Yamaha’s Funky Niken Goes Hybrid

France-based Furion Motorcycles’ newest muse is the outlandish Yamaha Niken, and with a bit of “Furion-ness”, it aims to turn it even wilder. For the uninitiated, Furion is known to make hybrid powertrains for existing ICE motorcycles, and with the Furion M3, they have pulled all stops.

Yamaha took the experience of riding a motorcycle to a whole new level by adding an additional wheel at the front… and Furion made the most of it! The French company decided to plonk a hub motor in each of the front wheels, while the in-line triple engine continues to power the rear.

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The result? An astounding 160PS – that’s borderlining superbike performance. The hub motors put out 46PS in addition to the in-line triple’s 114PS. Even the torque has bumped up from 88Nm to 140Nm!

The hub motors will be powered by a 2.2kWh battery pack aided by a regenerative braking system. While Furion hasn’t revealed where it will be placed, we reckon the company has fattened the derriere of the Niken to house the battery.

This is the first phase of the Furion M3’s development, so not much has been revealed yet. However, Furion has promised three riding modes, just like the standard Niken. But with additional performance to account for, the modes are likely to be altered.

The Furion M3 is not a far-fetched project, but an idea many brands are pursuing. In fact, Kawasaki is one of the players that are betting big on hybrid tech for motorcycles. So, while electric motorcycles may not be a purist’s dream, a hybrid bike could turn out to be more exciting than the regular ICE counterparts.