The Niken gets a full suite of electronic
riding aids as well: there’s cruise control,
three throttle modes, three traction
control settings, a quick-shifter, and the
po er l ra es ene t rom
ac
p
This latter system was never called into
play at the front, although the rear brake
triggered it regularly, both on gravel and
tar during hundreds of kilometres of riding
the Niken over Central Otago roads. If that
situation appears normal behaviour for a
motorcycle, consider this: there were times
when quite large quantities of the power
of the front brakes were deployed while
the Niken’s peg feelers were scraping the
road and the full 45-degree quota of lean
angle was being used. The ability to brake
hard while leaned right over is possibly the
Niken’s best party trick.
The bike has no Inertia Measurement
nit
to help the
system o t in
such situations, but such is the ability of
the front tyres to transfer stopping energy
to the road (in dry conditions) that it’s
debatable whether any IMU is required by
the Niken.
Yamaha arranged the
Niken so there is pe#ect
50:50 front-to-rear
weight distribution once
the rider is aboard.
Erm… as you can see.