Hi guys,
Does anyone have/had xj6? I want to buy one soon. That would be my first big bike so l need advice. I need it for commuting and short trips outside of London. I’m riding 125 scooter and its to slow for me.
Questions;
Is it comfortable for rider and passenger. (I’m 182cm tall and 75kg )
Is it reliable ?
Good commuter or bad one?
thanks
I use XJ6’s at both schools where I run DAS courses.
Loads of other training schools use them too…
I’m about the same height as you, but a little heavier… and I can quite happily sit on one all day long.
They are reliable, we’ve had no problems with any of ours and I’d say it would be good as a commuter…
I’ve had three students go and buy an XJ6 after their DAS because they enjoyed riding the school ones so much…
Have you ask anyone for a test-ride??
I have the half faired XJ6 diversion, bought as my first big bike (after 5 years or so on a scooter) 2 years ago.
I use it for commuting & the occasional longer trip around the country (i’m from preston originally so it’s taken me there and back a few times) and it seems ideal for that - it’s not going to set the world on fire performance wise but it’s been comfortable & reliable (no issues at all) so far. Sounds like you’re a similar size and build to me.
Can’t really comment on pillion comfort as I don’t ride with a pllion much but I can’t see why it wouldn’t be as comfortable as the front.
There is an XJ6 forum out there on the internet too, I don’t have the address to hand but I’m sure google will know.
I had an XJ6 as my first big bike and I would recommend one.
Positives
Held up well commuting through winter (lots of PF52 spray)
Never had a single problem with it in 18 months.
Really smooth, smoothest bike I’ve ridden. Very easy at commuting speeds and filtering/walking speeds. No need to use the clutch at slow speeds. Easy to put your feet down.
Brakes, ride etc all good. I got a nitron shock for mine after a while, which stopped some of the dive from the comfy suspension (you are less fat than me, I weigh 95KG).
Never been on the back of one but I didn’t get any complaints (its got a smooth engine, I may have mentioned that)
Its a very decent commuter/first bike and will feel a big step up from a scooter - ride, brakes, stability, acceleration.
You should be able to get some bargains too
Less good stuff
It’s a bit manic, high revving. I actually quite liked that though.
It’s not got loads of torque, which makes it easy to ride, but you need to be a little busy with the gears out of town.
Its very quiet. In traffic, even the pedestrians won’t hear you.
I wanted to upgrade faster than I initially thought I would.
Its quite heavy for its c70hp.
In all, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend an XJ6. I would only say that if secretly you are hankering after something a bit bolder, save yourself the depreciation, and go for that instead. I wish I had 
I did my DAS on an XJ6, i got to grips with it very quickly, I rode it all day and was very comfortable, the only reason I didnt get one was because its only got 70bhp, its enough power but I wanted something with a bigger kick.
I have owned my XJ6N from new (2010) and have covered nearly 20,000 trouble free miles.
I have been riding bikes since 1975 and owned many large capacity machines over the years.
So the plus points:
Ultra reliable
Very smooth with minimal vibration *
very comfy - Rode to Oban (Scotland) on a Saturday, did 200 miles on the Sunday, rode home on the Monday (over 1000 miles)
Cheap to tax and insure
Reasonable on fuel
Quite cheap to buy secondhand
Negative points:
About 170 mile tank range
Lacks top end punch
I have added a tail tidy, centre stand and small fly screen. I own a couple of other bikes but its always nice when I take the XJ6 for a blast.
Recommended.
Thank you guys
Test ride soon, Can’t wait :w00t:
