Yamaha NIKEN: A bit ‘three’ much?

Experiments with three-wheeled motorcycles; two up front and one at the back are aplenty. There have been many ranging from Peugeot and Piaggio to Can-Am offerings. Even Honda and Yamaha took concept routes to explore these. Check out the Yamaha MWT-09 concept below -

And now the above concept has become a reality, enter Yamaha NIKKEN. First things first, details few and we’ll have to wait till EICMA next month for some official dope, but by the looks of it, this seems to be heavily based on the Yamaha MT09 street bike. The ‘CP3’ engraving on the crankcase is a giveaway…

In Yamaha’s official release, the trike is described as a ‘large-displacement Leaning Multi-Wheeler (LMW). It is powered by a liquid-cooled, in-line, three-cylinder engine. This model is equipped with LMW technology to reduce the effects of changing ride environments and to deliver a high feeling of stability when cornering. It achieves excellent performance for spirited and sporty riding on various road surfaces and the capability to freely carve through the continuous corners on winding roads. The body design makes full use of the unprecedented front-end suspension mechanism, pairing 15-inch front wheels with dual-tube upside-down forks that visually accentuate the machine’s sporty performance and create a high-quality look and feel at the same time. New Yamaha NIKEN. Ride the Revolution.’

So, what you get is a quirky ‘LMW’ powered by a 847cc triple sending over 100 bhp to the rear wheel while two wheels held by dual tube USD forks up front make sure you lean into every corner coming your way, just like a conventional bike.

My only question remains, “Do you need an extra wheel to have fun?”