2019 YAMAHA NIKEN GT
FIRST REVIEW
P82
Seeing multiple water trails
in the rear-view mirrors takes
some getting used to. The
front is visually imposing, but
the Niken GT is just 35mm
wider (at the bars) than the
two-wheeled Tracer GT.
So, Yamaha may have prayed to the
rain gods, but the resulting weather
converted the curves of California's
Central Coast into the perfect testing
ground for the Niken GT.
Though we've previously covered the technical details of
the Niken's front end, a quick recap is in order. The LMW
system manages steering, leaning and bump absorption
through a parallelogram linkage in the front end. No matter
your lean angle (which is capped at 45 degrees), the front
track stays constant at 410mm. There are two KYB USD forks
on each front wheel (41mm leading, 43mm trailing), though
the front is only there for alignment purposes and shock ab-
sorption is handled by the rear. The increase in components
means more weight, and Yamaha counteracted that by using
15-inch front wheels with Bridgestone Battlax Adventure A41
tires developed specifically for the Niken. It's all very impres-
The front wheels
can bounce up
and down, but your
handlebars will
barely notice.
