VOL. 56 ISSUE 13 APRIL 2, 2019 P87
In adverse conditions, this motor-
cycle is tremendous. My first corners
with the Niken GT were in the rain,
and within just five minutes I was go-
ing faster in the wet than I ever have
before. Again, you don't have the
amount of feedback that you're used
to, but the LMW concept is a revela-
tion when the road is wet if you can
trust what Yamaha has created.
A particularly damp mountain road
on our route was covered with tar
snakes, a combination of factors that
would usually slow me down tremen-
dously. Yet with the Niken, I wasn't
worried, and I was riding at nearly the
pace that I would have selected if the
road was dry. In one right-hander, I
felt the left tire lose traction as it rode
over some crack sealant, but the
Bridgestone on the right was un-
fazed, and the end result was merely
a shimmy in the handlebar as the
front suspension literally shrugged off
a likely low-side on a two-wheeler.
The benefits aren't limited to
handling moisture. Now you won't be
concerned about sand in a corner, oil
in the crown of the road or really, any
non-ideal riding surface. The ease
of use is mentally liberating, and it
ensures the fronts can keep pace
with a rear wheel that's motivated by
Yamaha's fan-favorite CP3 triple.
The front forks allow for 45 degrees
of lean, but the peg feelers will
touch down as a warning before that
happens. It never feels limiting for the
type of riding a Niken is designed for.