All Japan Trial Championships] Unexpectedly, the electric bike "YAMAHA TY-E" won the championship title for the first time in history!

January 9, 2026

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All Japan Trial Championships] Unexpectedly, the electric bike "YAMAHA TY-E" won the championship title for the first time in history!

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Kenichi Kuroyama, who participated in the 2025 All Japan Trial Championships with Yamaha's TY-E electric trial bike, became the first ever All Japan Champion by an electric bike.

A Sense of "Group Competition" where Everyone Moves Forward Together

Director Sato and Kuroyama, who fought together

"I thought my joy would be more explosive the moment the championship was decided. However, to my own surprise, I did not. We competed in a team competition and achieved the goal we had set with everyone's help. I was one of the members who contributed to that victory.Kenichi Kuroyama, who won his 12th title at the 2025 All Japan Trial Championship, is a legend with a hundred battles under his belt, but even for him, winning the title this time was a different experience.He won this title together with the electric trial bike "TY-E" and its developers and team members, and it was the firsttimein history that an electric bike won the title in the highest class in Japan.The first time he rode the "TY-E" was in 2017 . "Young engineers voluntarily made a prototype of an electric trial bike. I was asked to try it out." Kuroyama says his impression at the time was, "It lacked power (for competition), but it might be fun as a hobby bike. But my impression at the time was that it was not powerful enough (for competition), but it might be interesting as a hobby bike. I didn't have enough understanding of electric bikes, and I didn't know how focused a company like Yamaha is when it gets serious, and how amazing that burst of energy is. Looking back on it now, that's what it was all about.

Overcoming Communication Barriers with Engineers to Reach the Top

Two days after winning the championship, Kuroyama showed a dynamic performance at the "Japan Mobility Show 2025"

What surprised Kuroyama was first of all the amazing speed ofdevelopment.The developers increased the fighting power of TY-E, which had only room to grow, at a tremendous pace. It was a completely different approach and speed from the development of engine cars," he says.On the other hand, however, he also felt perplexed and frustrated. "The riders don't understand the program. Engineers don't understand riding. In the absence of a common language and a bridge of sensation, there were mutual difficulties in communication," he recalls.Director Yoshiyuki Sato, who worked together on the three-year project starting in 2023, had an unforgettable scene. At the announcement of the project three years ago,"He said to the press, 'Some people may feel that Kenichi Kuroyama is finished (by choosing to compete in All-Japan with an electric bike),' and he said, 'I felt the strong determination behind that I felt the strong determination behind his words, and we also felt a strong responsibility to make sure he wins.Electric cars can outperform engine-powered cars. The goal that Kuroyama himself set for himself has been achieved, all with the wonderful results of a top-six ranking in his first year, a top-three ranking in his second year, and the championship in his third year."The engineers have crossed the bridge of "understanding each other" with their guts, and then surpassed me in the end with their ideas and suggestions. It was truly amazing. Individual athletes are usually solitary, but I was not alone. That was the great joy of winning my 12th title," said Kuroyama.

Comments from a Yamaha spokesperson

As a technical PR person, I have personally witnessed the development of the "TY-E" electric trial bike from its very beginning. I have felt the passion of the engineers and am very pleased with the success of this challenge to "win a championship with an electric bike," which they worked on as a team.Every time I felt Kuroyama's respect for them in his words, I was filled with a sense of fulfillment. Kuroyama is only three wins away from his "100 All-Japan wins," and we look forward to his success in 2026!Research and Development of Electric Trial Bikeshttps://global.yamaha-motor.com/jp/design_technology/technology/news/TY-E/[ gallery_btn3]To the gallery[/gallery_btn3][ getpost id="505739"]

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All Japan Trial Championships] Unexpectedly, the electric bike "YAMAHA TY-E" won the championship title for the first time in history!

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