Yamaha Diversion 900
YAMAHA Diversion 900
CYCLE WORLD EXCLUSIVE
OUTSMARTED BY ECONOMIC REALITY?
CONSIDER THIS, A NIGHTmare from which you cannot escape: You're running, running, running...down a path that once looked like the highway to Paradise, but which now looks like the path to Perdition. You’d exit if you could. You try, by attempting to turn off this main road onto more attractive byways. But your nightmare is such that you can’t turn. You must keep on, heading in a direction you don’t want to go.
That, these days, is much the situation with the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers. They don’t have to prove anything, having perfected the art and science of building motorcycles. They have taught the world how to build the lightest, fastest, highest-performance two-wheeled vehicles possible. Their combined product is so sophisticated, so complex, so competent, that they’ve reached a point beyond which there’s little point in progressing. Their bikes now are so fast that few riders are capable of using all the performance they deliver. And in bringing the bikes to these levels, some argue, the manufacturers have engineered themselves right past an important segment of the market-a segment that wants relaxed, good-looking quality, but not necessary ultimate performance.
That segment of the market wants, according to some industry analysts, sport-standards like Yamaha’s Diversion 900, introduced this year in Europe, and, apparently, thriving there. But thanks to the perfidy of world economics and currency exchange rates, it’s possible the company will find itself unable to sell the bike here in America.
If that’s what ultimately occurs, that will be a shame, for the Diversion 900 is a terrific motorcycle. It is aimed at riders who have recognized that while they perhaps desire some qualities of ultimate performance,-what they really want for real-world, everyday use is comfort, quality, good looks and long-term reliability. The Diversion 900 stands poised to deliver most all of those things-if only economic conditions will allow it to do so.
At first glance, the bike-delivered to Cycle World in German-market specification-is nothing particularly fancy. Initial inspection reveals a fairly ordinary and conventional motorcycle, but a closer look uncovers many touches that make this bike anything but run-of-the-mill.
Chassis? The Diversion’s frame is tubular steel. But that tubular structure is arrayed in a nicely rigid twin-spar design that incorporates fairly sporting geometry. Fork? Conventional and not adjustable, but equipped with the sort of very firm spring rates and damping Euro-types are supposedly nutty for. Shock? Gas-filled, adjustable only for preload, and again, with taut compression and rebound calibration.
Engine? Air cooled, equipped with 892cc, two valves per cylinder operated by dual overhead cams, rubber mounts, four 34mm Mikuni carburetors and a fresh-air injection system that echoes similar apparatus that began appearing on car engines decades ago. This air-injection system, under conditions that include a partially closed throttle and engine deceleration, diverts fresh air into the exhaust tract via steel tubes that enter the head near the sparkplug locations. These shots of fresh air lean out any residual over-rich mixture that might occur during trailing-throttle situations, thereby reducing emissions of exhaust pollutants.
Drive system? A slick-shifting five-speed transmission and shaft drive, this latter echoing concerns of riders who remain mistrustful of chains in spite of O-ring technology and the considerable advancement in longevity it represents.
Bodywork? A set of nicely turned-out plastic pieces that covers the tailpiece and forms a pretty decent half-fairing that compromises weather protection slightly to provide good looks and relatively light weight. That fairing also contains a dash that includes not only tach and speedo, but also a fuel gauge calibrated to go to work only when half the contents of the 6.3-gallon fuel tank have been converted to
speed and motion, a clock, a resettable odometer and a complete battery of warning lights.
The rational intent of this motorcycle is seen in its seating position. This relies on a low, tubular handlebar and a very well-thought-out set of bar-to-seat-to-footpeg measurements to provide one of the most comfortable seating positions we’ve seen in a while. There’s a slight forward lean, with lots of room for legs and knees, without forcing too much of a bend from any anatomical area. The seat’s comfortable too, with plenty of room for a passenger, but it could be better-at the front it's a bit too narrow, and a bit too thin. Remember to sit as far aft as the seat’s slight step allows, and this complaint is minimized.
Lots of nice touches abound. Twin passenger grab handles, for instance, a pair of commodious under-seat storage compartments, a rear-quarter profile that allows easy fitment of either soft luggage or Yamaha’s optional hard saddlebags, an easy-to-use centerstand and an adjustable front brake lever. What’s wrong? Actually, not much, except maybe the bike’s funky square mirrors, and its lack of provision to anchor all four points of a tailpack.
All of this represents quite a high level of thoughtful design going into a vehicle that is meant, for a change, to deliver an alternative definition of performance, one that celebrates comfort and longevity instead of sheer haul-ass capabilities.
it’s all meaningless, however, if the Diversion fails to deliver. But it does deliver. Two things become evident right off. First, the Diversion’s overall gearing is a bit higher than most riders are used to. At 100 kilometers per hour (which is the way the speedo on this Euro-spec bike measured speed-it’s 62 mph), revs settle in at 4400 rpm. At 110 kilometers (68 mph) they’re at 4700, and at 120 klicks (75 mph), they’re at 5000. That’s good, for two reasons: The engine’s major power step lives at about 6000 rpm, so the closer you are to that point during steady-state cruising, the closer you are to blast-off, pass-’em-quick power. The Diversion’s engine makes 77 rear-wheel horsepower at 8000 rpm, and that’s sufficient to launch the Diversion through the quarter-mile in 12.21 seconds at 108 miles per hour, enough to develop a top speed of 126. Additionally, the engine’s rubber-mounting system is most effective above 4000 rpm. Below four grand, there’s lots of vibration. Above 4000, there’s only a hint of it-a slight buzz at certain rpm levels, just enough to remind you that there’s something happening down there below the tank.
That suspension, so Germanic in its firmness, is a mixed bag. At speed, it sops up potholes and large road irregularities really well. But it deals with small, square-edged surface flaws less well, and at low speeds, it’s just plain harsh. No matter, if the bike is brought to the U.S., chances are excellent its suspension would be recalibrated to better suit U.S. tastes and expectations.
Nothing wrong with the way the Diversion handles, though. Steering is very light and neutral, and the bike’s geometry imparts no tendency to fall inward in corners. The bike is very stable at all times, despite its fairly sporting steering geometry, and it is surprisingly comfortable, in spite of the fact that its stiff suspension is not complemented by its relatively thin seat. The vented fairing contributes to the Diversion’s comfort-it does a good job of managing air flow so that buffeting is nicely minimized.
Brakes are nicely effective, too, and will deliver plenty of stopping power with the usual two fingers on the front lever. They’d better be stout fingers, though, because a good bit of pressure is required, probably because the front calipers are two-piston floaters instead of four-piston pieces. We found ourselves using the rear brake on this bike more than we usually do-it offers good feel and is easily controllable.
Bottom line? The Diversion 900 is a really nice $7000 bike. And if that sounds good to you, you’re out of luck. Here’s the punch line, delivered by Bob Starr, Yamaha’s national communications manager. He says that the Diversion 900 might come to the U.S. as a 1996 model, but he also cautions that the bike might not come at all.
Starr explains, “It’s a price situation. We’d expect the bike to be priced between $8000 and $8500. Would the market support a 900cc bike that is priced higher than Kawasaki’s GPzl 100? The bike was engineered to keep costs down, but with what’s happened in the last year with the yen’s value rising against the dollar, we’ve seen prices of Japanese products rise quite a bit. In the 18 months between the bike’s conception and the start of production, the yen-to-dollar parity has worsened for us in the U.S., so that in our minds, the price has become a barrier rather than an inducement. It just illustrates some of the challenges we face as an American distributor of products made in Japan.”
Thus does Yamaha-and its Japanese competitors-face the prospects of doing business in the USA as this century closes. It isn’t easy. It is in fact highly possible that the Diversion will have to recover its design, development and production costs solely from other world markets, passing the American market by. That would be too bad. Too bad for Yamaha, which has developed a fine piece of equipment in its attempt to break out of the hyper-performance mold, and too bad for American enthusiasts, who might just find happiness with this new member of the sportstandards club. E2
EDITORS' NOTES
FULL MARKS TO YAMAHA’S AERODYNAMIcists for their work on the Diversion 900’s fairing. Sporting and smallish in size, the unit does a great job of steering wind away from a rider. Turbulence and noise are absent, too-there’s just a breeze around the top of the helmet.
Ergonomic designers, the suspension team and powerplant engineers deserve
a tip of the hat, as well. A rider sits up high on the Diversion, sporting but comfy. Fork and shock calibrations are a little on the Finn side, but work well in a wide range of riding applications. Although it’s a basic engine, the aircooled inline-Four makes respectable power and leaps right up to redline.
This is a pleasant enough motorcycle, but those at Yamaha who are in charge of production costs and pricing need to step it up a little. A projected U.S. price of $8000? That’s exactly the same as the Kawasaki GPzl 100’s price tag, and the Kawi is a better, more-powerful bike that flatout smokes the Diversion. -Robert Hough. News Editor
HELP ME HERE, WILL YOU? I’M NOT GETting this: While everyone else is spending their respective R&D budgets to
move forward, some companies are
spending their R&D stash to move backward. The Diversion 900 and the Kawasaki GPzl 1 00-codgerbikes,
yestercycles, both of them-are rolling evidence of this backward-think.
‘-Oh, wait a minute: Maybe Yamaha
and Kawasaki have caught onto the notion that the usedbike market here in the U.S. has all but dried up, with old bikes either sent to junkyards or back to Collector Heaven in Japan. Maybe that’s it, huh? Cool! Nice of them to build a fresh batch of old bikes. Maybe they could get me up a brand-fresh 305 Scrambler. Or a Kawasaki 650, the one that was a straight rip of the BSA A-10. Man, think about a brand-new Big Bear Scrambler, or...or....
What’s that? At least $8000 for the Diversion 900? You gotta be kidding. See? I told you I didn’t get it.
-Jon E. Thompson. Senior Editor
LOOK, I MAY NOT BE THE BEST MAN TO ask about the U.S. feasibility of the Diversion 900. After all, I’m the guy who already owns a mid-’80s Seca 650 and XV920, two of Yamaha’s all-time sales flops.
I do know' this, though: The Diversion 900 is a very good motorcycle-rangy and comfortable, with real-world power, competent handling
and clean, good looks. I like the fact that a simple tune-up doesn’t require two hours of bodywork removal or a suitcase full of valve shims. I like the 900’s shaft drive, its chassis-jacking action so well resolved you’d swear the bike had a chain and sprockets. I like the optional hard saddlebags Yamaha offers-great for either commuting or sporttouring. I also like the fact that the Diversion defies categorization. Call it a sport-standard if you w'ant; I prefer to think of it as one of the best all-around motorcycles I’ve ever ridden.
Hell, I'd probably buy one if Yamaha brings them in. Talk about your kiss of death. -David Edwards, Editor-in-Chief
YAMAHA
DIVERSION 900
