Yamaha Seca 900

YAMAHA SECA 900

CREATING A DIVERSION

YAMAHA HAS followed the lead of Honda, Suzuki

and Kawasaki in releasing a 900cc motorcycle for the ’90s, but its XJ900S Diversion is not designed to run with the CBR900RR, the

RF900R or the ZX-9. The

shaft-drive Yamaha, on sale this fall in Europe, is designed for riders in the market for something more comfortable than a big-bore sportbike, and more affordable than a large-displacement sport-tourer.

Although Yamaha touts the Diversion as a motorcycle that can do it all, one thing it won’t be doing is coming to America any time soon, even though a 900cc super-standard would fill a hole in Yamaha’s U.S. lineup. A Yamaha spokesman in the U.S. says company decisionmakers are looking at the bike closely, but will not bring it here for 1995, citing cost considerations. The XJ probably would have to be priced between $7000 and $8000, and Yamaha officials are not convinced that Americans will pay that much for a bare-bones 900.

The Diversion looks like a 600cc Seca II with a larger engine, but there’s considerably more to it than Yamaha stuffing a larger motor in an existing chassis. Yamaha spokesmen say the Diversion is a completely revised XJ900, a bike that has been sold in Europe for 11 years and is similar to the old Seca 900, which last sold here in 1983.

There’s a new engine, but don’t look for five-valve-percylinder Genesis technology. Yamaha built the 892cc

powerplant with air cooling and two valves per cylinder, saying concerns about ease of maintenance led to those choices (as did, no doubt, production costs). In the interest of long engine life, piston undersides are sprayed by oil jets and there is a large-capacity oil-cooler mounted directly above the cylinder head. Yamaha claims about 85 horsepower for the engine.

A new frame cradles the motor, and again, Yamaha has taken the straightforward, cost-effective approach, constructing a tubular-steel unit with large-diameter upper rails. Rubber mounts tie the frame and engine together. Claimed dry weight is 525 pounds, about 78 pounds heavier than Suzuki’s RF900.

Yamaha uses a conventional fork for the Diversion, a 41mm unit. The rear suspension gets a link-type risingrate monoshock setup, which replaces the old XJ900’s twin-shock design. Yamaha released no information

about what, if any, adjustments can be made to the suspension.

Disc brakes at both ends handle stopping duties, with two 12.6inch rotors up front, along with twin-piston, differential-bore calipers.

Diversion owners can add to the bike’s sport-touring capabilities with two saddlebag options.

Yamaha is offer-

ing bags in 34and 46-liter sizes, both with a single-key system for installation and removal. There is space under the seat for an anti-theft U-lock.

Even though the XJ900S may not the deliver the leading-edge performance of the other 900s, it should be a contender in the European sales arena, where many riders are calling for a modern standard. Unfortunately, it looks like those same requests in the U.S. will go unanswered for at least another year.

Robert Hough