Yamaha NIKEN Bikes For Sale

Specs

• Seat Height: Average (820 mm / 32.3 inches)
• Weight: Very Heavy (263 kg / 580 lbs)
• Fuel Capacity: High (18.0 litres / 4.8 US gallons)
• Economy: Average (40 mpg / 7.1 l/100km / 14.2 km/l)
• Range: High (160 miles / 257 km)
• Top Speed: High (110 mph / 177 km/h)
• Capacity: Average (847 cc)
• Power: High (114 bhp / 85 kW)
• Power to Weight: Average (0.433 bhp/kg / 0.323 kW/kg)
• Redline: High (11,300 rpm)
• Road Tax / VED: Very High (£101 Per Year)
• Launch RRP: £13,500

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Price Guide & Used Prices

Review In A Few

What Is It?

The Yamaha NIKEN is basically a sporty naked MT-09 with an extra wheel at the front and is powered by a Euro 4 compliant liquid cooled 847 cc triple engine producing 113.5 bhp at 10,000 rpm and maximum torque at around 8,500 rpm.

Features include:

• Steel / Aluminium hybrid frame with Aluminium swingarm
• 298 mm disc per wheel up front with four piston calipers
• 282 mm disc at the rear with Nissin single piston caliper
• ABS system
• Adjustable forks with 110 mm travel
• Adjustable rear shock with 125 mm travel
• 3 riding modes, cruise control
• 2 level traction control with off mode
• LED lighting all round
• 12V socket on the dash
• 3->1 exhaust system
• Quickshifter and slipper clutch (like the 2017 MT-09)
• 6 speed gearbox with gear position indicator

What do you get if you take the awesome MT-09, 3 wheeler technology derived from the Tricity, a black'n'white dash reminiscent of that on the MT-10 and throw in the mirrors from the 2015 R1? Meet the NIKEN (Ni-Ken), Yamaha's latest Leaning Multi Wheeler (LMW) model. 

Unlike the MT-09 the front two wheels are 15" rather than 17", the radiator appears to have moved down in order to accommodate the dual wheel jiggery-pokery, the crank has been revised and the fuelling toned down a bit.

The rear disc is actually 53 mm larger that the MT-09 which is probably to compensate for the 32.4 mm smaller front discs necessitated by the 2" smaller wheels. The new MT-09 headlight clearly made it through to the re-designed front end though, just with the LED running lights moved to the sides.

Yamaha reckon the benefits of the extra wheel include almost double the front grip, enabling you to carve a tighter line through corners with a 45° maximum lean angle, twice the contact area with the road when braking and like the Tricity more all round stability at low speeds.

The design is actually really clever, because it keeps the front wheels the same distance apart even while leaning in corners. This future-tech will probably filter down to smaller capacities over the next few years and maybe even a larger capacity version.

Crucially, in the UK at least, the distance between the front wheels is 410 mm so it's a proper bike and not something you can hop onto with a car licence like the Piaggio MP3. The 10-spoke 15" front wheels take Bridgestone Battlax 120/70 tyres and the rear 17" a 190/55.

Accessories include the Akrapovic full Titanium exhaust, heated grips, extra 12V socket, centre stand, 25 litre panniers, tall screen and comfort seat.

• 2018-2021: Black

Ni means Two and Ken means Sword in Japanese. It's also called the MXT850.

Model History & Updates

2019: NIKEN GT launched with panniers, tall screen, heated grips, comfort seat, centre stand and extra 12V socket.

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