This was back last summer...
Footwear: Alpinestar Tech 1, size 44, white...natch!
Location: CMC, Clay Cross to Bakewell to Hassop to Froggat to Hathersage to Strines to Pennistone to Holmfirth to Holme Moss to Glossop to Ladybower to Hathersage to Eyre to Chesterfield to Clay Cross
Weather: Bright sunshine interspersed with rain. Little bitty stingin' rain, and big 'ol fat rain, rain that flew in sideways, and sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.
Bike: Well, that in itself is a conundrum. Is it a bike? If not, what is it? It's a Yamaha Niken. That's what it is.
The funky front end. Let's talk about the funky front end. Lot's of levers and pivots and bell cranks and and track rod ends and linear bearings. About 50kg's worth. 2 dinky 15" front wheels, more of which later. The online reviews I've seen all rave about the extra grip this set up gives. So does it?
I can confidently say that I was able to go faster on the tight, twisty, bumpy, wet roads of the Peak District on the Niken than I would have been on a conventional front end bike, with the same time in the saddle to learn how it handled. The front end does give confidence, particularly once you've pushed it to the limit and had a front end slide and experience the novel feeling of motorbike exhibiting the same handling as un understeering front wheel drive car. When the front does slide it doesn't feel like a low side, the bike just slides with the lean angle unchanging.
The front tyres are definitely a limiting factor to front end grip, they're not a sports compound by any stretch and it appears that, due to the odd size, they're aren't any alternatives available.
There's a few handling quirks that appear to be associated with the unusual front end....
There is a pronounced rise and fall of the bars, causing involuntary rolling on and off of the throttle, when you go from being leant over on one side to the other.
There's a noticeable change in the amount of effort required to increase lean about half way to fully leant over. If you picture riding round a decreasing radius bend at a constant speed and throttle opening, as you lean the bike more and more there comes a point where it suddenly becomes much, much easier to lean the bike. Resulting in leaning too far and having to pick it up.
The front end flat-out, plain doesn't work if you try to ride the bike like a supermoto and push the bike down underneath you. Despite the wide bars you have to ride it like a sports bike to really exploit the design.
It ran wide, even on a closed throttle, from the apex each and every time. It didn't feel like the back end was squatting.
I didn't find it any easier to ride than a conventional motorbike, which I found odd given the comments from journalists who've had long termers and said it's very easy to ride and you can ride long distances without fatigue.
The suspension components are pretty poor quality. I didn't twiddle with the adjusters, front or back, but it behaved like the 900 Tracer I had as a loan bike a few years ago; harsh and poorly damped. It had me out of the saddle quite a few times.
The brakes. Well, when I first took it out I was set to hand it back it after 500 yards as they were shocking, truly terrible. However, I've ridden demo bikes before with brakes that had suffered from wafty riders who'd glazed the pads so stuck with it and gave the brakes the patented DocJohn bedding in - lots of repeated braking from 60 mph down to walking pace to get them good and hot. They did get infinitely better BUT they are still not up to fast road riding due to a lack of power; the 15" front wheels limit the size of the discs, the length of the brake hoses introduces a lot of lever squish and the sheer weight of the Niken overwhelm the front brakes. The rear can be used to help, but it locks up very easily, causing the ABS to kick in with a resounding clunk.
The engine. Smooth, revs well but fairly grunty. But it needs to be. To make progress you ride everywhere absolutely wide open. The gearbox ratios appear tailored for the Niken; 1st to 4th are very long, using 1st a lot more than a conventional bike. 6th is geared low but the engine struggles to pull it. Fastest I saw on the test ride, on my private section of the A619 between Wadshelf and Baslow was 124mph, and to get that I had to mercilessly thrash it to the red line in every gear. Which is not that fearsome a prospect as the factory fitted Quick Shifter is nigh on perfect. The slipper clutch couldn't be overwhelmed, no matter how many gears I banged down. But there is an elephant in the room: the throttle connection is terrible. The different modes, 1 & 2 & 3, just made it different shades of terrible. It feels like the throttle cables are made from liquorice laces, but oddly only on opening of the throttle. On closing the throttle it was like a hair trigger.
It is heavy, like supertanker heavy. Really obvious at a stand and slow speed but once moving above walking speed it disappears...until you want to speed up or slow down.
If you're looking for a bike to blend into the background on then *waves hand Jedi style* this is not the bike you are looking for. If you are shy and retiring then buy a different bike, even a Diavel will attract less comment than this.
When I got back I asked the service department at the dealers about how much more it cost to service, given all the levers/pivots/bearings in the front end, and they didn't have a clue. I can't believe it doesn't come with some kind of additional running cost.
So would I have one?
No.
It needs better tyres, front and back, and right now there are no better tyres for the front.
It needs better suspension, front and back, and right now there are no suspension upgrades available.
It needs more power to rival a conventional motorbike of the same engine size.
All of the above are either impossible, or would cost several thousand pounds and make the relatively low purchase price less attractive.
Now, I had hoped to have been posting some action shots of me on the bike as I had invited a serial test riding mate to join me on the test ride. But suffice to say he never showed, so instead please find a variety of carefully composed non-dynamic shots below...
Sorry, just realised I've missed out the most important bit of the review.
Wheelies.
Tried.
Failed.
Every time I pinged the clutch the traction control cut in and I had neither the time or knowledge to figure out how to turn it off....
