VOL. 55 ISSUE 22 JUNE 5, 2018 P101
With the OE setting, the rebound
of the bike was a tad bouncy, but
nothing that a bit of adjustment
couldn't fix.
Well-positioned ergonomics,
which are neither too relaxed, nor
too sporty, keep you in a comfort-
able upright riding position. Our
only gripe is that the midsection is
bulky and the windscreen could
be larger to better deflect air over
Yamaha's Multi-Wheel History
Although the Niken is a brand-new offering in Yamaha's production sport
model lineup, the Japanese company has been testing three-wheeled
vehicles for over a decade.
Most of these prototypes we've never seen—never making it past the
initial testing phase. The ones that have, however, include the 01GEN
Concept, debuted at the Intermot motorcycle show in 2014 and Tesseract
Concept, from the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.
"We've tried different sized wheels: 14s, 15s, 16s, 17s, narrow track less
than 400[mm], more than 450, fork legs on the inside, fork legs on the
outside, thicker, thinner [fork diameter]," reveals YME's product planning
manager, Aaron Bast. "By trial and error evaluation, modification and test-
ing again, Yamaha's tried to get the benchmark.
"When you start something new, you don't know the benchmark,
because it doesn't exist. That was the most challenging part of this project
and something that has taken years," he concludes.
The Niken will obliterate crappy
terrain, making long rides a joy.
This is the first
production three-
wheeler from
Yamaha, but it's
not their first.
