Motorcycle Mojo – July 2019

J ULY 2 0 19 MOTORCYCLE MOJO 21

ABS and two-level traction control

are standard, as are three ride modes

that adjust throttle response. I had two

issues with the Niken, one of which

was abrupt throttle response in the

most aggressive Mode A, although

switching to the softer Mode B easily

cured that. My second gripe is that you

must use two buttons to set the heat

level for the grips. A button located

on the forward-facing side of the left

switch assembly calls up the grip heat

menu in the instrument display, then

a thumb-adjusted rocker switch turns

on the heat and you select one of three

levels of heat. A single button could do

all the work.

The Niken GT also has an electric

quick shifter, although it only works

on the upshift and only above

4,000 rpm. The bike shifted smoother

when using the clutch, so I resorted

to using the quick shifter only when

riding at an elevated pace.

That Third Wheel

One of the Niken’s more subtle traits

is the lack of any jarring jolts coming

through the handlebar when hitting

bumps. This is because the handlebar

pivots on the frame (just like on

Honda’s new Gold Wing) and connects

to the front wheels (or wheel, in the

Gold Wing’s case) via linkages. This

feature isolates the Niken’s handlebar

from road irregularities while providing

ample feedback when steering and

requires an appropriate, motorcycle-like

amount of effort to steer – unlike

non-leaning three-wheelers, which

require near-Herculean strength.

Another subtle trait is that while

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side at lower speeds, the effort to do

so increases exponentially as speed

increases. I attribute this to countering

the gyroscopic effect of three wheels

instead of two. There’s also a very

minute lag between what you input

at the handlebar and what the bike

does, although the lag is negligible;

I’ve ridden cruisers that reacted much

slower.

Then there’s that one, not so subtle

trait: “Man, can this thing turn!” I did

Pushing the Niken GT to its limits proves two

contact patches are better than one, particularly

in the rain as the three-wheeler took on corners

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Having two contact patches on

the ground means increased rider

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grip while deeply carving corners

with a lean angle up to 45 degrees.

Inverted dual-tube suspension

system features one guide tube

and one main tube for each wheel.

The guide tube sets the direction

of the motorcycle and the main

tube takes care of suspension

duties, which include adjustable

compression and rebound damping.

Yamaha’s Leaning Multi-Wheel (LMW)

technology utilizes a parallelogram

link-arm structure with dual-tube

forks mounted to the outside of

each 15-inch wheel.

Three engine modes and

two traction-control modes

(plus “off”) is available