Rider magazine, August 2018.
Your first review of the 2019 Yamaha Niken in the August issue stopped my breath. Anticipating a bona fide dynamic riding option to a trike kit or Can Am Spyder, my hopes were squashed when I saw the bike parked with its kickstand down. Rather than sitting upright with three points of contact, the Niken still requires the ability to handle all 580 pounds like any other two-wheeled machine. As my 87-year-old riding partner Ben Nowell said after his last motorcycle ride, ?It?s the legs, boy. It?s the legs that go first.? Guess the Niken doesn?t provide the alternative I expected and my 69-year-old legs will have to keep pumpin?.
Chuck Iossi, Victor, Idaho
 
I read with great interest your first ride impression of the sui generis Yamaha Niken (?Seeing Double,? August 2018). Upon my first curious viewing of this unusual vehicle in the February issue, I knew I had to have one. To prove that I wasn?t just talking through my hat, I made a down payment and told my local dealer I wanted to be their first customer to ride one out the door. You make some very interesting points in your review: ?I could push it harder into corners than anything I?ve ridden?low-effort, neutral steering that is smooth and agile?so solid, secure and planted even when you?re fully heeled over it almost feels as if you could take your hands off the bars?and finally, one of the most unusual and exciting machines Yamaha has ever built.? Wow, I can?t wait for it to get her...