VOL. 54 ISSUE 43 OCTOBER 31, 2017 P39
YAMAHA REVEALS NIKEN
I
t seems rare these days when a radical, far-out
concept actually makes it to the production
line, but that's exactly what's happened with the
2018 Yamaha Niken, which was unveiled at the
Tokyo Motor Show last week.
The Niken is Yamaha's first large capacity
Leaning Multi-Wheeler (LMW), which is pow-
ered by the firm's superb Yamaha FZ-09 three-
cylinder motor.
Yamaha is keeping pretty quiet on the Niken,
with no price or availability in the U.S. (yet), but
what they have said is this:
"This model is equipped with LMW technol-
ogy to reduce the effects of changing ride
environments and to deliver a high feeling of
stability when cornering. It achieves excellent
performance for spirited and sporty riding on
various road surfaces and the capability to freely
carve through the continuous corners on wind-
ing roads. The body design makes full use of the
unprecedented front-end suspension mechanism,
pairing 15-inch front wheels with dual-tube upside-
down forks that visually accentuate the machine's
sporty performance and create a high-quality look
and feel at the same time."
You may be asking yourself just why Yamaha
has done this, but we think the question should
be "why not?" The Niken will open up riding to
a new range of people, and will surely prove to
be a worthy steed for riders with varying levels of
disability who can't operate a conventional motor-
cycle.
When we have more info on the Niken, we'll
pass it on to you! CN
The Yamaha Nekin features Leaning
Multi-Wheeler (LMW) technology, which
Yamaha says will open up riding to a
new range of people.
