It's only been a few years since the Yamaha Niken GT left the US market, though it feels like it's been longer. A lot has changed in just a few years, both in the world in general and in terms of Yamaha's technological advancements. The Y-AMT transmission, for example, has been introduced and is now making its way into more and more bikes as an option. And please don't forget about the Yamaha Motoroid2 concept, or the Y/AI Concept.
Now, to be completely clear, the Niken GT never completely died; it just went on to fight evil in another dimension. Or, at least, it went on to conquer the streets of Japan and other markets outside the US, where it was better received as something more than a quirky oddity. While we can't give specifics about how successful it's been, apparently it's done well enough to warrant a significant upgrade if a new patent application is to be believed.
The patent was filed with the European Patent Office, and both shows and tells of some serious tech upgrades to Yamaha's original leaning multi-wheel vehicle concept. What do I mean? For a start, this design calls for independent motors in both the left and right wheels that can be actuated on their own.
How would they be actuated? One of two ways: Either through rider inputs, or automatically thanks to a raft of new sensors that would also be integrated into the vehicle design. These sensors include a bank angle sensor located in the frame, a vehicle speed sensor, and also an angular speed sensor.
Utilizing inputs from all of these sensors together, Yamaha's patent further goes on to state that it could be configured to provide anti-tipping characteristics to the vehicle, particularly if you go through a corner at too high a rate of speed. File that firmly in the "big news if true!" category.
The patent goes on to talk about front collision detection, which, while nice, probably isn't quite as wow-inducing in 2025 as it might have been a few years ago, when the very idea in a motorcycle was more of a novelty. Still, if the system does what it should, well calibrated, good safety tech probably isn't a bad thing.
There's another, separate Yamaha patent filed in Europe that may also relate to this evolution of its leaning multi-wheel concept. It appears to describe the Y-AMT, but includes the rather intriguing line, "The leaning vehicle is not limited to the motorcycle, and may be, for example, a three-wheeled motor vehicle or the like. The three-wheeled motor vehicle may include two front wheels and one rear wheel, or alternatively may include one front wheel and two rear wheels."
What does that mean? We'll be keeping our eyes out to learn more, that's for sure. Are you as intrigued by this potential new tech as we are? Come on, get nerdy and enthusiastic with us. We won't judge.
