Yamaha Niken

[Seeker]

Our local Yam/Kawa dealer had a demo day for Yamahas this week. One of the regulars at our bike haunt decided to try out the Niken since nobody had signed up for it which doesn't bode well for sales. Anyway he brought it to our bike night last night.

He had dropped it earlier. One of those awkward situations when your foot slips a little, catches on something and, by then, gravity wins the battle. Laying that to rest (!) he said that it was entertaining to ride with incredible front wheel (s) grip and quite comfortable. He also mentioned that it was HEAVY which he discovered when trying to right it.

I must admit I'm baffled as to why it was built. If it was capable of standing up on its own it would have made sense for someone who wanted a bike but maybe had balance issues or was too small for a big bike. As it stands (I'm on a roll now), it doesn't seem to have any advantages over a regular bike but has the disadvantages of weight (580 lbs), a complex front end geometry and the need for 3 tyres, it is quite narrow for a 3 wheeler, so there is that. It had cruise control but, at £16000, I would have expected that. The dealer confessed there hadn't been much (any) interest in it but, bearing that in mind, who would buy one? You need a full bike license so a casual car driver isn't going after it and someone with a full license would probably go for an MT-09 (Tracer). Still, it gave us something to talk about.

There was a Gus Kuhn Commando for us old timers to reminisce on, a GT550, an RD350 in yellow speedblock colours, a Honda CB750 K7, one AL7 (mine) and an SV650X (so they've sold at least one), a Royal Enfield 650 which I didn't see until it was leaving, oh and a bazillion sport bikes. No curvies, no pointies; a dearth of SVs, but a few MT-07 (well, 2).

[Chris_SVS]

It's a fat lazy heavy tracer with the same engine.. It'll sell in small numbers and be forgotten soon enough.

Could also be said the Tracer is a fat lazy heavy MT09 though, I say that as the owner of one

[Adam Ef]

Originally Posted by Chris_SVS

It's a fat lazy heavy tracer with the same engine.. It'll sell in small numbers and be forgotten soon enough.

Could also be said the Tracer is a fat lazy heavy MT09 though, I say that as the owner of one

The Tracer is light compared to similar bikes though isn't it?

[Chris_SVS]

Yeah think so Adam, never really looked tbf. I'd say the MT09 CP3 would be revvier than the Tiger too, but the baby GS's torque holds it's own, but is more off roady

Whatever it is, it just doesn't feel it's weight when moving, much like the big GS. Stupidly nimble

[maviczap]

I had a go on my Dutch mates 3 wheel Paigio, he uses it to commute into his office as it's cheaper than running a car.
It was a bit weird to say the least, but for him, it has leg shrouds, so he can wear normal gear,and keep dry and relatively warm, as it got a big fairing. The front suspension can be locked upright with a button, so he doesn't have to put his feet down at traffic lights, but once under way you lean it like a normal bike. Helmet stashes under the seat, plus another cubby hole for shopping, and his had a top box too.

[Chris_SVS]

The Piaggio stands up on it's own doesn't it? Fella in work rides one but never really looked around it much -reason I'm asking is the Niken doesn't, it will fall over like any other bike without stand down

[Talking Heads]

3 wheel scooter = serious transport

Niken = a bad joke

Just because you can doesn't mean you should build something

[maviczap]

Not if you haven't locked the suspension, but I might be wrong?

The Yamaha Niken does seem to be trying to fix a problem that isn't there, but that is not unique in engineering, particularly with motorcycles (rotary engines perhaps - NSU, Suzuki and Norton never really got them working properly and none are in production today). There are lots of other examples, also lots of innovative designs that became commonplace afterwards (like Yamaha's Mono-shock rear suspension in 1972 that today seems the obvious thing to do).

[Craig380]

Originally Posted by Othen

The Yamaha Niken does seem to be trying to fix a problem that isn't there, but that is not unique in engineering, particularly with motorcycles (rotary engines perhaps - NSU, Suzuki and Norton never really got them working properly and none are in production today).

One of my lottery-win bike purchases would be a Norton Classic rotary, I love the looks and the sound. Never ridden one but I'd love to try one sometime.