Yamaha Niken: Fun Facts About the Japanese Tuning Forks’ Futuristic Ride

Yamaha wowed us when it unveiled the Niken three-wheeled motorcycle back at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show. “Niken” is Japanese for “two swords” and boy does it look the part with its unique twin front wheel setup! The wheels are even capable of leaning like a normal two-wheeler, so the Niken really made us wonder: why three wheels when two will suffice? We got to do some digging about the whole design philosophy and it seems to have convinced us that the Niken is not only unique but offers its own set of advantages over a conventional motorcycle. Here’s what makes it tick:

Leans on the Leaning Multi-Wheel technology:

The Yamaha Niken revolves around a core concept called ‘Leaning Multi-Wheel’ or LMW technology. This isn’t the first time Yamaha has used this tech on a two-wheeler. It was earlier implemented on the Tricity, a scooter with two tilting wheels upfront.

In the Niken, Yamaha has further evolved the Tricity’s steering mechanism by implementing what’s called Ackermann steering geometry. In a conventional setup, there are two front wheels that are capable of turning, connected to a frame which has a rigid rear wheel(s) on the other end. Now imagine there’s a centre point around which the vehicle turns. When each of the front wheels turns with the same angle, the radius traced by each front wheel will be different as they are further apart from each other. This results in the tyres slipping while cornering. 

So with this setup coupled with the parallelogram steering link ensures the front end feels as natural as possible. In fact, it offers lean angles up to 45 degrees. Moreover, the 410mm track remains constant even when it leans, thereby ensuring you have plenty of grips even when you begin to scrape the pegs on the tarmac.

‘Suspension’ of disbelief:

The complex steering system is linked to a pair of inverted 41mm forks on each wheel. The fork leg on the leading side is actually meant only for changing directions. Yamaha has made sure the mass is as centralised as possible, so the rear-linked almost-horizontal mono-shock is located just below the seat. It offers full adjustability, with the rebound, compression and tool-less preload adjustment.

The bike is built on a new hybrid frame that consists of a cast steel steering head linked to a cast aluminium swingarm pivot via steel tubes. The aluminium swingarm is 15mm longer than the MT-09’s unit, for added stability. Yamaha says with the rider, the weight distribution is 50-50.

The twin front wheels are actually small 15-inch units wrapped with meaty 120-section radial tyres up front while the rear is a larger 17-inch alloy shod with fat 190-section rubber. The Bridgestone Battlax Adventure tyres are V-rated (designed for speeds up to around 240kmph) and are designed specifically for leaning wheel vehicles.

Electronic wizardry:

The Yamaha Niken employs an MT-09 streetfighter-derived 847cc inline-three liquid-cooled engine, churning out 115PS at 10,000rpm and 87.5Nm at 8500rpm. The engine is counterbalanced for better refinement and the 6-speed transmission gets an assist and slipper clutch, along with a quick shifter as standard. That said, the quick shifter allows only for clutchless upshifts.

The motorcycle comes to a halt using twin 298mm discs with radial callipers up front and a 282mm disc at the rear. As expected, Yamaha has provided dual-channel ABS as standard. Theoretically, the twin discs coupled with the twin-wheel setup should offer strong stopping power despite the discs being small. Touring enthusiasts would be happy to know that the bike gets electronic cruise control as standard.