This particular bike is from 1998, Yamaha first started making these in 1978, which means its a 30 something year old design.
It’s a typical bike from that era in that it does everything Ok, but doesn’t do anything outstanding.
Starting is by kick start only which is a bit of an anarchronism these days, but it only needs a kick or two to fire it up, even if it’s been sitting for weeks.
This isnt a bike that likes to go anywhere in a hurry, the gearbox gets notchy if you are impatient, it takes a while to build up the revs, and it soon runs out of steam if you head anywhere near the redline (7000 rpm).
It will however happliy chug along at 60k in top gear, which makes it an easy bike to cruise along with.
It can still be ridden surprisingly fast, the trick is to hold on to any speed thru the corners and avoid using the brakes.
The twin leading shoe front drum brake works well, but needs respect in the wet as it doesnt need to dry out like a disc brake typically does.
As a commuter it works well. it’s quite grunty down low and it is a pleasure to ride in heavy traffic.
It’s also notable that it carries a pillion passenger with ease and the seat is quite comfortable for them.
As a tourer it would probably be fine if you are taking your time, passing long lines of cars is out of the question, (actually passing any car needs a lot of pre planning). It goes onto reserve at @ 230K, so you would have to stop to refuel often.
On paper, it’s no match against a KTM Duke 390 or similar, for fuel economy, weight, horsepower, etc. It is a very easy bike to live with thou.
Uncoffined 
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