Test Fleet: Yamaha Niken

Visiting Silverstone on the Niken helps Mossy understand it even more, and learn what others think of it

Heading off to Silverstone isn’t new to me. Over the years I’ve done many laps around the famous track on a number of different bikes. However, riding the circuit on a Niken was likely to be in total contrast to anything I’d ever done there before.

Yamaha was using Silverstone as a base for its annual dealer event. The dealers had the chance to come along and ride most of the bikes in the range, especially the Niken, as over 30 of the three-wheelers were available to try on both road and track. As someone who’s done lots of miles on the bike, with a very obvious affection for it, Yamaha had invited me along to be a bit of an ambassador. I was looking forward to it all. Not only would I get to see what the Niken was like when ridden much harder on track, but I would also have the chance to gauge reaction from those completely new to it.

Regular readers will know I’ve ridden my three-wheeler on track before, at Thruxton. I was really impressed by how well it performed. But looking back, I was in the early stages of learning about the Niken, which I’ve discovered is something that takes quite some time.

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

Arrival at the track highlighted the importance of the event. There were a hell of a lot of Yamaha bikes and people present. This was clearly a big corporate occasion for the bike firm, and the emphasis on promoting the Niken was obvious. Not having ridden there for quite a while, I asked for guidance on the best way to lap from ex-racer Ian Cobby.

He’s an instructor at the track and with his talent and experience, turned out to be of great value. Following him for a while proved very useful.