Yamaha Motor and French electric off-road motorcycle manufacturer Electric Motion (EM) have revealed the YE-01 Racing Concept, an electric motocross bike designed to race in the new MXEP electric class that will run at selected rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship in 2026.
The Yamaha YE-01 is a prototype, not a production or pre-production bike. Its main job is to put Yamaha’s name on the gate in the MXEP series and help the company gather real-world data on electric powertrains in world-class motocross competition.
Yamaha bought a stake in Electric Motion a year ago and immediately started joint development work. EM has been building electric observed trials and off-road bikes since 2009, and has multiple FIM World Championship wins in the Trial-E, Trial2, and E-Xplorer series. The YE-01 is the first major project from the new partnership.
Powertrain
The Yamaha YE-01 Racing Concept runs a liquid-cooled electric motor built to deliver power in the same range as an MXGP 450cc four-stroke, though horsepower and torque numbers have not been released. Multiple power maps and traction-control settings are available through the same switchgear used on current Yamaha MX bikes. Battery specs have also not been released.
The motor is paired with a hydraulic clutch, so the lever feel and power delivery are closer to a normal four-stroke, though without a gearbox. A traditional multiplate wet clutch is used, and the rider can still feather it on corner exits or lock the rear wheel on entry.
Chassis and Suspension
The frame, swingarm, and bodywork are based directly on the 2026 Yamaha YZ450F. The battery pack is positioned to mimic the mass centralization of the YZ450F’s internal combustion engine layout.
The YE-01 Racing Concept uses the same fully adjustable KYB speed-sensitive fork and shock as the current YZ450F. Yamaha says the goal was to keep the exact same control, stability, and rider feel that YZ owners expect, even though there is no internal-combustion engine.
The plastics, seat, and bars follow the latest YZ450F design. The seat is flat, and the tank/shroud/side panel area is narrow, so riders can move fore/aft and side-to-side exactly as they do on the gas model.
Testing and Competition Plans
Yamaha factory test riders are already on the bike, so it’s more than a mockup. More development and track time will happen through 2026 as the MXEP class firms up its calendar. The series will run prototype electric bikes at many of the European rounds in the MXGP series.
Yamaha has prior electric motorcycle competition experience with the TY-E trials bike, which has scored podiums in the FIM Trial World Championship. Yamaha has also provided factory support in Formula E automobile racing.
No production timeline or retail plans for an electric YZ have been announced. The Yamaha YE-01 exists purely to race in MXEP and feed data back to Yamaha’s engineering teams as the company works toward carbon-neutral goals by 2050.
