomics. It’s all done to make the XJ6 as easy to get along with as possible. And easy it is to ride, indeed. When I first set off, the engine buzzes silently and the Yamaha XJ6 obediently pushes away from the traffic lights in the city center of Sydney. The engine specs are almost identical to Honda’s CBF600, which entails a 78 horsepower engine (@ 10,000) with 44 ft/lbs of torque at a relatively low 8,500 rpm. Although these small 600cc in-line fours like revs by nature, the Yamaha XJ6’s maximum torque figure is reached more than 1,500 rpm earlier than on the more highly strung Yamaha FZ6. This also means that the Yamaha XJ6 is easier to launch, and only a few revs are needed for decisive stop and go city riding. The Yamaha XJ6 also feels more powerful in the lower gears than the Honda.
