Niken roll-out is beginning, more info and soon, test rides

[jetpilot5]

Very true, but I really doubt you'd have noobs lining up to shell out 16 grand for a beginner bike, and is 115hp 600lb buffalo really suited to doing figure 8s in a parking lot? I would love to see a larger motor, real seats, shaft drive, reverse gear, and some touring treatment. That would be a worthy contender for any tourer out there...stable, comfortable, traction galore... and still a bike. Really hope the concept survives this test run.

Not a beginner bike no doubt. The price tag and the weight keep it out of that category. Don't know how cumbersome it will be to ride and whether buffalo is an appropriate description. If they introduce it as a tourer with a bigger engine, shaft drive etc then it gets even heavier and more expensive. A reverse gear won't work on a bike that requires you to balance it, even with it's three wheels. 
I think it's a good place to start. Decent but not mind blowing power, heavy but not ridiculous for what it is and a price tag that's not cheap but isn't crazy. At mid sixteens I'd look at buying if I like the test ride. If it was priced the mid twenties I'm out no matter how great I think it is.
 
I'm a little surprised they aren't offering optional bags though.

[justplainbill]

Another British review of Niken, this one on Bennetts Bike Social written by editor Micheal Mann, whose advice to social media detractors is to ride it before you knock it.  https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/reviews/bikes/yamaha/yamaha-niken-review I expect Cruzin to give that advice a big thumbs' up. 
 
The review is thorough and workman-like. I don't think he picked up on the "why" and for "whom"  part of the press briefing because he didn't address those elements. Instead, he envisions the Niken fitting into the Yamaha lineup as a sports touring bike - in competiton to the Tracer GT (but a lot more expensive).
 
Mann includes a video of his day on the Niken, it's in British so if you don't speak or understand that language.... enjoy the spectacular shots on the mountain tops and the behavior of a coven of Niken in their native habitat as moto-journalist herd them along the roads.  The embedded video here is that one from YouTube:
 
 

[justplainbill]

Rev-Zilla posted a review of Niken by Adam Waheed.  https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/2018-yamaha-niken-first-ride  
 
 
Maybe I'm just getting tired of reading the same thing so many times, but this is more like a re-write of a press release than something you'd expect a guy who says he rode the Niken 183 miles in Austria to report. Yawn.  Hopefully  some of those Euro YouTube bloggers will show up at the public test rides and we'll see how prospective buyers react to the Niken.

[texscottyd]

... and we'll see how prospective buyers react to the Niken...

I’m almost more interested in WHO the prospective Niken buyer is, versus how they react.
 
I’m intrigued by the concept, and certainly impressed with the engineering exercise, but still unclear on the market. Of course I’m also one that figured the Slingshot / Spyder would be a non-starter, so clearly I don’t belong in product management.

[jetpilot5]

Cycle News was there too.
 
http://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/990347-cycle-news-issue-22-june-5/94?m4=

[justplainbill]

... and we'll see how prospective buyers react to the Niken...

I’m almost more interested in WHO the prospective Niken buyer is, versus how they react.  
 

Adam Waheed in the Cycle News review above (not in his RevZilla article) offers this view of WHO Yamaha expects to buy the Niken: 
"Who’s it For? Despite what you may think, Yamaha’s going after a more experienced customer with its Niken. Positioned as a premium offering, it’s engineered to offer a happy medium between traditional sport and touring segments. The Niken rider is a person looking for the latest and greatest technology with a “show-off mindset” says Yamaha’s market research."    
 
Being thought of as a shallow show-off might be off-putting for some buyers...or maybe that's just Waheed's take on what he was told by the press flacks. John Burns at Motorcycle.com was more diplomatic and more comprehensive: "Yamaha does think the Niken will appeal to: 1) Innovators, 35 to 45 years old, looking for the latest technology, 2) mature, expert riders who replace their bikes often and are into the Experience, and 3) Functionalists, who’re willing to pay for extra confidence and stability to make them better, safer riders." 
 
 
 
 

[justplainbill]

MCN Motorcycle News, written review of the Niken by senior editor Matt Wildee here: https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2... and his video here:
 

 
As have several other reviewers, Wildee concludes that it will find it'a place in the market as a sport tourer. It will be interesting to learn how the Niken performs with the weight of a pillion and luggage.

[justplainbill]

This video, titled "Yamaha Niken Launch Review & Tech Talk", was posted on YouTube by Bike World. The presenter did not bother stating his name and I couldn't find it anywhere on the site, which is a shame because he does an excellent job of tying together the Niken concept, working mechanism and riding experience without sounding like a Yamaha sales flack.  In fact, I'd say that this 21 minute video would be my recommendation for introducing the Niken to someone with no previous knowledge of the machine.  And, even if you've read and watched most of what there is on the Niken (like me), the video is still worth watching.
 
 

[suitedsevens]

... and we'll see how prospective buyers react to the Niken...

I’m almost more interested in WHO the prospective Niken buyer is, versus how they react.  
I’m intrigued by the concept, and certainly impressed with the engineering exercise, but still unclear on the market. Of course I’m also one that figured the Slingshot / Spyder would be a non-starter, so clearly I don’t belong in product management.

I am as well. It doesn't have the benefit of being easier to ride like the other "trike" configurations. To me it just seems like a motorcycle with more stuff to break/maintain.

[Cruizin]

I dont think that this bike will sell very well. It doesn't give you anything more for the premium price.
 
I am not going to create a whole new forum for this bike, I think that it would be a dead forum. I just don't think many people are gonna buy this bike.

[justplainbill]

I dont think that this bike will sell very well. It doesn't give you anything more for the premium price.  
I am not going to create a whole new forum for this bike, I think that it would be a dead forum. I just don't think many people are gonna buy this bike.

I think Yamaha agrees with you Cruzin - at least the part about not many people buying the Niken.  It has to be pre-ordered, with a deposit on the Yamaha Niken order site.  I don't know if they are trying to make it "exclusive" (think Tesla) or building to meet orders and avoid having warehouses full of unsold Nikens around the world.  
 
It seems to me that Yamaha built an unconventional motorcycle for a specialized sub-set of riders, but introduced it to the marketplace using conventional media and promotional channels.  Reading the reviews, it's clear the moto-journalists were intrigued by the technology, but skeptical about the need for a three wheel motorcycle and "damned it with faint praise".  Perfectly understandable; moto-journalist were not the target audience for the Niken and they reviewed it from their own (and that of their readers)  perspective instead of that of "innovators, expert and functionalist" riders who have different perspectives than the typical moto-journalist.  Too bad (for Yamaha) that innovator/expert/functionalist riders don't have their own magazine(s) and websites.
 
 
 

[justplainbill]

As promised by Yamaha, following the press introduction of Niken in Austria, the demo bikes were to be trucked around Europe and "regular riders" would have a chance to try them out. I've been anxiously awaiting reports from those riders on their experience. Phil480 is a regular rider, living in Britain, with a YouTube channel (3800 subscribers) focused on motorcycles and he was part of a group test riding Niken's recently. He published the video of his ride and first impressions Aug 5th.
 
Once underway, he had to vent about how ugly the Niken is, then he settled into an appreciation for how much like a two wheel motorcycle it rides, and how well it does take corners (tame ones compared to the Alps) and how much like a Tracer it is. Since it was a group ride, with Yamaha safety monitors looking over his shoulders, he expresses the hope his local dealer with have a demo bike available for a follow up solo ride. He sums it up by urging viewers to withhold judgment and take a test ride if they get a chance. Nothing surprising I think, but at least refreshing for the objectivity and lack of limit testing moto-journalists excel at.