My first bike was a 97 divvy. It was a great bike for a first one as I could get used to the handling and weight of a big bike without the 'pride and joy' factor. Yes, I dropped it in car parks, yes I slid it down the road, yes I was hit by cars on it, but it didn't matter so much as it wasn't really that important to me, if you get my meaning. At the end of the day I had it for about a year before part-exing for a new sv650. Got about 500 quid for it, maybe less, but if i'd screwed up my sv in the same way i'd have been distraught.
The divvys aren't much to look at but they're bulletproof and use simple technology which is easy to work on if things go wrong, so perfect if you're on a low budget. At 14k they're barely broken in, if looked after well. Just check for rot in the zorst as the original was mild steel and the collectors where the zorst goes 4 - 2 are prone to rotting. I would expect most of that age should have been replaced with a motad stainless aftermarket full system. Tyres should be fairly cheap as they're not massive supersport hoops, and should last as you're not pouring huge HP through them. IRC, the continental road attacks were well regarded.
They're comfy, stable, very forgiving and powerful enough for a year or so before they will leave you wanting more. I learned a lot about bikes and engines through having that bike as I tore it down and put it back together a few times.
There's also quite an active diversion owners group in the UK: http://diversionclub.proboards.com
Don't expect to be the fastest or pull the ladies on the divvy, but if you do all weather riding and / or distance riding then it'll be good.
There are other options out there that might be more fun for a similar price though, if you can get a similar swap deal going. early 2000's bandit 6, honda hornet or suzuki sv650 would all be good fun compared to the Diversion. (Bandits of that age will likely be streetfightered and trashed though!).
Good luck!
