2019 Yamaha Niken steers a radical path

When Yamaha debuted the MWT-9 concept three-wheeler at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 2015, many were impressed by its technology and almost unnerving, mantis-like visual presence. Yamaha has a history of stunning concepts for the Tokyo show, so it's likely few thought a production version would ever see real roads. But two years later at the same show, Yamaha unveiled the world's first 3-wheel leaning motorcycle and amazingly, production of the Niken began in the second half of this year.

The Niken is a brazen mechanical-engineering statement, in the vein of Yamaha's 1993 forkless GTS1000. Based at the company's HQ in Iwata, Japan, the main Niken development team was comprised of eight Yamaha Motor Company (YMC) staff, four of whom were engineers. Takahiro Suzuki was the Project Leader for Niken development, with chassis development handled by Ryuta Mitsuoka.