Dear yamaha

It would look cooler but wouldn’t necessarily perform any better.

Bring back the 490. 

Had an '82 ... it had the best "so ya wanna slow down ...?" brakes of all time !!

Webb didn't like the new 2026 chassis and went back to 2025. don't fix what aint broke

I love that chassis…..I’m contemplating buying one

I think Suzuki and Yamaha 2 strokes are pretty sound, and that Suzuki is basically a 2011.  

KR 94 rode that RM pretty good tonight in the first of 3 heats

As in the chassis designed for a backwards facing engine? So also redesign the engines to suit that layout? Fat chance lol.

The YZ is already in an aluminium chassis. I’m not sure there’s anything to gain by putting it in a different aluminium chassis?  

If aluminium was an advantage, KTM would have done it by now. 

What? NO.

I agree wholeheartedly, I love my 2024 yz450 chassis, not a big fan of my 2025 yz250.  Especially riding them in back to back motos, the 2006, I mean 2025 two stroke feels dated. And most importantly they’d look a lot cooler together if they matched!

Put the 2 strokes in the old steel chassis please. I will buy one immediately.

It might be better, it might be worse, hard to say really.  I can say that the single backbone two stroke frame feels like a wet noodle compared to a modern perimeter frame though, so I could see the bike potentially being more precise with a frame update.  I have a feeling that faster riders would probably like the perimeter frame, while slower riders or guys riding mainly off-road would like the current single backbone layout better.

Hell no those were heavy as shit . I did like the way they handled a little better .  I had an 04 and it weighed more than my sons 16 kx 250f 

And while you’re at it, bring the R6 back.

I voted to update the frame. My only complaint on the current chassis is it feels like it likes to make a wide arc for a corner 100% stock. After suspension, triple clamps with better offset & a swingarm swap I’m pretty happy with how my bike is. It feels much more nimble and sharper turning. Easier to keep in a long rut through a corner and get the turn/lean initiated. I’d still like to have a little more front end feel. Certain track conditions the front end feels a little vague 

But went back to 26 after he dialed it in. 

Or… that’s what they tell us because using the ‘25 bike isn’t a good look..

I voted no. The current-gen YZ250 is the best motocross bike ever made. Don't change a thing! 

Justin Cooper was making the 26 look pretty good when he blew by Eli and won the second moto last weekend. 

Reminder:

Nick Romano on a Star factory YZ250F vs Matt Burkeen on a regular ol' YZ250, in case you think it is the YZ250 chassis that is holding you back:

hell yeah man the widow maker 

"Heavy as shit" LOL the aluminum frame saved less than 5 pounds

I just don't understand when people say they want the 2stroke YZs to have an updated chassis. What about it needs updated? To me, the back-bone style of frame is nice, on that bike. What purpose would putting the twin-spar frame, like the 4strokes have, serve? That frame makes sense on the 4strokes because of how tall the engine is and with the reverse head etc. But none of that is needed on the 2stroke. And also, to me I never felt like a 2stroke bike was really that sensitive to small chassis tweaks, like a 4stroke. A 2stroke just sort of floats on top of the dirt, lightly, as you ride. So as long as you have a good balance of front-end feel and stability, which the YZs do, then there isn't much need to tweak it. Whereas, the nature of the 4stroke, sort of feeling like it's more stuck to the ground, I feel like I am more sensitive to the chassis changes, as I've ridden the different ones over the years. Part of that could just be my speed and skill level, so I'm not saying fast guys are the same. But regardless, I just like the YZ 2stroke chassis a lot, even when riding back to back with a newer KTM (especially the 125.)

Because this sport is full of people who are all about image. A new shiny frame means that you can show people that you're better than them because your bike is newer! People with 05's would no longer be able to say their bike is just as good, it's got an outdated frame! 

Working on the carb on the newer chassis would not be fun with it stuck behind that huge frame spar. That whole reverse facing engine would probably be a challenge in getting the 2t to fit the current frame too.

What Yamaha really needs to do is make a counterbalanced tbi 500 with a wide ratio transmission and drop it in the existing chassis.

It seems lost on a lot of people these days that you can't just drop an engine in a chassis (built entirely for something else) and expect it to handle even reasonably well. Let alone trying to work on the damn thing.

The center spine/split cradle frames are really good. They're good on the KTMs, they're good on the Triumphs, and they were good on the older Yamaha 4 strokes (2009 era). If Yamaha were to update the current 2 stroke frame, it would just need to be a little bit of geometry and an updated swing arm to go with it.

Just be happy Yamaha still makes them. Yamaha never stopped making them, all the while they went the way of the DoDo by the other "Big 3". 

Yeah that's a good point. It would be nice to see the more modern swingarm, and update the axles/wheels so that people with both bikes (a 4stroke and a 2stroke) could share wheels. I would leave the main frame as-is. But that's just my opinion.