TL / DR I bought a new bike, and you don't like it.
Last year when on a trip down to the Dragon, I rode past a motorcycle rental outfit that had a Yamaha Niken. I had seen pictures of them and seen one at a motorcycle show, but had never seen one in the wild. The opportunity to rent one for a day was something I couldn't pass up.
I don't know what my expectations were, really. I expected it to be bizarre; a laugh but to my surprise it turned out to be kind of brilliant. I had more fun on that bike than I had had in a while.
Backstory: Oomis - One of Our Own.
TL/DR My wife and I were riding in Newfoundland in 2017 and were hit head on. She passed away at the scene and I ended up cobbled together with 63 screw, 3 plates and 2 rods after 12 surgeries in 12 months, ~18 months in the hospital and almost losing my leg twice. After all of this, I wasn't 100% sure if I was going to keep riding.
Clearly.
Last summer I was still trying to decide whether or not I was going to keep riding, and the trip down to the Dragon was a part of my decision making process. So in riding it, when I found myself laughing uncontrollably, singing in my helmet and smiling to myself, I started to think that maybe there was something to this answer to the question that nobody had asked.
Moreover, I found myself just kind of staring at it when it was parked. It's just so bizarre and different looking, and I suppose I appreciate that. I've always been a sucker for the underdog.
Is the Niken perfect? Nope. Is it for everyone? Nope. But does Yamaha deserve kudos for bringing something to market that stands out like this? I think they do. We motorcyclists are a closeminded, conservative bunch in large part, and the looks of this bike are polarizing, for sure. Interestingly, I couldn't find one review where the reviewer wasn't laughing with joy while they were riding it, even if they couldn't get over the looks.
So when an insane deal came up on a demo GT version at a dealership in Ottawa, I loaded up the trailer and brought it home.
The worst thing that I found in riding the bike for the day that I had it was the crowds that it attracted. Like flies to sh... honey. And everyone had an opinion about it, or questions. That's not surprising, as it is a bizarre machine, and we are conservative.
I have about 700,000 kms under my belt, across a whole bunch of bikes, and not one of them made me giggle like this one. Even standing still, it made me smile. Given that, it made no difference to me what it looks like.
The best motorcycle in the world is always the one you're riding, and each of us has our own reasons. The point of this post is to just say that motorcycles are a really, really personal decision that we each make, and when you look at a bike or another rider we have no idea what those reasons are. And just because those aren't OUR reasons doesn't mean that they aren't valid.
And also to remind other riders that if we all turn our noses up at new ideas, we'll always get stuck with the same old thing. The Niken isn't ever going to replace 2 wheeled motorcycles, but it's a well engineered alternative that allows for insane front end grip, as tested personally on 129.
The Niken isn't perfect, and it isn't for everyone, but it made me smile and that's worth something. To me, anyway.
Last year when on a trip down to the Dragon, I rode past a motorcycle rental outfit that had a Yamaha Niken. I had seen pictures of them and seen one at a motorcycle show, but had never seen one in the wild. The opportunity to rent one for a day was something I couldn't pass up.
I don't know what my expectations were, really. I expected it to be bizarre; a laugh but to my surprise it turned out to be kind of brilliant. I had more fun on that bike than I had had in a while.
Backstory: Oomis - One of Our Own.
TL/DR My wife and I were riding in Newfoundland in 2017 and were hit head on. She passed away at the scene and I ended up cobbled together with 63 screw, 3 plates and 2 rods after 12 surgeries in 12 months, ~18 months in the hospital and almost losing my leg twice. After all of this, I wasn't 100% sure if I was going to keep riding.
Clearly.
Last summer I was still trying to decide whether or not I was going to keep riding, and the trip down to the Dragon was a part of my decision making process. So in riding it, when I found myself laughing uncontrollably, singing in my helmet and smiling to myself, I started to think that maybe there was something to this answer to the question that nobody had asked.
Moreover, I found myself just kind of staring at it when it was parked. It's just so bizarre and different looking, and I suppose I appreciate that. I've always been a sucker for the underdog.
Is the Niken perfect? Nope. Is it for everyone? Nope. But does Yamaha deserve kudos for bringing something to market that stands out like this? I think they do. We motorcyclists are a closeminded, conservative bunch in large part, and the looks of this bike are polarizing, for sure. Interestingly, I couldn't find one review where the reviewer wasn't laughing with joy while they were riding it, even if they couldn't get over the looks.
So when an insane deal came up on a demo GT version at a dealership in Ottawa, I loaded up the trailer and brought it home.
The worst thing that I found in riding the bike for the day that I had it was the crowds that it attracted. Like flies to sh... honey. And everyone had an opinion about it, or questions. That's not surprising, as it is a bizarre machine, and we are conservative.
I have about 700,000 kms under my belt, across a whole bunch of bikes, and not one of them made me giggle like this one. Even standing still, it made me smile. Given that, it made no difference to me what it looks like.
The best motorcycle in the world is always the one you're riding, and each of us has our own reasons. The point of this post is to just say that motorcycles are a really, really personal decision that we each make, and when you look at a bike or another rider we have no idea what those reasons are. And just because those aren't OUR reasons doesn't mean that they aren't valid.
And also to remind other riders that if we all turn our noses up at new ideas, we'll always get stuck with the same old thing. The Niken isn't ever going to replace 2 wheeled motorcycles, but it's a well engineered alternative that allows for insane front end grip, as tested personally on 129.
The Niken isn't perfect, and it isn't for everyone, but it made me smile and that's worth something. To me, anyway.
