Yamaha XJ900F

It's raining. It's cold. There is a huge traffic jam on the M6 in front of me. It's about to go dark and I have 200 miles to do before I get home to a warm shower and a cuppa.

Do I :

a) Go and hide in the services... pretending I'm really hard for riding a bike at this time of year whilst secretly putting off hypothermia for another few minutes
b) Whimper a bit. Then perhaps Jibber. Think about pretending to break ...
...this year
c) Carry on regardless, cutting a swathe through the traffic and get home in just over two hours, not even really that cold or wet.

The answer depends on which of my untrusty steeds I am mounted upon, but the only one that offers option c) up as favourite is my XJ900.

Old and ugly it may be, but reliable and comfortable it is too. I admit that pulling into a petrol station on it doesn't get young female ... more

It's raining. It's cold. There is a huge traffic jam on the M6 in front of me. It's about to go dark and I have 200 miles to do before I get home to a warm shower and a cuppa.

Do I :

a) Go and hide in the services... pretending I'm really hard for riding a bike at this time of year whilst secretly putting off hypothermia for another few minutes
b) Whimper a bit. Then perhaps Jibber. Think about pretending to break down and call out the AA for the third time this year
c) Carry on regardless, cutting a swathe through the traffic and get home in just over two hours, not even really that cold or wet.

The answer depends on which of my untrusty steeds I am mounted upon, but the only one that offers option c) up as favourite is my XJ900.

Old and ugly it may be, but reliable and comfortable it is too. I admit that pulling into a petrol station on it doesn't get young female cashier's hearts racing, or in fact come to think of it get anything racing in general, but if you want to go from A --> B almost indefinitely without getting a sore arse the XJ's your bike.

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A quick technical run down of the bike - Motorcycle Archaeology
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Fourcylinder air cooled engine with standard twin overhead camshafts driving two valves per cylinder.
Fuel supply is via 4 carburettors equipped with a fuel economy aid called YICS (Yamaha Intake Control System) which cuts off fuel to non firing cylinders at different stages of the firing cycle, impriving fuel economy.
The chassis was getting on in 1983 when the XJ was first released, non adjustable telescopic front forks and twin shock rear with 18" wheels front and back, wearing improbably skinny 100 and 120 section tyres. A 125 is fitted with better tyres these days.
Brakes are single pot caliper twin disccs at the front with a single disc at the rear, and as standard are poor when new let alone when 20 years old.
Transmission is five speed with shaft final drive, ideal for a winter bike or a tourer, but not if you want fast cornering or sporty behaviour.
The tank is a decent size (19 litres), the seat is wide and comfy, the footpegs low and roomy for long legs, the bars are high and wide without resembling a chopper!
The swithcgear and clocks again look dated, more 70s than 80s even, it does come with a fuel gauge!
The early 83-86 bikes were fitted with a handlebar fairing, these are prone to speed wobbles and make steering at speed in cross winds 'exciting'. The 86-94 bikes were fitted with a frame mounted half fairing that does a surprisingly good job of keeping the weather off.
A single H4 powered headlamp lilves up front, at night it's more for others to see you rather than to light your darkened way. It really is poor by modern standards.

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Running One - Cheap cheap cheap go budgies and XJ900 riders.
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No chain, long service intervals with only basic requirements, cheap long lasting (narrow) tyres, and good fuel economy at about 50mpg (up to 60 mpg if you ride like a skinflint) make the XJ the tight wads touring choice. Needless to say lots have been used by couriers... I have an ex-courier one in the garage (for parts only) that has covered more miles than the starship enterprise and has had more new parts than Joan Collins.
Tyres last around 10-15000 miles depending on the brand, my recommended set are either Bridgestone BT45s or Continental TKV11 front and TK17 rear. The Bridgestones are grippier, the Contis last longer, depends on your riding style. Avoid Avons as they seem to have trouble under braking, and especially cheap Taiwanese/Chinese tyres, they are a false economy as the tyres are cheap but bodywork isn't (yours or the bike's).

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Reliability - On. And On... and on goes the Yamaha
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Mechanically they go for ever with hundreds of thousands of miles possible with just basic servicing and a replacement exhaust for the rotting standard ones. Even the Motad replacements rot away before the bike needs anything major.
Apart from the exhausts the only other thing that will need attention is the petrol tank. These are famous for rotting through from the inside, water gets into the tank from condensation, rain when filling up, or just crap fuel, and collects in the bottom back wings of the tank. Once this has happened the cure is eieher awkward or expensive, there are few 2nd hand tanks available that aren't also rotten. The best approach is to drain the tank regularly thus getting rid of the water build up, this means tank off rather than relying on the fuel tap.

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Modifying One - Spend a few quid and you get a poor mans beemer:
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All true mile munchers modify their bikes. The absolute de rigeur fashion for XJ900s is a luggage system of some sort, either a top box or panniers, possibly both. Givi and Krauser systems are good, but anything is better than nothing.
another common modification is heated grips and / or hand protectors. The fairing does no keep the wind off your hands, so something has to help keep them warm.
Another mod is crash bars, these are rather more dubious as they may save the engine but damage the frame in a spill. They also make the bike wider... and less able to get through traffic.
Throw the original bulb away and fit something brighter, I know they are slightly illegal for road use (but who's going to tell) but get 100/80W bulb, this makes the headlight slightly better than a candle rather than a poor immitation of one.
Brakes need braided hoses and better pads than the standard ones, EBC do replacements that are a big improvement. Some people fit parts from later bikes to improve the brakes... calipers or even entire front ends. Generally speaking I stick with the original parts on this front (sic) for my own peace of mind, I don't trust myself to work out all the necessary geometry properly.

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R iding One - Slowly does it.
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These bikes are not quick. Yes they have a top speed of around 125-130 mph, but they take an age to get there and feel much happier below a ton.
Steering is slow... canal barge slow, which can also be said of the braking performance, probably the biggest limiting factor to going fast.
Cornering grip is also for the brave or stupid, the bike weighs as much as three small elephants and has tyre widths that would shame a high end mountain bike.
Having said all that you may well come across a mad courier on one that looks like somethign out of mad max... for god's sake don't pass him, even on a straight!
The wide bars make traffic easyish, the bike is actually quite narrow for a four cyclinder and once moving is surprisingly easy to chuck around at low speed. Just don't get carried away.
Mine with all the above accessories makes a good long distance commuter, cheap to run, warm for a bike, and comfortable. Winter doesn't seem to bother it, nor me as much when on it with warm hands and cossetted butt, it's just too dull for anything other than Winter transport.

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Pricing and Buying - Cheap long distance hack
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T hese days around £800 will get you a low mileage (less than 30k is low mileage) bike , probably with luggage and some sensible mods. £250 will get you a runner that needs work. Go for the £800, as the work will add up quicker than you think! They come up on Ebay and in autotrader, and MCN is also worth a look. There are quite a few still around, a surprise given the age of the bike and a testament to its durability

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Summary
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Probably a better form of transport than the slightly better looking XJ900S diversion that replaced it, the XJ900F is a good way to cover a lot of miles cheaply and in relative comfort. Just don't expect too much in the way of excitement from the bike en route.

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PS
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Just to point out this review is based on my current experience of owning XJ900Fs, not on ten or even twenty year old information. Up until this week ( April 2007) I was still riding an XJ900F, if you check eBay you'll see three listings by me... two for running XJ900s and one for a dead one. I'm seeling them along with a VFR750 and a Triumph T595 because I need a better car for work.

Someone has said these were good in their day, I'd say they're cheaper to run, more reliable, and more comfortable than almost anything that has come since... so what makes them bad now? They can still be found at reasonably low mileages if you do a bit of looking, you can get better tyres than were originally available (BT45s), better shocks (Koni), hard luggage (Givi or Krauser), replacement exhausts (Motad), and all the necessary service parts. As a distance bike they can still do it if they have been well maintained, regardless of the age.  

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