Leaving the fold

[KellyL]

I’m sad to report that my Zed has moved on, and that the only KHI branded items left in my house are a coffee mug and two key rings. (Oh, and 6 leftover oil filters and 4 sump plug washers.) It got supplanted by a mad Yamaha Niken three-wheeler that I had in secret custody for the last 3 years. This thing is kinda nuts - a pretty amazing experience to ride, and more suited to my current life circumstances.

I’ll be moving on from this forum, which has been one of the more positive forum spaces when compared to others I’ve visited. I hope I’ve made a positive contribution, especially with regards to suspension mods. Thanks for the company!

I might pop back in to have a read now and then. Would also be happy to talk about the Niken and answer any questions. In some ways the Z900 is still a better machine, and I do miss the relative anonymity that riding the Z offered. (On the Yamaha, everyone stares at you like you’re riding with no clothes on.) Cheers 

[MaverickAus]

Sorry to see you go, good luck with the trike 

[zed9]

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Good luck with the Niken.
It’s an odd looking machine in pictures for sure but I saw one at a bike show and it didn’t look so crazy, maybe even practical. You must get attention on it and it must be nice having the two contact patches out front.
Ride well my friend. 🍻

[KellyL]

Cheers all. I had originally planned for a BMW R1250GS, but decided to stick with Japanese and try something a bit different. The Niken really shines when the road surface gets really bad, so it's really fun to ride around some of the back roads in regional dairy country (where I'm based). Those sealed roads that are about 1.5 lanes wide, soft shoulder, pot holed, and very winding. Very confidence inspiring, and the factory cruise control + heated grips are welcome relief for my worsening carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Yamaha triple is not as well tuned the Z900's inline four though. Less oomph, combined with the much heavier total weight, makes it less responsive overall. Fuel maps are either too jerky or a bit sluggish - apparently a common Yamaha CP3 issue. Not too bad in isolation though. And the really weird thing is that the naked Z900's aerodynamics are much much better; much less buffeting and helmet noise for some reason. Overall a less refined machine with Version 1.0 design vibes, but it's a pretty fun experience - especially railing it through some very sketchy road surfaces.

[JordiR]

can be a lot of fun 

 

[Marco]

Originally Posted by KellyL

On the Yamaha, everyone stares at you like you’re riding with no clothes on.) Cheers 

So put some on