what the hell is this

[Banditbandit]

Attachment 340014

Yeah yeah yeah - it looks terrible ...

[AllanB]

I had a good look at one today. Interesting beast. Not unattractive, not a fan of the blue fork colour wise.

They look like they would be a blast to punt around hard actually. And under the 'nose' the links and fittings are quite well finished - I immediately started thinking of stripping off the nose etc .....

[MD]

Had a test ride on a Niken today. Only went in to get a filter for my Tracer but took up the offer of a test ride.
I really didnt want to like this but it was really great to ride. Once you have negotiated your first few bends you forget about the two wheels up front, it is just the same experience as a 2 wheeler , It felt very planted on the road although I didnt push it as far as some people had in previous test rides looking at the wear on the footpegs !! I wont be trading my Tracer for one but really enjoyed it and it certainly turns heads when people see you coming .

Good on you for giving it a try. I was loosing sleep thinking about it after my short ride so I went back last week and took it for 90 odd minutes over the Takas. Shouldn't have. Want one even more now. I was getting the pegs touching down. By then it's carrying a respectable amount of corner speed and lean so that's a pass with honours to the Niken.

I didn't feel as confident to squeeze passed traffic though with the width. The only negative I can see with it for commuting.

See in one mag that Yamaha testers were one second quicker on their test track with a Niken against standard MT09. That says a lot!

[biggo]

Good on you for giving it a try. I was loosing sleep thinking about it after my short ride so I went back last week and took it for 90 odd minutes over the Takas. Shouldn't have. Want one even more now. I was getting the pegs touching down. By then it's carrying a respectable amount of corner speed and lean so that's a pass with honours to the Niken.

I didn't feel as confident to squeeze passed traffic though with the width. The only negative I can see with it for commuting.

See in one mag that Yamaha testers were one second quicker on their test track with a Niken against standard MT09. That says a lot!

I can see you buying one If I was in the market for a new bike I would certainly consider a Niken myself. I would like to get a few years more from my Tracer first. The wheels are no wider than the mirrors so filtering should not be a problem . No worst than a bike with panniers on and I see ST1300s going in and out of Wellington making good progress through traffic.