22 MOTORCYCLE MOJO JULY 2019
just about the best conditions in which
to test the bike.
On drenched, waterlogged pave-
ment, I rode the Niken through corners
at what would have been an aggressive
pace in dry conditions on a motorcycle.
I trail-braked hard into tight turns and
leaned at angles that normally would
have caused a motorcycle’s front end
to tuck into disaster. I hammered the
front brake mid-turn, just to see when
this thing had had enough and booted
me off the seat. Well, it didn’t. I didn’t
really try anything dangerous or
attempt to crash the Niken, but I did
push it harder than I have any motorcy-
cle on wet pavement, and it rallied on
without a wiggle.
things to test the Niken’s aptitude to
change direction that would have had
a conventional bike bucking me off the
saddle in disgust. I rode the Niken in
a way that went against my natural
instincts as an experienced rider, and
yet it carried on without protest.
Wet Weather Friend
California usually is temperate, even
during winter, but the forecast called
for highs of 10 C, overcast skies and
lots of rain during the Niken’s two-day
press test. As it turned out those were
PRESS LAUNCH 2019 YAMAHA NIKEN GT
The front of the Niken GT has a lot of moving parts,but its design isolates bumps between the two frontZKHHOVVRWKHULGHULVHQVXUHGDVPRRWKULGH