Yamaha Niken

CJhaughey

Just found another video about the Niken LMW, its pretty interesting how they get the front to work in corners.
For those of you that like this kind of thing..

Lumen

That's all very well, but what I'd really like to know is: will it lowside, understeer, or oversteer?

D3V!L

Yamaha announced recently there will be several other versions of it

Sonics2k

I don't trust it.

I don't like change.

CJhaughey

Lumen wrote: »

That's all very well, but what I'd really like to know is: will it lowside, understeer, or oversteer?

At a guess I'd say it would be harder to get it to understeer than over steer.
Given time people will no doubt find its limits.

Del2005

Lumen wrote: »

That's all very well, but what I'd really like to know is: will it lowside, understeer, or oversteer?

It won't stand up on its own. Couldn't have been to hard to design it to stand up by itself so I've no idea why they designed it without one of the benefits of having >2 wheels.

Lumen

Del2005 wrote: »

It won't stand up on its own. Couldn't have been to hard to design it to stand up by itself so I've no idea why they designed it without one of the benefits of having >2 wheels.

I don't mind putting a foot down at the lights. It's putting a foot down in the corners that's tricky.

CJhaughey

Del2005 wrote: »

It won't stand up on its own. Couldn't have been to hard to design it to stand up by itself so I've no idea why they designed it without one of the benefits of having >2 wheels.

My guess is that with a suspension setup like they have given it, the stand up feature would have to lock out the leaning part and that may affect the handling.
Its only 410mm wide at the front so not a huge width.

Del2005

CJhaughey wrote: »

My guess is that with a suspension setup like they have given it, the stand up feature would have to lock out the leaning part and that may affect the handling.
Its only 410mm wide at the front so not a huge width.

It's easy to slide a bolt into a hole to lock the suspension so if won't fall over, have it activated using a key or use an interlock to make sure that it can't be ridden until opened. It needs to stand when parked, why have 3 wheels and a side stand?

CJhaughey

Del2005 wrote: »

It's easy to slide a bolt into a hole to lock the suspension so if won't fall over, have it activated using a key or use an interlock to make sure that it can't be ridden until opened. It needs to stand when parked, why have 3 wheels and a side stand?

I don't know is the answer, maybe the 410mm track between the wheels won't give the required stability given that this is a full sized motorcycle not a scoot like the MP3.
The COG might be a lot higher and therefore more unstable compared to the MP3?

Del2005

CJhaughey wrote: »

I don't know is the answer, maybe the 410mm track between the wheels won't give the required stability given that this is a full sized motorcycle not a scoot like the MP3.
The COG might be a lot higher and therefore more unstable compared to the MP3?

When stopped that will have no impact. A triangle of any size is stable which is why people used to make 3 legged stools, so they didn't have to get the legs level. It just seems to be a miss that they make a 3 wheeler and don't make use of the stability when stopped. It has no real advantage over a motorbike if you still have to hold it up and worse as its a heavy beast so if you drop it it'll be a struggle to get it back up.

4068ac1elhodqr

Looks much much better than the Piaggio MP3 LT (car licence).
But this Niken requires a proper bike licence in most EU countries as front track is less than 460mm.

4068ac1elhodqr

Looks a bit Hollywood sci-fi-esq.

CJhaughey

Interestingly Yamaha have bought a Norwegian company that has already patented some LTW bikes.
https://www.brudelitech.com/
They seem to all have kickstands as well.

amacca

CJhaughey wrote: »

At a guess I'd say it would be harder to get it to understeer than over steer.
Given time people will no doubt find its limits.

Video mentions 45 degree max lean angle.....presume thats when the parallelogram locks out?

If so that really is the max, you won't be able to go past that limit anyway....so that would mean much less potential for high or lowsides due to rider error when leaning.....I can see some reasons why this or something like it could be a big seller in the future.....although it would have to be competitively priced.

I myself would like to ride one to see what its like but wouldnt like my friends to see me on one

Definitely wouldn't buy one also.

Lumen

I imagine filtering on this would cause complete carnage as drivers swerved out of the way, panicked by the sight of two front wheels.

Although those Peugeot and Piaggio things seem quite popular.

de_Selby

It looks a bit crazy, but the 2 front wheels should give it a lot better traction for ice/sand/mucky conditions, right?

CJhaughey

de_Selby wrote: »

It looks a bit crazy, but the 2 front wheels should give it a lot better traction for ice/sand/mucky conditions, right?

I think that's a large part of the design, 2x the grip on the front.

Cienciano

I definitely want a go on it

CJhaughey

Like I said before I have an open mind with things like this,Yamaha have always built good handling bikes IMO and I am sure with their ability and experience they are well able to make something like this handle well.
Piaggio MP3 owners speak very highly of their bikes handling on wet cobbled streets and in limited grip situations.