First ride Yamaha Niken

Three wheels means that strictly speaking it's not a motorbike. But, it still leans like one, and you ride it just like you would a two-wheeler, so does that mean we should accept it into the biking brotherhood? Don finds out.

[@MrTrek164]

I bit the bullet and got the gt version of this machine .After 20k miles I can say this is a keeper,it does everything well .Maintaining this bike is no more expensive than the mt09 or tracer .The front end is awesome .You don't really notice it's weight ,certainly feels lighter than my 1250rs and definitely steers quicker .The weight does cut acceleration a touch but when I change the chain set I may take a tooth less on the front just to make it more fun .It's a great machine .

[@scottnineteen]

Look, if motorcycles started out like the Niken with two fronts wheels and someone went to a single front wheel - they'd be thought of as slightly bloody crazy. Which is to say it would seem like they had a death wish.

[@blipco5]

Scott C ...Good point 👍.

[@SS-cd1dl]

Got one, love it, it’s not a bike, it’s not a trike, I refer to mine as the Tribike, these new machines need to have their own category and if they were categorised it would stop the confusion and somewhat unfounded comments about them!

[@scottnineteen]

Yes, yes I agree, I've got one too and think it is a unique vehicle, its own thing and as you say it has launched its own category. Nikens can be thought of as between a car and a bike in cornering, braking and acceleration performance parameters. I should like to try the Ducati version or the ZX14 ...or off-road KTM version?

[@SS-cd1dl]

@@scottnineteen Didn’t know Ducati did one?

[@scottnineteen]

@@SS-cd1dl they don't, just when or if they did ...:)

[@Szlejer]

None of the whiners have ever ridden this bike. ;) It's an amazing machine and now Michelin is making great touring tires for it.

[@scottnineteen]

Total mate ..this thing is like fantasy motorcycling - it's a corner carving starship.

[@Th3Grimmi]

The only thing that annoyed me with this bike was the engine. It's a joy to ride, especially in corners, but the engine lacks torque, especially because of the bikes weight

[@scottnineteen]

@@Th3Grimmi wow you must be used to quite some torque monsters. I thought it a remarkable engine although I thought it is robbed at higher speeds (over 140km/h) due ...I'm guessing by the large frontal area.

[@Th3Grimmi]

@@scottnineteen I had a BMW R1100RT at the time I went with the Niken but had experience with the newer HD FatBoy and FXDR, the newer lineup from BMW and a Triumph Rocket Classic. But Im going with a K1300S right now. Torque is (for me) amongst the most important things for me. If the Niken had that Torque (and perhaps a Belt or Shaft drive) it would be amongst the best bikes for me tbh

[@scottnineteen]

@@Th3Grimmi haha torque amongst that lot alright. But yeah more Nm's would suit a Niken, having said that I'm, pretty sure I haven't full throttled out of any low gear corner yet, I'm thinking about a stickier rear tyre. Oh and I'm experiementing with junkyard fairings as it happens to replicate the fairing experience I had on a K1200 (which I had for a week or so back in the day) - which was helmet in clean breeze and the shoulders getting what buffeting there is.

[@bwxmoto]

0:11 Not an MT09 seat, not MT09 swingarm, Not the MT09 dash.

[@tsogobauggi8721]

It is a great trike. But it could move better on small rocks. Still I do like the boost and jump functions. ;)

[@parsivalshorse]

It will be better than a normal bike when you are doing things that most riders don't do, and worse when doing things that most riders actually do. Under normal riding you just have more size, weight, complexity, width and slower steering.

[@scottnineteen]

no, name one or two these 'things'. ANd the steering speed is dependent on the various steering head and pivot bearing torques, once it's done a few kms mine was very flickable. with a smaller 180 section tyre it was bordering on ridiculous.

[@johanpretorius5614]

What fell off the bike at 3:48?

[@TheLolgonewrong]

its a clamp jaw for a camera that had a gopro attatched to it.

[@JimGoryeb]

What fell off your bike on the second pass?

[@eFasser]

Camera mount 😂

[@CBRboy1717]

Had to be a GoPro?

[@tknadin]

What fell off it during your ride?

[@Yelwas]

go-pro and ram mount by the looks of it 3:49

[@crazyjames9460]

Yo momma

[@owendutoit6014]

Just.... Why?

[@steveone]

Wait for these to sell cheap at the end of the model run coz no ones buying them , buy one cheap , mothball it for 30 years then sell it for a packet as a motorcycle oddity like Suzuki RE5 .

[@dxlbabyfresh]

Steve Smith I bought one. Brilliant bit of kit. No regrets. Folks who grouse dunno what they’re talking about. Easy to spot bullshiters and nit wits who’ve never ridden one.

[@azkikrx1]

Hey Donovan, pronouncing the bikes name right might help. Your "Nikken" has 2 k's, Niken as 1. Here are 2 clues for you. Nyken or even better Naaiken. :-)

[@jameschoi9005]

Actually he pronounced it correctly in Japanese. Ni means 2 ( ichi, Ni, San, 1,2,3) and Ken means blade like in the word kendo.

[@johnmckay5711]

This bike is a bird killer

[@peter2679]

Great concept but bikers are a conservative lot so Yamaha won't be selling them for too long.

[@scottnineteen]

boring fuckers that's clear

[@user-sw2lv3zp6o]

Can-Am Spyder F3-S. Blows this away. And looks shit-loads better.

[@scottnineteen]

Haha, good one...I've followed can ams through twisties, they look as much fun in that world as the old three wheelers with two wheels at the back.

[@brucekendall52]

Pointless excercise.

[@contemporaryhomeaudio]

The answer to the question that was not asked or even hinted at, what a ridiculous machine. Is it any wonder Yamaha sales are sinking like the Titanic? Yamaha Canada brought 8 of them into Canada. NOT ONE dealer took one so Yamaha forced some big dealers in major cities to take one. My job at the dealership was taking people on test rides and leading the test rides when the manufacturers traveling test bikes would come to town. I was forced to ride the Nikon because it was the only bike left that participants didn't sign up to ride. I felt like a twat riding that thing the whole time. It felt like a Tracer with very low tire pressure. When was the last time you heard from one of your motorcycling friends that they have a problem with their front tire washing out and felt there was a need for two. Yamaha has become the 'Monster Cable' of the motorcycle industry. Invent a problem, then offer an expensive solution to a problem that didn't exist before the solution for it did.

[@stevesmith6236]

Wow, how incredibly ugly! I'd be embarrassed to be seen riding one, especially if my friends saw me pull up on it at the motorcycle restaurant on a Sunday morning. NO THANKS! I'll keep riding my 2016 Bandit S 1250.

[@stevebendoc3083]

Do you really only ride what your friends like?I don't care what people think of what I ride. I'm only interested in riding so guess that's where we differ

[@TheVickersDoorter]

Get some new friends and be more assertive and individual.

[@stevesmith6236]

@@TheVickersDoorter My bikes are never left stock, many of which have been multiple show winners, so they are quite individual.

[@stevesmith6236]

@@stevebendoc3083 It's always a good feeling to have your bike be admired by your friends and other motorcycle owners. Of course I own and ride what I want, but if I get the admiration of others that's a bonus. I don't see a problem with that.

[@splodge5714]

Looks terrible and over complicated. They'll be some extra maintenance costs there too. A complete waste of time, can't see many people buying one.

[@jasonmckinney6444]

Gayyyyyyyy!!! AF