The Yamaha Niken Is The Insane Three-Wheeler That Somehow Made Production

Three-wheeled scooters aren't uncommon in big cities these days, but Yamaha has built the very first 'proper' motorbike with three wheels - and it looks absolutely crazy
The Yamaha Niken Is The Insane Three-Wheeler That Somehow Made Production

And now for something completely different. If you like the idea of a motorbike but would it a bit more… mental, then you’ve come to the right place with the Yamaha Niken.

Revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show, this unbelievable lunatic’s wet dream of a Bat-bike takes the big-fun MT-09 as its base, but features a bizarre twin-wheel setup that mirrors those we’ve already seen on smaller, maxi-scooter-based machines.

The Yamaha Niken Is The Insane Three-Wheeler That Somehow Made Production

Each 15-inch front wheel has its own twin suspension setup, with two upside-down springs on the outer edge of each wheel. A linkage between the two lets the bike lean; not quite as far as a regular MT-09 will, but far enough to be fun, in theory. It gives you twice the front-end tyre contact patch, too, and less chance of falling off in bad weather.

This is no shed-built banger, with fully-adjustable suspension, traction control, switchable riding modes and a reliable, punchy 900cc three-pot engine. We don’t know whether it’s in the same state of tune as it is in the 113bhp MT-09, but we’d guess it might be detuned for a little more low-down torque.

The Yamaha Niken Is The Insane Three-Wheeler That Somehow Made Production

It’s a six-speed manual transmission, just like the base bike, but most of the technical data is being kept secret until the Milan motorcycle show on November 6. It’s 75mm longer, 70mm wider and 130mm taller. It’s not the small, nimble animal that the MT-09 is, but it has its own advantages.

The two-wheeled MT-09 starts from £7999, but the best industry guesses at the moment put the radical Niken at more like £11,000 or more. We just can’t believe Yamaha has actually built it.

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Comments

Simone Mascia

reading this with cyclecruza’s accent

10/26/2017 - 08:55 |
4 | 0
DL🏁

Three-wheeled bikes just somehow feel wrong to me

10/26/2017 - 09:06 |
86 | 2
Olivier (CT's grammar commie)

In reply to by DL🏁

50 years-old bald American biker: TRIGGERED

10/26/2017 - 11:15 |
70 | 0
Anonymous

But.. will it wheelie?

10/26/2017 - 09:12 |
22 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

And do Doritos??

10/26/2017 - 10:34 |
2 | 2
Tomislav Celić

Cool af

10/26/2017 - 09:19 |
0 | 0
Zubayer Rezoan

Wheelie like a Unicorn
Stoppie like a Drilling Machine

10/26/2017 - 09:28 |
14 | 0
ᴶᵘˢᵗᴬᴿᵃⁿᵈᵒá

And I thought Tuk-Tuks are odd

10/26/2017 - 09:50 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

Uh looks a bit… Wrong Imo.

10/26/2017 - 09:58 |
8 | 0
Joseph Le Corre

Reminds me of this…

10/26/2017 - 10:03 |
32 | 0

How is a Morgan Three-Wheeler similar in any way to that alien bike

10/26/2017 - 16:48 |
4 | 4
HAYABUSA

It looks like arms. One step closer to irl transformers

10/26/2017 - 11:02 |
4 | 0
LEitner

This front-end setup must be super heavy, especially because the linkage must be damped as well. Not sure if this will extend your riding season/ acceptable weather more than it gives up the fun

10/26/2017 - 11:09 |
0 | 0