tell me about the xj 600

[yankeedoodle]

as some of you may know I'm after a bike for when I pass my test.
So any details/problems/experiences with the xj 600 would be much appreciated if shared

[Whosthedaddy]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Didn't someone on here get one as a hack recently??
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[Whosthedaddy]

Just done a search for xj600 and it seems that quite a few people on here have or have had one at some stage.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=116479
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[faddius]

My friend has one, nice bike, quite comfy. But hella heavy though and really skinny tyres.

Be willing to say its more heavy than a bandit, but not quite as heavy as the VFR750.

VFR was a nightmare, back ache everytime I went out on it for more than 30 miles.

[Gazdaman]

I had one. It was cool.

Peg downed it so much I completely destroyed the pegs and had to buy new ones.

They handle really well for what they are tbh. Very cheap, not toooooo ugly.

Watch out for rotting exhaust, and if it's a pre-diversion, they're quoted at just over 72bhp. They'll lift the front wheel with a bit of clutch.

First bike I ever learnt to knee down.

Gaz

[garth]

[iooi]

Very nice bike. Find it stable and predictable to ride in all conditions. Not sure how it compares weight wise to say a bandit, but i have found it comfortable to move around and i'm not big and strong. MPG wise i get high 60th without trying to hard to conserve juice and that includes 2 up and the usuall traffic light grand prix on the commuting run.
Maintance wise they are easy to work on, either the faired or unfaired versions. Exhausts can be a pain as they are known to rot between down pipes and silencers, but then again so do many other bikes of the era. Motad do a 4-1 thats OK or there are some 4-2 that are better, but more £££

R reg, 28,000 on the clock still sounds as sweet as ever.

All in all i love mine... Plenty of other DIVVY owners in that link.
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Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[Gazdaman]

This is a pre-divvy

https://www.gaz-racing.co.uk/images/XJ/Full/XJ.JPG

This is a diversion model.

https://yamaha-xj.tomsmz.net/xjgalery/yamaha-xj600s-diversion-1996-ns.jpg

The former is more powerful, and is a sports bike of the 80s, the diversion is a tourer of the 90s.

The former is my actual bike.

Gaz

[_Will_]

Had the diversion, cracking little(heavy bastad mind) bike.
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[KLR600]

I have a 1997 XJ600N and it's a good bike if you want a solid all rounder. I use it everyday in all weathers and it starts first time everytime. It's easy to work on although saying that I haven't had to undertake anything serious as it's been very reliable. Oil changes are a doddle and if you keep up with general maintenance then it should keep fine. I will say however that a winter of everyday riding killed my brake calipers and they needed a good service to get them back up to scratch for the summer and I had to replace the real caliper entirely as it had messed itself up so much (but I could of just cleaned more often I guess!).

I get about 50mpg average (as I ride motorways 90% of the time at about 80mph with no screen) and have had 60+ before now on good long runs on A roads. It does about 160 miles usually to a tank so you're not diving for the petrol stations every time you see one and it costs on average £13 to fill up.

It's not the fastest bike but it's quite pokey low down and will sit at 80-85mph all day on the motorway no problem. My XJ really starts to struggle after the ton but I've had about 118mph on the clock (on private roads of course...) and bear in mind I have no wind protection at all.

Handling wise I'd say it's about average. I recently had my XJ off the road as the tax had run out and it needed a few little tweaks for the MOT so I managed to borrow my mates R6 which cornered like it was on rails. After getting back on my XJ it feels a bit vague and not super confident when you're really going for it but then I guess that's a bit unreasonable because you're not going to be buying this bike for it's sports heritage! I use bridgestone BT45's on it and they cost about £165 for the pair, the rear will last about 5-6k and the front about 8-9K.

It's comfortable to sit on all day and I've done full tanks before needing to stop to get the feeling back into my bum. It's great for pillions as I take my girlfriend on it all the time as I don't have a car and she doesn't drive.

Bad points that I can think of are the headlight is about as useful as a head torch so you may want stick some fancy bulb in it and the seat on mine is starting to get a bit thin on the bum although it is showing about 27,000 miles now. Also, there's an annoying vibration between 4,000 and 4,500 revs which is about 50mph in top.

I've had this bike for about 14 months now and I've put about 23,000 miles on it in that time as it is my only form of transport. If you're looking for a reliable workhorse that won't let you down then go and buy one of these but if you're after something focused/sporty then look elsewhere. They're cheap to pick up and there are some real bargains and minters out there. If you do get one, keep on top of the calipers and other general maintenance and you'll have a cracking little bike.

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/serenaur/2bikes4.jpg

HTH
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[JeffT]

I have a Divvy too and what KLR600 has said is spot on.
I love mine and its on 33k and still going well!

[owdamer]

I got an xj600 (old type, not divvy) when I passed my test. Cracking bike, I think I had mine for about 18 months and did 15,000 miles on it before I sold it for about £100 less than I paid.
It was reliable, cheap to run, and a great first "big" bike.
I'd have another in my "dream garage".

[bish777]

Divvy is reliable, not too heavy, handles fine. Finish is ok on most bits bar the exhaust which rots badly.

Engine is mild-not gutless per say but lacks any real urge.

Good first big bike. The faired model is far better-nice riding position, effective fairing and makes a good economical light tourer.

Too boring for most experienced riders.
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[JeffT]

[bish777]

I could wring the neck out of the thing and it would never scare the shit out of me, thats how i quantify boring.
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[owdamer]

[echoball]

Ive had onr for about 18 months (45K on the clock). Its been great for a bit of commuting, touring etc. I did have a problem with the front caliper (replaced) and the swingarm bearings recently. Other than that, the seat gets a bit hard after about two hrs (sheepskin will fix that) and it has a bit of a vibe at 3700. Due for a shim service and it should be fine after that.

The only downer is a lack of power, starting to twist the throttle a little too much these days.

It's been a really good cheap bike. Not many here in Aus as most people like to get about on more powerful litre bikes or cookie cutter racers.

[AN GOF.]

Nothing really to add to the above comments. Had my XJ600N for a year and its never let me down. like everybody says keep on top of general mainintance and it will go on for ever. Insurance is cheap as well which is a big bonus

[Gazdaman]

Mine met an untimely death by me falling off, snapping a stud in the head just before the MOT. £30 for a new engine (which was different) so we swapped the heads. I didn't torque it down properly and it blew a headgasket.

So I sold it at a loss of £45.

Good bikes if a touch boring. Still more fun than an er-5 or such.


Gaz

[bish777]

[krebsy]

[garth]

Yea, what's the deal with most being single discs? Mine has two.


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[Swim41]

The 600 got dual front discs in 1997/1998 I think.

[iooi]