2018 Yamaha Niken launch review

The Yamaha Niken leaning multi-wheeler isn’t a novelty. And yes, it is an answer to a question that someone has asked. And the fun factor is off the scale as well!

It really only took half a day of riding the three-legged MT-09-based Niken around beautiful Queenstown in New Zealand to realise that Yamaha’s decision to extend its leaning multi-wheeler (LMW) technology into a motorcycle-like domain has come at the right time.

It’s clever and it works, and it’s now on sale in Australia for $21,999 plus on-road costs – and soon to be followed by a GT model in March 2019 with even more sports touring DNA. To put the Niken’s price into context, the MT-09 retails for $12,299, the MT-09 Tracer is $15,499 and the MT-09 Tracer GT is $16,999 (all on-road costs, as well).

But first, some history. Yamaha’s been experimenting with LMW technology for about 40 years now, but the growth curve has been accelerating over the last decade. The Tricity scooter was launched in 2014, and then the company unveiled a couple of concepts in Bangkok a year later.

There has even been talk of Yamaha producing a leaning side-by-side vehicle, with the speculation coming from the top of Yamaha’s corporate tree!

There’s no doubt that Yamaha’s LMW vision extends far and wide, but at the moment its approach – in a production sense – is a fairly orthodox one, with the Tricity and now the Niken.

And just for the record: they are not trikes as Yamaha was at pains to point out! The biggest differentiation between the two genres is that trikes don’t lean, and the Tricity and Niken also don’t stand up on their own.

To ease us into the LMW lifestyle, we spent the first afternoon in Queenstown riding the Tricity, which in 2016 scored a number of updates including a larger capacity 155cc Blue Core liquid-cooled engine.

I’ve ridden LMW machines before under the Piaggio umbrella, but the $5099 (plus on-road costs) Tricity is a much lighter proposition.

The first ‘exercise’ was a tight gymkhana course which saw Bikesales crank out a more than respectable time – but apparently knocking over cones in the process is not the most measured approach… Penalties accepted, that dropped us well down the final standings.

Next up was a poker run around Queenstown, and the Tricity felt, err, just like a small capacity scooter – but one where you can push the boundaries just that little bit more.

The Tricity was an ideal soft-touch introduction to Yamaha’s LMW technology, especially for those new to the caper. But scooters are one thing: using the technology in a ‘big-bike’ application requires another level of industriousness altogether.

I’ve been to plenty of launches over the years, but this was quite unique in that I didn’t really know what to expect. Good, bad, indifferent, overwhelming, underwhelming?

We were soon going to find out – but the first major sign we were riding something distinctive was courtesy of a few smirks from Queenstown pedestrians as we inched our way through town.

It must have looked like a bit of a wacky parade, but that’s just it: Yamaha’s delivered a new concept, and has pushed the boundaries in doing so.

The Niken’s silhouette alone is enough to create a new personality – and the riding kudos comes from the amalgam of the excellent LMW technology with the proven MT-09 platform.

That means performance, use-friendliness and comfort are all givens, which really only left us with the LMW part of the Niken equation to get our heads around in New Zealand.

And, to be honest, that wasn’t a problem, either! The Niken (aka the MTX850) rides, well, just like a motorcycle, utilising all the same counter-steering inputs as you would on a powered two-wheeler.

It doesn’t feel vague in the front end like a maxi scooter can, for example, and it doesn’t feel heavy through the handlebar like a big tourer. There’s absolutely no quirkiness to get your head around: it simply doesn’t feel like you’re riding with two front wheels.

So the prospect of step one – learning how to ride a new type of machine – was non-existent, and by the time we’d hit our first patch of glorious twisty roads the secrets of the Niken were about to be unlocked. With its high-level of grip and stability, as well as up to 45 degrees of lean angle, open, fast turns are its natural habitat.

Under hard braking, the Niken remains planted – no lurching or trying to get that balance just right.

And that stability continues to hold firm when the Niken pitches into a turn, allowing those two 15-inch Bridgestone-shod tyres (size: 120/70) to really get to work. And if one tyre loses traction, the other one is there to take up the slack.

And I could even trail brake hard into turns; deeper and with more intensity than a motorcycle. Swinging from side-to-side on the Niken is a smooth process, too, although not necessarily a super-fast one.

Yamaha claims up to 40 per cent extra front-end grip on the Niken than a motorcycle, and even tendered a ‘secret’ video from a test track in Japan as evidence during the product presentation.

Two front tyres, two sets of suspension and two sets of brakes: the Niken isn’t lacking for chassis and suspension support!

The only real Achilles heel for the Niken is around really tight corners (like 15-20km/h hairpins), where the steering becomes a little vague in an ‘indirect’ kind of way – it was the only time I felt a slight ‘tip, tip, fall’ sensation through the handlebar. That vagueness is probably exacerbated by the top-heaviness of the Niken more than anything else.

At 263kg (wet), the Niken weighs 36kg more than the Tracer GT.

The rear end also struggled for grip on the tight stuff, so there are limits to how hard you can push it. The Niken is fitted with traction control, though, so that’s a nice safety blanket.

So what’s the science behind the LMW technology? As explained at the launch, it follows the Ackermann dual axle steering mechanism, which was originally patented for horse-drawn carriages in the 1800s.

We won’t delve too far into the science of it here, but the premise is that the inside wheel follows a tighter arc than the outside wheel as they track in a parallel fashion – aided and abetted by all sorts of critical support agents such as tie-rods.

In addition to the Ackermann principles, Yamaha also mounted the cantilevered, fully adjustable upside-down forks on the outside of the Niken’s wheels for greater stability and cornering ability.

The front wheels are only 410mm apart and the offset angle, as mentioned already, is a heady 45 degrees. Check out some of the attached images for confirmation of that! And no, one front wheel won’t lift off the ground if the lean angle is too severe.

Overall width of the Niken is 885mm, just 35mm more than the Tracer GT. That’s not massive, so it means the bike’s still a solid urban proposition. The turning circle is sharp, as well.

Other than the obvious LMW technology, other unique traits on the Niken include a hybrid steel and aluminium frame, larger radiator, wide bars (798mm) and a longer swingarm. The wheelbase of the Niken is 1510mm, while the two front discs are 298mm in diameter.

We even took the Yamaha Niken for some light off-roading, on the type of sketchy surface that normally makes road bike riders nervous. To no-one’s surprise after what we had already learnt from the Niken’s bag of steering tricks, it soaked up the pressure beautifully – if LMW was fitted to its new Tenere 700 you wouldn’t see which way it was going!

On sketchy and uneven (not sure about wet just yet!) surfaces, the Niken delivers. And I tried to find bumps and potholes, bit the level of comfort is exceptional. The forks offer 110mm of suspension travel, and the rear 125mm.

Dirt and dust done, it was back on the tarmac, which included a ride to Aoraki/Mount Cook. Straight roads getting there, but worth the effort to not only soak up the verdant beauty of New Zealand’s highest peak but to get a feel for the Niken’s long-haul capability. Typical MT-09 fare, really. The cruise control was handy – that and the uni-directional quickshifter are my favourite Niken electronic features – but the non-adjustable screen doesn’t provide a lot of protection, and the dash isn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Yamaha is likely to provide a larger screen on the GT version of the Niken, which is more in keeping with the sports touring-type clientele which the company believes will adopt the three-wheel lifestyle. Yamaha says current owners of bikes like the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT, Ducati Multistrada, BMW S 1000 XR and Ducati Diavel will be interested in purchasing the Niken, but time will tell.

The Niken was a massive surprise packet. The LMW technology in scooters has its place, but I wasn’t sure how it would slot into a motorcycle scope. Quite seamlessly as it turns out: the Niken doesn’t require any re-configuration of mind or body to ride it, it grips, it’s super stable and it’s unbelievably entertaining to ride.

Yamaha’s European research (from a few years back, but the key findings probably haven’t changed) revealed that only a small fraction of motorcycle licence holders were active participants in the craft. The main barrier? Safety concerns.

The Niken now offers another choice for the aspiring sports touring riders, and that’s a bloody good thing.

ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled, four-stroke DOHC triple
Capacity: 847cc
Bore x stroke: 78.0mm x 59.1mm
Compression ratio: 11.5:1
Engine management: Electronic fuel injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 115hp (84.6kW) at 10,000rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 87.5Nm at 8500rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet, multiplate

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Steel/aluminium diamond
Front suspension: Double upside-down telescopic forks, fully adjustable, 110mm travel
Rear suspension: Monoshock, 125mm travel
Front brakes: 289mm discs with four-piston calipers, ABS
Rear brake: 282mm disc with single-piston caliper, ABS
Tyres: Front 120/70-15, rear 190/55-17

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Claimed kerb weight: 263kg
Seat height: 820mm
Wheelbase: 1510mm
Fuel capacity: 18 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $21,999 plus on-road costs
Test bike supplied by: Yamaha Motor Australia
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres