YAMAHA XJR1200/1300 Quick Buying Guide

Rock solid and super cheap mile eaters

Yamaha’s XJR1200 first saw the light of day in 1996, launched into a global marketplace that had made it clear it was looking for big-bore motorcycles with laid-back manners and slightly retro styling. We’ve come to know the category as the ‘Naked’, becoming a cornerstone of motorcycle market share, particularly in Australia and Japan.

Prior to the big Yam taking up its position in showrooms across the globe, Honda had its CB1000F, BMW the R 1100 R, Triumph represented the category with the Speed Triple, Ducati the Monster … all worthy and strong selling offerings, but they le a gap — a big, fat, lazy gap that called for a big statement. Enter the XJR1200.

The XJR certainly fulfilled the brief with regard to physical stature, but with 71.5kW at 8000rpm and 91.20Nm at 6000rpm, coupled with a 232kg dry weight, the bike was no rocketship. Little wonder that the bike was relatively staid in the performance stakes. You see, rather than spend a fortune coming up with a dedicated engine for the XJR, Yamaha looked to its venerable but ageing FJ1200 for the powerplant for the new bike. A version of that air-cooled, 1188cc in-line four had been plugging the FJ up hill and down dale since 1985! Surprisingly few tweaks were made to the mill before it was screwed into the XJR. Four 37mm CV Mikunis were fitted (up from 36mm jobs on the FJ), along with a new exhaust system, all aimed at improved midrange. All this was housed in a steel tube double cradle frame with a twin shock rear end and 320mm front discs, with four-pot calipers lifted straight from the FJ.