year’ s engine barked and snapped at you, this one feels more usable. To me, that makes it better. I found it easier to get the power down, easier to ride for longer, and more predictable everywhere on the track. Interestingly though, if for some reason, you miss the more aggressive engine hit that the 2025 model had, Yamaha has left a backdoor open to you. You can bolt on the old airbox and muffler and you’ re right back in last year’ s engine delivery territory. But again, I much prefer this engine version.
SUSPENSION AND ABILITY It never gets old but maybe it’ s time we gave KYB their deserved dues. Their forks and shocks are consistently the class of the field, and for the 2026 versions strapped to the YZ450F, KYB has gone a step further. The action is compliant but doesn’ t wallow, the bike stays level, and even when I pushed into fast sections the stability was solid. Yamaha says the idea going into 2026 was to make a bike that turned as well as the 2025 model, while also gaining back that stability from the 2022 model that was lost over the years. In all honesty, I don’ t remember riding the‘ 22 bike, but I did ride the’ 25 at Dirt World
48 KIWI RIDER