More Three-Wheelers for Yamaha
The Yamaha Niken is a funky machine, but now it seems that the company has another three-wheeled tilting trike in the works. Cycle World reported on some new patent documents that show a three-wheeled derivative of the TMAX 650.
This new design will kick the Niken’s front suspension setup to the curb, and in its place will be a parallelogram linkage system. This new system is similar to the system created by Brudeli Tech from Norway. According to Cycle World, Yamaha bought the patent rights to that system.
This system leans the front wheels with the rest of the bike. Yamaha used this Brudeli-style suspension on the MW-Vision concept that was showcased at the Tokyo Motor Show. This latest patent shows a similar system on the new TMAX-derived bike. There is a unique electric motor on the front suspension that will aid it as you lean the bike. Cycle World says it won’t always be in use, but that it should make the bike feel a lot like riding a regular two-wheel motorcycle.
If Yamaha sticks with the TMAX as the bad for the new trike, you’re looking at a vehicle powered by a 562cc parallel-twin engine that makes about 47 hp. That engine drives the rear wheel through a continuously variable transmission that uses a belt. Other than the addition of the new front end, the rest of the TMAX appears to be more or less untouched.