MXA INTERVIEW: MANFRED EDLINGER IS KTM’S SECRET WEAPON

On May 27, 2025 Last updated May 27, 2025

The KTM headquarters in Mattighofen, Austria, is massive. This aerial shot shows only a small portion of it with the Factory Racing building, some logistics buildings and an oval track for street bikes.

BY JOSH MOSIMAN

Behind every champion is a team of dedicated mechanics, trainers, truck drivers and family members who’ve helped them get there. The rider gets most of the glory, while the mechanics and team managers get their chance in the limelight also. The people who don’t often get recognition are the engineers, designers and test riders who actually fine-tune the engine, chassis and suspension of the actual production bikes. Manfred Edlinger, or as most people call him “Mandy,” is one of many pieces to the puzzle at KTM. He is always pushing to make better motorcycles.

HOW DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN MOTOCROSS? From a young age, I rode around on our family farm on my Mofa (moped). I was always interested in motorsports in general—Formula 1, Dakar Rally, motocross and MotoGP. I started on that bike as a kid, and I bought my first real dirt bike when I was 15 years old with the first money I ever earned. I shared the bike with my brothers, and we were hillbillies. We didn’t even know we needed boots when we started riding. I watched my first motocross race when I was 18 years old at an Austrian National, and that’s when I understood what motocross was all about.

I got my driver’s license at 18 and started going to the tracks and riding. I went to school for vehicle design, where I learned about everything from engines to chassis, production processes, materials, physics, and math. I finished school when I was 20, and I went to work at KTM right away in 2002.

WHERE DID YOU START AT KTM? I started as a designer in the off-road department. It was a small department with just a few people, and I was helping with design across the whole range of the bike, not just plastic or metal parts. We did brake discs, fuel caps and every component imaginable. I got more interested and involved in chassis design, and I tried to educate myself by asking other people and picking up on the technology available at KTM.

I was the first guy interested in FEM (Finite Element Method) calculations on the computer, which tells you the stiffness behaviors of metals. This was the first step in understanding what was going on with the chassis. Before FEM, we just tried different things, and test riders would say if it was good or not. With FEM, we could test it to understand why the different materials and configurations worked.

WHAT IS YOUR JOB TITLE NOW? I am the head of the motocross department. In R&D, there is one boss, and then it gets split into street, off-road and technical support divisions. From off-road, it separates into enduro, motocross and electric bikes. I was a project leader from 2011 until 2016 when I became the head of the motocross department. I have the project leaders working for me on each brand. I also took on the responsibility for the mini bikes and the technical accessories parts.

Under me, we have one project leader for KTM, one for GasGas, and one for Husqvarna in motocross and one for each in enduro. There weren’t so many layers when I first started at KTM, as it was a much smaller company. But, as the company has grown, the need for more people has grown, and my position has grown, too.

THE PEOPLE WHO DON’T OFTEN GET RECOGNITION ARE THE ENGINEERS, DESIGNERS AND TEST RIDERS WHO ACTUALLY FINE-TUNE THE ENGINE, CHASSIS AND SUSPENSION OF THE ACTUAL PRODUCTION BIKES. MANFRED EDLINGER, OR AS MOST PEOPLE CALL HIM “MANDY,” IS ONE OF MANY PIECES TO THE PUZZLE AT KTM.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST BIG PROJECT FOR KTM? For the 2007 generation of bikes, I designed every single part of the frame. I did it completely alone, and this was the first time I got very involved with the race team in the workshop. Even though it was the 2007 model, I started working on it in 2004. This is also how Michael Stauffer (KTM test rider) and I became friends, and started working together. I was a nobody in the motocross industry, and I didn’t know anybody when I came in. But, over time, I got some respect, and we could all move forward together. I also did Supermoto after that, and my boss was happy that I did it because it wasn’t a priority for the off-road designers at the time.

The 2011 bike was the first time I was the project leader. I took a step back, and I did not design on the computer anymore. From then on, I was a development guy. The 2013 KTM 450SXF was the next project with Ryan Dungey. Then, the 2016 generation was a very big project for KTM. It took a lot of effort. In my opinion, the 2016 KTM model line was where we made the first step ahead of our competition. Thankfully, we had more technology, more experience and a lot more possibilities to try. We took the time, and we tried everything. Anything that we could change on the bike to make it feel different, we did. With our FEM calculations, we started to understand how a dirt bike is influenced by each little part, and we started to bring it together.

WHO MAKES THE DECISION TO CHANGE BIKES FROM YEAR TO YEAR? In general, we have a product management department that gives us a very clear picture of what KTM wants. It starts with how many bikes, which market they go to, and which model year they will be. They also decide which direction to go and what’s necessary. For example, they decide if it’s necessary for a 125 to have electric start or not, or if the bike will be for a hobby rider or if it should be ready to race. Product management gives us a vision, and then we start working on fulfilling it. How we come up with these solutions and how we integrate “ready to race” are determined in our R&D group.

Mandy’s crew of KTM R&D test riders, engineers and mechanics at the KTM factory in Austria with MXA’s Josh Mosiman (front), Josh Fout and Dennis Stapleton (third and fourth from the left in the back row).

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW THE COMPANY HAS CHANGED OVER TIME? Of course, the growth of the company has been massive. In the beginning, we were all in one office. Now, there are over 1000 people in the R&D department alone. Early on, I knew every employee in R&D and, for sure, this has changed.

From a technical viewpoint, we have very advanced technology now, with well-educated people and endless opportunities with multiple test benches. We have a lot of knowledge now, and that puts us in a situation where it’s difficult to share our knowledge, even internally. Before, we didn’t know so much. We were a hands-on R&D department, but we tried hard and caught up. From my point of view, we now are a very high-tech company.

HOW DO YOU BALANCE DATA COLLECTION AND RIDER FEEDBACK IN TESTING? This is actually not a difficult question. The rider’s feedback is always important, but you have to understand why he feels that way. The test rider can tell you what he’s feeling, and it’s always the truth, thus we respect what he’s feeling. Occasionally, you might think the rider is giving you the wrong feedback, but it is possible to misinterpret his feelings. For example, if the test rider says the fork is hard, we might know that it is really soft, and it just feels harsh because it’s low in its stroke. When you’re working on specific components, it’s very important to know in advance what you are changing. If you put some internals in the fork and you don’t know if they are stiffer or softer, you won’t be able to understand what the rider is telling you. This is more or less the balance that we have to deal with.

Josh Mosiman and Manfred Edlinger at a practice track in Austria.

HOW HAVE TECHNOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION HELPED DEVELOPMENT? Recording data is very important for us, because it helps us understand how and why the bikes feel the way they do. We have sensors that we can hook on to every important component on the bike and capture data while test riders are riding Supercross on the factory bike or riding in the desert on a rally bike, or riding motocross on a test track. By doing this, we can calculate the force and the impact on the bike during riding.

For motocross purposes, we go to test tracks with a bike that has a harness holding all the data and the sensors on the axles, hubs, spokes, and frame, and we take measurements at these test rides. For example, a couple of years ago, we did a test on the KTM Supercross test track in Corona. We went to Glen Helen, and we went to Lommel with riders like Guenter Schmidinger. I asked him to ride hard at Glen Helen, and we forced him to hit jumps that were not supposed to be jumped and to purposely flat land them to explode the wheel. This way we could see exactly how much force it takes to break a wheel.

We do data testing with different tracks all over the world. We also record the energy consumption necessary to ride at Glen Helen and Lommel. We collect the data, and it becomes the baseline for all of our component development. We measure it in reality. We know the values, and then we have test-bench simulators so we can test the same loads and forces when we create new components. Every part is developed in three stages. The component must pass a durability test, then it goes to the test bench, where we can simulate maximum force testing. The third test is focused on durability in riding conditions.

I AM CRAZY, AND I ALWAYS WANT TO IMPROVE THINGS, EVEN IF IT’S A PROBLEM IN MY HOUSE, I WANT TO SOLVE IT. THAT’S MY MENTALITY. SOMETIMES, IT IS TOO MUCH.

WHAT’S THE WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH WP SUSPENSION? WP Suspension is a separate name and a separate building from KTM, but it is all under the same umbrella. We develop the suspension components at the same time as we are developing the rest of the chassis. It’s like the engine. It gets developed at the same time. We also have our WP guys in the U.S. constantly testing settings with our American test riders. They send us test reports immediately, and we double-check the settings and eventually bring it to production.

Before, we used to do all of our R&D by focusing only on the production bike, and then once it was done, we would work on aftermarket suspension, such as Cone Valve fork settings and the Trax shock. But, that didn’t give us a head start on other aftermarket tuners who could buy the bike and start working on it as soon as it was available. Now, we develop our WP Pro Component suspension settings as we develop the production bike. This enables us to have settings ready for customers as soon as the bike is in the showrooms.

One difficult thing is making a shock that will fit all three brands, because it limits how much we can change each bike. We also have Akrapovic and FMF exhausts that we sell and are on our Factory Editions. We have to make sure that our production, factory and aftermarket shocks will fit with these exhausts.

KTM HAS GROWN DRAMATICALLY SINCE YOU STARTED THERE. HOW HAS IT PERSONALLY CHANGED FOR YOU? It makes the work life a little more difficult because the coordination is more challenging. Of course, it was much easier to go from one door to the next one to meet with someone because we were all in one building. Everyone was all together. From the perspective of communication, it was better when we were smaller.

On the other hand, we have so many more opportunities now, and we just have to be smart with the organization. Back in the day, you would meet your colleagues and talk at the coffee machine. Now, they are in another building, and you have to force yourself to work together by scheduling meetings. The whole company is much, much bigger now. The logistics building alone is double the size of the KTM headquarters where we started.

From the left: Stefan Permanschlager (drive-chain project leader), Florian Bretterebner (head of off-road engines), Manfred Edlinger (head of motocross development), Andreas Mair (250/350 chief engineer) and Bernd Holzleitner.

HOW COOL IS IT TO SEE THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH AT THE RACES WITH YOU ON THE WEEKENDS? I think that’s what makes us special. Even though our company has grown so much, our employees are very connected to the sport, especially in the R&D department where I work. You always meet co-workers at the tracks in Austria, and you get into conversations with them. It helps a lot of things. I’m at the track with my son on the weekends now that he is racing, and being there leads to conversations with customers and co-workers.

Of course, they are not always fun conversations. People don’t always come to you and say, “You are the man.” They come to you and say, “My fuel hose broke,” or “On the downhills, I’m struggling with suspension.” But it gives us feedback, and it helps me keep a close connection with how our bikes are working for our customers. A majority of employees at the KTM headquarters in Austria ride and race.

At the races, I can run into our EFI guys riding our test bikes, fast kids testing our mini bikes, test riders like Michael Stauffer getting more real-world input, or people from the factory team like Robert Jonas and even group leaders who are at the races as spectators or flaggers. That makes the job fun, because everyone is at the races enjoying motorcycles together—and pushing to make our bikes better.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO KEEP GOING AT THIS JOB? I am crazy, and I always want to improve things, even if it’s a problem in my house, I want to solve it. That’s my mentality. Sometimes, it is too much. When I lie in bed, before I fall asleep, I always think about finding solutions. If a mechanic in our department has a problem with their group leader and things are not good, I feel it. I try to find a solution to bring them together. If the fork is bottoming on one of our bikes, I want to understand why and fix it. Even with the development process and how we work with designers, I always try to find ways to help us get together more often, so we can work closer on projects to be better. That’s what keeps me busy. This is what KTM looked like when Mandy was hired in 2002.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER ENGINEERS WHO INSPIRE YOU? For sure. Some people are in the correct place within the company, and they thrive and do a great job. It might be an engine guy or even test riders like Michael Stauffer and Ryan Morais. We have guys who are so brilliant at what they are doing, and that inspires me. Other than people at KTM, I’m inspired by Adrian Newey. He’s the Red Bull Formula 1 car designer. I read his book, “How to Build a Car” about Formula 1 cars, and I think it’s explained pretty nicely. He’s a hero to me.

FOR MY TASTES, THE SMARTER WAY IS THE U.S. WAY. THAT IS THE BETTER CHALLENGE FOR THE MANUFACTURERS. FOR THE SPORT ITSELF, IT’S UNNECESSARY TO HAVE THESE CRAZY, DIFFERENT BIKES. YOU CAN GO FAST WITH THE U.S. BIKE, AND EVERYBODY RIDING AT THE RACES IS ON THE SAME PAGE. THAT IS COOL.

HOW CLOSELY DOES KTM AUSTRIA WORK WITH KTM USA? Of course, the main responsibility for us working together is the application of the motocross bikes for the U.S. market. We design specific suspension and ECU settings for American tracks and American fuel. And, when we are starting new projects, it’s very necessary to get feedback from the U.S. about what the market wants and what the requirements are for the customers. We have frequent meetings, and when there are important updates, we have our American test riders come to Europe to try the bikes, or we bring our prototypes to the U.S. to test there and get opinions. The American R&D team also helps us with the relationship with the American-based Red Bull KTM Factory team. In AMA Supercross and National events, they have to race with the standard base production bikes, so when we are in the U.S., we always catch up with the factory team and with Ian Harrison and Roger Decoster. Casey Lytle is the head of R&D in the U.S., and he organizes a lot for us.

Mattighofen is a small town in rural Austria, and KTM buildings make up a majority of it.

FROM AN R&D STANDPOINT, DO YOU PREFER THE MXGP “WORKS BIKES” RULE OR THE AMA PRODUCTION RULE IN THE USA? For my tastes, the smarter way is the U.S. way. That is the better challenge for the manufacturers. For the sport itself, it’s unnecessary to have these crazy, different bikes. You can go fast with the U.S. bike, and everybody riding at the races is on the same page. That is cool. On the other hand, advanced technology is always cool. Building full prototype rally bikes or a MotoGP bike is, of course, for an engineer, like being in heaven. It’s cool, but is it smarter? I don’t know.