Yamaha XJ6: Things we Love

For a motorcycle almost a decade old, the Yamaha XJ6 has quite a fan following going for it. Coming 3 years after its faired cousin - the XJ6 Diversion - the bike is about to complete a 5 year run in the country. The bike does not look too radically sporty and does not come with the best specs in the world. Yet in Yamaha’s extensive catalogue, the XJ6 has avoided being completely overshadowed by the likes of FZ and now MT series bikes. A lot of it can be chalked down to three things that we will cover below.

Versatile and practical

Middleweight street motorcycles are often geared towards practicality or explosive performance. The Yamaha takes the practical route here. The design prioritizes function over form. There are no useless plastic bits and no excess. The seat is fat and as comfortable as it looks.

 

The tail section underneath it is just as practical and even comes with an underseat storage area. The instrument display is also focused on readability with an illuminated tachometer needle and large numerals. Simplicity is the name of the game here. Its ergonomics make it versatile and comfortable. The seat height of 785 mm makes it easy to manoeuvre at low speeds. The ground clearance of 140 mm makes it practical on bad city roads. It even comes with adjustable handlebars.

Highly usable engine

The engine in the Yamaha XJ6 is a liquid cooled, fuel injected, forward inclined, parallel 4 cylinder, with 4 valves and dual overhead cams. It is the detuned and slightly modified version of the mill in the FZ6. The 77.5 PS at 10000 rpm and 59.7 Nm at 8000 rpm, does not sound like a lot by any measure. But peak power is not the point here. Like the rest of the bike, the engine is made to be usable with the least effort.

While the peak power resides high in the rev range, there is enough power just above 3000 rpm for all your needs. Quick acceleration and overtaking is not difficult at all. There are 6 gears too, which let you use the bike’s power more efficiently. The bike keeps up easily when pushed and likes to be revved hard. This makes the bike good for every kind of riding whether it be your daily commute or a highway cruise.

Agile handling

 

This naked bike boasts a wet weight of just 206 kg and it uses that in a very advantageous way. The riding posture gained by the seat height, the position of the handlebars and that of the foot pegs are very comfortable. Then there is the ergonomically shaped tank and the seat that allows a lot of room for every kind of manoeuvring, be it slow or fast. The 17-inch 5 spoke wheels with wide as well as grippy 120/70 tyres at the front and 160/60 tyres at the rear give it that extra bit of confidence. The telescopic front forks and the spring preload adjustable linked monoshock both come with 130 mm of travel. This along with the comfy seat makes it easy on the back on every kind of road condition.

The Yamaha XJ6 is a practical entry-level middleweight. It has commuter like mannerisms that make it a usable everyday bike. No wonder it has the kind of following that it does. It is old and it looks old. It does not have the blistering performance that many other nakeds in this range have. And that is exactly the point. It stands out from the crowd by focusing on real-world usability and that’s what we love about it.