February’s three day MotoGP test at Sepang was our first real look at all the 2026 riders and machines in action. There were many talking points, but none louder than Yamaha’s sorry state.
The Japanese firm turned up with their all new-shiny Temu-Ducati hoping to turn the tide on their wilting performances…only to find themselves slow, unreliable and uncomfortable.
So, we at MGPNews have to ask: have Yamaha built a turd?
Yes they have
It’s slow
The main reason Yamaha have switched to the V4 engine is that their inline 4 was slow. And it’s been frustratingly slow for a frustrating number of years. Until this year Yamaha had been proudly sticking to their “let’s not do anything and see if things magically improve” philosophy citing the “Blockbuster Model” as their inspiration.
But after about three decades (or something) of not doing anything the Japanese in blue were forced to build a V4 in a desperate attempt to claw back some of the lost performance.
The only issue is that Yamaha’s V4 is now actually slower than their inline-4…which isn’t a good look.
It understeers
The main upside of the V4 is the increase in speed due to superior power delivery, higher top speeds, and better packaging. One of the downsides, however, is understeer.
Understeer is when a rider’s bike looks at the corner, decides it’s more of a “philosopher” than a racing machine and politely informs the rider that “straight ahead is the vibe tonight”. It’s a great way to crash – and what Yamaha really don’t need is to give Jack Miller another unexplored avenue to bin it.
But why do V4’s understeer? Probably something to do with weight distribution or rotational inertia…or something. Ask Mat Oxley, not us. He’ll know.
However Yamaha, despite having none of the positives of a V4, have successfully managed to inherit this negative.
It’s unreliable
Given that Yamaha have spent longer developing this engine than the ruling of the Ming Dynasty one might be forgiven for expecting it to be fairly reliable. But no, it’s also fragile.
Yamaha had to sit out the entire second day of the three day test because of engine ‘safety issues’ – which is just code PR talk for ‘we think it’s about to explode underneath the rider’s groin’.
Toprak can’t sit on it
With Fabio Quartarararararo leaving for the rival noodles over at Honda Yamaha’s future hopes already rest with the fiendish Turk Toprak Razgatsfwl234fds.
Toprak himself turned up to the test in Malaysia bristling with confidence like he’d just opened a new barber’s shop on the high street next to “Mr Vape”. Sadly the Turk would leave the three-day event less chipper.
Why? Well not only was the Yamaha a bit of a dog Razgatsfwl234fds himself was too tall for the bike. Turkish men are, by evolution, a tall breed as it allows them to reach up higher to steal stuff. But this Darwin-dimension becomes a hinderance on MotoGP bikes designed for riders sized in the “chronic malnutrition” medical threshold.
Toprak wanted the seat lower, but to do this the fuel tank needed redesigning. In World Superbikes this kind of ‘issue’ would never actually be an issue. If a WSBK rider wanted his seat lower then a skilled technician would simply hit the bike in roughly the correct area with a lump of iron found in a nearby skip. Once enough bits had broken off for the rider to feel happy they’d be good to go. However Razgatsfwl234fds is finding out that MotoGP is a bit different.
Furthermore the Turk’s height meant he was asking the team for higher bars and forks – leaving him riding Yamaha’s first competition Boso bike.
In short, it’s all a bit of a mess.
No they haven’t
It’s early days
“Rome wasn’t built in a day”…and that’s more than believable given Italy’s work ethic. It’s really, really early days for Yamaha’s V4 project.
Last year Yamaha were able to utilise Augusto Fernández on the prototype V4 at several events with the strict brief of “Turn up and don’t fall off”…a brief the Spaniard only completed 50%.
Apart from Augusto testing how well new bodywork can be fitted the project has not had any real testing by actual decent riders until now. Even the most pessimistic fan would argue that the bike will improve over time.
It doesn’t really matter
The reality is that it doesn’t matter. Last season Yamaha had the worst bike. If they’d have done nothing they would have still had the worst bike – even at the rounds that the Baggers are racing.
A switch to the V4 is the only way to gather data and experience to improve from last place to, maybe, second to last place.
Another option
I don’t know, think of one yourself. I’m all out of ideas.
