Who adapts to new ride better, Herlings or Gajser ?

Both debuted their new rides today, ( worst kept secrets ever ) so which of these guys figures out the new ride sooner and who made the better move ?

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1/1/2026 10:19am

I think Gajser has an easier switch from one alu fram to an other. Herlings has never ridden a alu frame but i would think he will fit the honda good.

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CR92
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1/1/2026 10:28am

I gotta think Gajser, but could be completely wrong. It seems like going from his whole career on a steel frame ktm, to a Japanese aluminum frame will be a bigger change than Tim staying on a Japanese aluminum framed bike. 

Like I said, I could be wildly wrong, though. 

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englishman
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1/1/2026 10:30am

It’s interesting. Obv with what’s going on at KTM I’m presuming they either wanted to cut Herlings salary considerably or not renew contract.

That switch makes sense to me. Gasjer to Yamaha I understand less. 

Did Honda get Herlings cheaper than resigning Gajser? 

Did Gajser just want pastures new ?  

It seemed the Honda suited him, it’s obviously a fantastic bike and the GP team seems a good setup.

Perhaps someone with a lot more insight than myself can throw light on Gajsers move ? 

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Mavetism
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1/1/2026 10:52am
englishman wrote:
It’s interesting. Obv with what’s going on at KTM I’m presuming they either wanted to cut Herlings salary considerably or not renew contract.That switch makes sense...

It’s interesting. Obv with what’s going on at KTM I’m presuming they either wanted to cut Herlings salary considerably or not renew contract.

That switch makes sense to me. Gasjer to Yamaha I understand less. 

Did Honda get Herlings cheaper than resigning Gajser? 

Did Gajser just want pastures new ?  

It seemed the Honda suited him, it’s obviously a fantastic bike and the GP team seems a good setup.

Perhaps someone with a lot more insight than myself can throw light on Gajsers move ? 

I think Gajsers move was also due to money. Apparently HRC didn't want to pay him what he wanted anymore so he took the deal at Yamaha which is crazy considering the amount of world championships he got them since 2015 plus he looked like the best guy again in 2025 until his crash and injury in Switzerland. I really think he still would have been HRCs best choice to win the title again.

Anyways now I think Gajser won't be as good on the Yamaha. Why? Something fishy is going on with that factory Yamaha team in MXGP. Maybe it's just the riders and Gajser will be different, but man their results are all over the place over the last years and not just because of injuries. Renaux won the very first GP last year and then seemed to struggle on most tracks after that.

I think both Herlings and Vialle will be really good on HRC.

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TalinH112
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1/1/2026 11:54am Edited Date/Time 1/1/2026 1:48pm

I find it very funny that they both specifically stated they “hadn’t ridden” the new motorcycle and only have a limited time to get accustomed to it. 🤣

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1/1/2026 12:14pm
TalinH112 wrote:
I find it very funny that they both specifically stated they “hadn’t ridden” the new motorcycle and only have a limited time to get accustomed to...

I find it very funny that they both specifically stated they “hadn’t ridden” the new motorcycle and only have a limited time to get accustomed to it. 🤣

Seems with JH84 thats really the case, he still rode the KTM all the way till past Monday. 

Gajser on the other hand been really down low on his socials and stuff, Guess he has been already a couple weeks on the YZF somewhere secretly. 

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1/1/2026 2:00pm
Mavetism wrote:
I think Gajsers move was also due to money. Apparently HRC didn't want to pay him what he wanted anymore so he took the deal at...

I think Gajsers move was also due to money. Apparently HRC didn't want to pay him what he wanted anymore so he took the deal at Yamaha which is crazy considering the amount of world championships he got them since 2015 plus he looked like the best guy again in 2025 until his crash and injury in Switzerland. I really think he still would have been HRCs best choice to win the title again.

Anyways now I think Gajser won't be as good on the Yamaha. Why? Something fishy is going on with that factory Yamaha team in MXGP. Maybe it's just the riders and Gajser will be different, but man their results are all over the place over the last years and not just because of injuries. Renaux won the very first GP last year and then seemed to struggle on most tracks after that.

I think both Herlings and Vialle will be really good on HRC.

Hopefully, the MXGP team will get some help from Star Racing again.

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1/1/2026 2:08pm

Hopefully, the MXGP team will get some help from Star Racing again.

I don't think it will be the case...

1/1/2026 2:46pm

I don't know, but the current rider on Yamaha team tried get out of their contract cause they hated his bike apparently and they wouldn't release him so he Tim's teammate  

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1/1/2026 2:49pm
mx_phreek wrote:
I don't know, but the current rider on Yamaha team tried get out of their contract cause they hated his bike apparently and they wouldn't release...

I don't know, but the current rider on Yamaha team tried get out of their contract cause they hated his bike apparently and they wouldn't release him so he Tim's teammate  

It will be interesting to see how Renaux will perform in 2026, with less pressure on him (thanks to Gajser) ...

TeamGreen
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1/1/2026 4:51pm

For now, my money is on The Gasser.

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1/1/2026 5:25pm
Books wrote:
Seems with JH84 thats really the case, he still rode the KTM all the way till past Monday. Gajser on the other hand been really down low...

Seems with JH84 thats really the case, he still rode the KTM all the way till past Monday. 

Gajser on the other hand been really down low on his socials and stuff, Guess he has been already a couple weeks on the YZF somewhere secretly. 

...his final ride on KTM was actually Tuesday 12/30/25 on the hard pack shit clay track at Neerijinen...

 

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kiwifan
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1/1/2026 7:47pm

Gee if Herlings stays healthy then this is going to be one heck of a MXGP season 

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Sc2
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1/1/2026 8:08pm

I hope it all goes well for Herlins and he don't struggle like Prado did 

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1/1/2026 8:18pm
Mavetism wrote:
I think Gajsers move was also due to money. Apparently HRC didn't want to pay him what he wanted anymore so he took the deal at...

I think Gajsers move was also due to money. Apparently HRC didn't want to pay him what he wanted anymore so he took the deal at Yamaha which is crazy considering the amount of world championships he got them since 2015 plus he looked like the best guy again in 2025 until his crash and injury in Switzerland. I really think he still would have been HRCs best choice to win the title again.

Anyways now I think Gajser won't be as good on the Yamaha. Why? Something fishy is going on with that factory Yamaha team in MXGP. Maybe it's just the riders and Gajser will be different, but man their results are all over the place over the last years and not just because of injuries. Renaux won the very first GP last year and then seemed to struggle on most tracks after that.

I think both Herlings and Vialle will be really good on HRC.

Hopefully, the MXGP team will get some help from Star Racing again.

The 250 program used to lease engines from Star when Geerts was still on one. I think I heard Rinaldi didn’t like that too much and wanted to do everything in-house and now it is what it is. He’s the Keith McCarty over at Yamaha in Europe 🤣🤣

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jaun
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1/1/2026 8:36pm

Did I see herlings on KYB....looks to be works PSF1 

jambalaya
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1/1/2026 9:04pm

Easy answer is gajser because he's going to another Japanese bike while Herlings has been on a KTM maybe always. 

But he's herlings

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Motofinne
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1/1/2026 10:14pm

Herlings. Because there is a risk that Yamaha still fights issues with the bike like last year.


Herlings has a good base to get used to and build on. 

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1/2/2026 12:25am
Motofinne wrote:
Herlings. Because there is a risk that Yamaha still fights issues with the bike like last year.Herlings has a good base to get used to and...

Herlings. Because there is a risk that Yamaha still fights issues with the bike like last year.


Herlings has a good base to get used to and build on. 

Renaux said recently they have improved the bike since the end of the 2025 MXGP season.

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1/2/2026 1:52am

Renaux said recently they have improved the bike since the end of the 2025 MXGP season.

You could see that coming.. Lets wait a few round until the bashing starts again or is linked to sign with Ducati of whatever brand. 

1/2/2026 3:22am
Books wrote:

You could see that coming.. Lets wait a few round until the bashing starts again or is linked to sign with Ducati of whatever brand. 

"Bashing" is not the subject in that case. There were real issues with Yamaha factory bikes during the 2025 world championship season (250 and 450). 

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1/2/2026 3:22am Edited Date/Time 1/2/2026 3:23am
Motofinne wrote:
Herlings. Because there is a risk that Yamaha still fights issues with the bike like last year.Herlings has a good base to get used to and...

Herlings. Because there is a risk that Yamaha still fights issues with the bike like last year.


Herlings has a good base to get used to and build on. 

Renaux said recently they have improved the bike since the end of the 2025 MXGP season.

What do you think he was going say? "The bike's still a mess and I hate I'm still in this team because they forced me"?

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1/2/2026 3:26am
DeStouwer wrote:

What do you think he was going say? "The bike's still a mess and I hate I'm still in this team because they forced me"?

Nobody "forced" him to say they worked on the bike. He could have said just anything...

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DeStouwer
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1/2/2026 3:32am Edited Date/Time 1/2/2026 3:35am
DeStouwer wrote:

What do you think he was going say? "The bike's still a mess and I hate I'm still in this team because they forced me"?

Nobody "forced" him to say they worked on the bike. He could have said just anything...

Indeed, that's just saying nothing and pretending everything is fine, like a lot of riders do. Not working on the bike during offseason after a crappy season like he had last year, now that would be stupid.

It's the same every year, second half of the season and riders state "we're still developing the bike and are trying to find the right set-up, but we're almost were we want to be". Dude, what have you guys been doing all the time in the off- and preseason? If you still haven't found the right set-up in July, you're probably not going to find it anymore at all before the season ends. And they even have mapping history when they're on the same team multiple years, as 80% of the tracks return every season.

1/2/2026 3:37am
DeStouwer wrote:
Indeed, that's just saying nothing and pretending everything is fine, like a lot of riders do. Not working on the bike during offseason after a crappy...

Indeed, that's just saying nothing and pretending everything is fine, like a lot of riders do. Not working on the bike during offseason after a crappy season like he had last year, now that would be stupid.

It's the same every year, second half of the season and riders state "we're still developing the bike and are trying to find the right set-up, but we're almost were we want to be". Dude, what have you guys been doing all the time in the off- and preseason? If you still haven't found the right set-up in July, you're probably not going to find it anymore at all before the season ends. And they even have mapping history when they're on the same team multiple years, as 80% of the tracks return every season.

If you think (in that specific case) that it was only riders responsability, you're wrong.

DeStouwer
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1/2/2026 3:44am Edited Date/Time 1/2/2026 3:47am
DeStouwer wrote:
Indeed, that's just saying nothing and pretending everything is fine, like a lot of riders do. Not working on the bike during offseason after a crappy...

Indeed, that's just saying nothing and pretending everything is fine, like a lot of riders do. Not working on the bike during offseason after a crappy season like he had last year, now that would be stupid.

It's the same every year, second half of the season and riders state "we're still developing the bike and are trying to find the right set-up, but we're almost were we want to be". Dude, what have you guys been doing all the time in the off- and preseason? If you still haven't found the right set-up in July, you're probably not going to find it anymore at all before the season ends. And they even have mapping history when they're on the same team multiple years, as 80% of the tracks return every season.

If you think (in that specific case) that it was only riders responsability, you're wrong.

I'm not, I'm well aware it's a shared responsability. I was just mentioning that Renaux went from unhappy, wanting to leave the team and willing to pay for it to "we've been working on and improved the bike since the end of the 2025 season", which is logic itself, both the testing and the statement, which is just insignificant pr-talk. It's clear he's not going to tell the truth if (and that's a big if) the bike still is the same mess like last year.

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1/2/2026 3:51am
DeStouwer wrote:
Indeed, that's just saying nothing and pretending everything is fine, like a lot of riders do. Not working on the bike during offseason after a crappy...

Indeed, that's just saying nothing and pretending everything is fine, like a lot of riders do. Not working on the bike during offseason after a crappy season like he had last year, now that would be stupid.

It's the same every year, second half of the season and riders state "we're still developing the bike and are trying to find the right set-up, but we're almost were we want to be". Dude, what have you guys been doing all the time in the off- and preseason? If you still haven't found the right set-up in July, you're probably not going to find it anymore at all before the season ends. And they even have mapping history when they're on the same team multiple years, as 80% of the tracks return every season.

And just to be clear on one thing : Renaux never "officially" complained about his bike during the 2025 MXGP season. Unlike some of other riders that we all know...

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MX Maaike
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1/2/2026 4:22am

Herlings will adapt more quickly. He's the man who won motos with a broken ankle or shoulder blade. He's not easily fazed. His talent and willpower transcend that. Even the Honda's difference compared to the KTM. 

Besides, the KTM was always a bit wobbly under Herlings's control. The Honda can handle unique, fast riding styles better. At least that's what Jett Lawrence proves.

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c0ncEpT
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1/2/2026 5:42am

Tough to say. They both crashed their brains out on bikes they had ridden for years so I wouldn't say much will change.

 

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mxxxeR1
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1/2/2026 6:16am
MX Maaike wrote:
Herlings will adapt more quickly. He's the man who won motos with a broken ankle or shoulder blade. He's not easily fazed. His talent and willpower...

Herlings will adapt more quickly. He's the man who won motos with a broken ankle or shoulder blade. He's not easily fazed. His talent and willpower transcend that. Even the Honda's difference compared to the KTM. 

Besides, the KTM was always a bit wobbly under Herlings's control. The Honda can handle unique, fast riding styles better. At least that's what Jett Lawrence proves.

It's also been since 2021 that herlings is  fit for a season......if everything goes well

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