Yamaha has announced that there might be a middleweight Yamaha Niken coming soon.
The 2019 Yamaha Niken is powered by the same 847cc inline-three engine found in the MT-09.
We’re guessing that the mid-sized version will come ready with the 689cc twin-cylinder engine from the MT-07.
After the recent launch of the production-ready Yamaha Niken three-wheeler together late last year, Yamaha Japan has more plans to further expand their Leaning Multi-Wheeler (LMW) machines across the entire bike range.
Together with the Yamaha Tricity scooter, Yamaha is looking primed and ready for another three-wheeled motorcycle variant that will be positioned right in the middle between the 847cc Niken and the 125cc Tricity. We have very high hopes on a mid-sized Niken that’s powered by the Yamaha YZF-R6 599cc inline-four engine (but that’ll be highly unlikely).
According to Yamaha CEO/President Yoshihiro Hidaka, “Since the launch of Tricity commuter in 2014 we continued R&D activities and in the last year’s Tokyo Motor Show we have presented large size sports model Niken, which will be launched in the market this year. Not just limited to these two models we will be expanding customer base with new values of LMW.”
We also know for a fact that Yamaha has invested heavily on their leaning three-wheel technology and this was further cemented when they purchased a few more patents from renowned three-wheeler manufacturer from Norway, Brudeli.
Brudeli are known for their mid-range Leanster bikes such as the very capable Brudeli 654L. The entire chassis, suspension and other parts of the Leanster were built specifically to cope with its 654cc single-cylinder engine which was taken from the KTM 690 range. With 63hp and 65Nm of torque, the 654L is able to top out at an impressive 170km/h.
As for the mid-sized Yamaha Niken, it would be interesting if they pair it with an inline-four engine from the sexy YZF-R6. Since the powerful Niken is powered by the same engine in the MT-09, our best bet is that the new mid-sized three-wheeler will get its power from 689cc twin-cylinder from the MT-07 to keep the price down once it’s available for purchase.
Yamaha invests more on three-wheeled tech; purchases Brudeli Leanster patents
