Yamaha Niken test: trying the three-wheeled motorcycle is taming it !
For more than ten years, Yamaha engineers have been racking their brains to offer a motorcycle with unprecedented cornering performance. Their solution? Add a wheel to the front of course! Site went to the Alps, in Austria, to test this unique three-wheel machine called Niken. Test.
Yamaha Niken test page 1: New concept … of motorcycle
A new three-wheeler arrives on the market in the middle of 2018? Yes … "but no, not at all!", Allow the Yamaha managers to correct us, very careful that their Niken is not classified in the family of tricycles: it is a motorcycle, from a new kind. Masculine or feminine ?
Should we say "a" or "a" Niken? Yamaha Motor France has not officially decided, sometimes evoking the – model – Niken in an article in its "Design Cafe", sometimes the – motorcycle – Niken on its dedicated page … Another question left open: the pronunciation of the name of this new gear is not clearly defined.
The Iwata tripod takes its name from "Ni Ken", which literally means in Japanese "two swords" and represents the two front wheels cutting the road like two sabers. We would therefore be tempted to pronounce "niquène" … Not very elegant for some who prefer to call it "Naïken", in the American style..
But let’s leave these questions aside to come back to the essential point: this new Yamaha 2018 is a motorcycle, a real one, whose driving requires the A license – unlike the MP3 LT or Metropolis scooters which are accessible to holders of the B license via a training course. 7 hours.
- MNC Video :
- MNC special file : Everything you need to know about the Yamaha Niken
During his presentation at the Milan Motor Show, the communications and marketing director of Yamaha France explained to us that the decision to limit the access of this three-wheeler to bikers only was "deliberate, if only for a matter of caution in to the extent that the Niken has a high potential engine and takes an angle. It is not an urban utility vehicle like the Tricity, Editor’s note), it is a new type of vehicle intended for bikers eager to new sensations ", said Alexandre Kowalski.
Six months later, Site reunited with "Kowalski San" and its European counterparts in Austria, for the press launch of this intriguing machine considered by Yamaha to be a brand new type of sports motorcycle, but classified separately in its catalog. The speech of the managers of the brand with three (!) Tuning forks has not budged from its trajectory.
"With the Niken, Yamaha could mark the beginning of a whole new era in the world of motorcycles, of a revolution on wheels, generating a unique feeling", described – conditional! – the constructor. "Imagine approaching the turns with unmatched confidence … thrilling new sensations that approach those one experiences in slalom skiing".
Snowboard enthusiasts will be particularly receptive: leaning on a single edge, snowboarders must hit the slopes with a little more restraint and vigilance on the condition of the slope, therefore a little less speed than skiers who have a double support very reassuring, even stimulating.
For the majority of snowboarders, it is nevertheless out of the question to (re) switch from surfing to parabolic skis: this would require too many sacrifices, such as putting on uncomfortable boots and completely reviewing their posture, their balance, their bearings….
By equipping their new bike with a second front wheel, the Blues of Iwata ensure they will not confuse bikers: "the majority of pilots can easily switch from a two-wheeler to the LMW (Leaning Multi Wheels) system without having to modify their riding style, ”says Yamaha. "But as soon as they enter a curve, they will experience a growing sense of confidence and excitement. The Niken offers more fun and less stress.".
Site notes in passing that Yamaha speaks of "Multiple Tilting Wheels" rather than three-wheelers. Like the small brand Quadro, would the Japanese giant think of laying a three-legged duck a four-wheeled motorcycle? No lead has been and will never be dismissed…
"Yamaha has studied many different 3 and 4 wheel constructions," recalls Arata Kato of Product Planning. "We have previously discussed concepts like the and the. In the end, we found that a reclining three-wheeler could provide the same driving pleasure as a motorcycle".
Fatally, the development of the new front axle (read our technical point on page 3) required significant human and financial investments: the marketing of the Niken (first deliveries in September) should allow the designer / manufacturer to recover his investment, then to reap profits !
By taking the risk of opening this new path, the Yamaha three-wheeler has the advantage of not facing any competitor and of setting its price more freely: 14,999 euros. Nevertheless, the Niken clearly presents itself as an alternative to sporty roadsters like the MT-09 from which it comes and which costs only 9,199 euros (+1500 for the SP) … or the MT-10 and its own SP declination, respectively 1000 euros cheaper and 1000 euros more expensive than the Niken !
14,999 euros: the right price ?
For 15,000 euros, what does Yamaha offer? A three-wheeler MT-09? It’s a little more than that (no really, read our technical point on page 3!). From a purely aesthetic point of view, the Niken definitely stands out: even the most "manga" motorcycles are completely eclipsed..
Seen from the front, the new motorbike reminds Site – and JJ Abrams and Neville Page fans perhaps – of the terrifying but misunderstood creature from the sci-fi movie "Super 8": Like the alien beast, the Niken has small round eyes, a big forehead, broad shoulders and two pairs of very useful arms to kill ugly humans or rush through alpine turns. Impressive !
Yamaha designers, for their part, claim to have been inspired by the scorpion. With a minimum of imagination, one can indeed discern blue pliers which tighten the two front wheels, a convex black "graphite" shell sheltering the heart of the animal (the CP3) and a thin tail completed by a translucent double stinger enclosing brake lights. Spicy !
“Also, we wanted to express agility and controllability,” comments Arata Kato. “The key to doing this was to leave all of the front end construction exposed so you could really see the movement of the wheels. We didn’t streamline or hide the whole system and, when the bike takes an angle , you can clearly see the movements of each wheel ".
While most of the monumental parallelogram system is visible from the outside, the pilot has no view of his two wheels. Their presence is only betrayed by the unusual width of the front fairing and the two bulbs that frame the dashboard. We also regret that this upper casing remained in raw plastic.
Overall, the Niken’s finish is a bit disappointing. Coming from a Yamaha, taking into account the sum to pay and the futuristic spirit of the machine, we expected that the cables and hoses would be more skillfully arranged, that certain mechanical elements – such as the starter motor – would be more camouflaged and the majority of plastic parts painted.
Another aesthetic complaint: the presence in the 2018 color chart of a single color. This mixes a deep and metallic – but a little gloomy – "Graphite" gray with the unmistakable Yamaha "Race" blue at the level of the fork sleeves and the rims. Very classic in short … for a motorcycle that is clearly not !
A detail that has not escaped Site’s watchful eye: the adoption of a double license plate holder, much more elegant because it is "airy" than the simple and massive one of the MT-09. Yamaha would do well to graft the three-wheeler appendage on its two-wheeled sister as soon as possible !
Finally, the "futuristic" Niken – it’s not MNC who says it, but one of the many passers-by who questioned us! – undoubtedly deserved a color TFT screen, as we find for example on the all new GT version of the Tracer 900…
The LCD screen – white inscriptions on a black background because it seems more sporty, it seems – mounted on the Yam ‘three-wheeler therefore seems austere but nonetheless remains satisfactory: complete and readable, its secondary information (trips, consumption, temperatures, etc.) can be viewed using the buttons overhanging the left stalk.
The cruise control (standard, as on the MT-09 and Tracer 900) as well as the engine mapping modes are also set on the handlebars. The traction control, on the other hand, is located on the instrument panel and is only active when the vehicle is stopped. Now it’s time to start it … and try it out! Quickly, click on page 2 !
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