YOSHIMURA: GIVING THE YZ450F ITS VOICE!

The 2026 YZ450F stock system hits the right numbers for broad, mellow power, built to suit “everyone” – which is a problem if you’re not “everyone”. It’s heavier than it needs to be, and the factory header is a nightmare to remove. Nobody was fixing that part… until now. Enter the all-new Yoshimura RS-12 Hybrid System, which does that and more.

Yoshimura used the YZ450F’s unique exhaust layout to build a true hybrid system – a stainless steel header where durability matters (the section that copes with rocks, roost and general abuse), a titanium mid-pipe, and an aluminium muffler with a carbon fibre end cap where weight matters.

But the clever bit isn’t the material mix, it’s what Yoshimura did to the header pipe itself. Rather than copy the factory’s route around the front of the cylinder, they split that section and re-engineered the joint. Translation: a full system that’s reportedly easier to bolt on than the stock pipe is to take off. If you’ve ever skinned your knuckles wrestling a YZ header loose, you’ll understand exactly why that’s worth celebrating.

This being Yoshimura, they weren’t going to ship a system that only solved the ergonomics. Dyno numbers on the ’26 YZ450F show gains right through the rev range, with peak hp up as much as 9.3% and torque up to 9.6% at 6,200rpm. A volume-specific header resonator and a second resonator tucked into the muffler’s front cap are doing the tuning work here, shaping where that power lands rather than just turning up the volume.

Yoshimura has built a seriously versatile exhaust for ’26 YZ450F owners. Add genuine power and a throaty exhaust note, and the RS-12 Hybrid makes a case that’s hard to argue with.

FULL HYBRID SYSTEM

Part #: YO-234850S720
RRP: $2,499.95

SLIP-ON MUFFLER

Part #: YO-234852S320
RRP: $1,499.95