Aprilia Developing Niken Trike Rival

[Hugh Janus]

Patents show Aprilia working on a new trike, possibly powered by the old Mana 839cc V-twin. (Aprilia/)

When Aprilia introduced the automatic transmission-equipped Mana in 2006, it wasn’t a success. The idea of bolting a scooter-style twist-and-go transmission to a big 839cc V-twin engine turned out to be better on paper than in reality and didn’t attract a vast number of buyers. But the same powertrain might turn out to be just the right solution for the firm’s latest brainchild—a big tilting trike that looks to rival the likes of Yamaha’s Niken.

The larger-capacity three-wheeler may be in the same category as Yamaha’s 847cc Niken trike, though it would (presumably) have an automatic transmission. (Aprilia/)

Leaning three-wheelers make up a section of the market that’s still trying to define itself. Aprilia’s parent firm, Piaggio, popularized the trike idea for smaller scooters with its MP3 model some 15 years ago and many rivals have emerged since then, but there’s clearly a lingering belief that the same arrangement could also be a success on larger machines. Aprilia and Piaggio both tried 500cc scoots based on the layout, but it’s Yamaha that’s gone all-in on the big tilting trike format by launching the Niken, which is powered by the 847cc three-cylinder engine from the firm’s MT-09 two-wheeler.

That doesn’t appear to be a move that Piaggio is taking lying down, and the patent images you see here show how the company is working on a bike that would clearly rival the Niken, as well as debuting a new version of the leaning front suspension system that’s been developed specifically for higher-performance applications.

The patents show the rear end of Aprilia’s since-retired Mana model, presumably just for reference. (Aprilia/)

The bike in the patents clearly uses the rear end of the Aprilia Mana, which might be an ideal choice, as its CVT transmission and relatively gentle 75 hp, 839cc, SOHC V-twin would offer an easy-to-use appeal for the car drivers it would be hoping to convert. Combining motorcycle levels of performance with scooter-style ease of use and the added grip, stability, and confidence that two front wheels bring might be just enough to sway potential new riders who lack the confidence to jump straight from cars onto two wheels. What’s more, in some places—including the EU—the layout would be legal for car license holders to use without needing to take any more instruction or testing.

However, the Aprilia patent’s main focus is the high-performance tilting front suspension system, which means a similar design could also be applied to a machine using another of Aprilia’s engines—perhaps the new 660 twin or even the 1,100 V-4 of the RSV4.

The main focus however is not on the older engine or bodywork, but a new high-performance tilting front suspension system. (Aprilia/)

Like both the Niken and the MP3, the tilting front end on this patent is based on a set of parallel spars that mount on pivots just below the bike’s bars and carry a head tube at each end, ensuring that the front wheels lean at the same angle as the main body of the bike. However, the suspension works differently: Where the Niken uses telescopic forks and the MP3 features leading-link suspension, the new Aprilia design features curved alloy uprights leading down between the front wheels, connecting to them via four short, wishbone-style links.

RELATED: Yamaha’s Niken Three-Wheeler Is a Corner-Carving Missile

The result is a setup that offers racecar-style levels of adjustment. Tweaking the lengths and pivot points of those “wishbone” elements means the wheel angles can be altered depending on suspension travel to maximize grip. Like a car, each wheel has a coilover shock of its own—and patent illustrations show these as high-spec, remote-reservoir units.

The new setup uses a different style suspension than previous designs, with each wheel receiving its own high-spec shock. (Aprilia/)

While we wouldn’t expect the final production machine to look quite like the illustrations—it seems unlikely that Piaggio would dig up the old Mana’s rear bodywork and exhaust as shown in the drawings—their detail appears to suggest a project that’s much more advanced than an engineer’s idle doodling. It’s likely that there’s a genuine prototype somewhere in Aprilia’s Noale headquarters that looks just like the drawings. No doubt Piaggio’s bean counters are paying close attention to Yamaha’s Niken sales and making calculations to decide whether the market for big, tilting trikes is healthy enough to support a rival.

Source

[Tym]

Should do that chit to a gold wing.