As they eye a two-rider team in the EnduroGP World Championship next season, is KTM about to drop the PDS suspension system on the enduro models in 2027?

Though this is not at all official, an ear to the ground in the final EnduroGP paddock of the 2025 season in Germany pointed at some surprising news from KTM. 

The new we half expect, which is widely reported and we wrote about already, is that Andrea Verona will join Josep Garcia in a two-rider Red Bull KTM Racing team in 2026, making this the final year for GASGAS.

An overall streamlining of the race teams from the Austrian race department across different motorcycle sports sets the precedent. Enduro has remained the odd sport out in some ways with Verona still flying the red colours and William Bolt on the white bikes in Hard Enduro and SuperEnduro.

In Rally for example the Husqvarna and GASGAS teams vanished, along with their large rider list, to have just two riders under KTM colours this year. The end of the 2025 TrialGP season also saw the demise of that offfical GASGAS factory squad.

Enduro looks set to follow suit in 2026 as the Italian Farioli Racing-run squad fields Josep Garcia and Andrea Verona on KTMs.

No 450 GG model

A deciding factor in Verona’s likely change is also that GASGAS no longer has the EC450 F model in the enduro range.

The Italian, who switched to the 450 for the ’25 season, has been enjoying the bigger bike in E2 and looks set to stick, and that means he has to change brands – remember the mothership in Mattighofen goes racing to promote itself and sell bikes, so there’s no point racing bikes they don’t sell.

With Husqvarna already not under the Farioli awning for two seasons now, that points to a KTM 450 EXC-F for Verona, the new E2 world champion.

The big news

The other big clanger we learned revolves around the rear suspension on the KTM Group enduro models.

Discussions around the fact Verona will have to get used to the PDS suspension system on the KTM, having only ridden linkage bikes up till now, led to the overheard comment that the bigger news is he will have to get used to a new set-up for ’26 but then go back to linkage for 2027 when KTM drop the PDS.

This is surprising to say the least but we can see why. The Austrian brand is looking at streamlining production costs so having one type of frame, swingarm and rear suspension unit across all enduro models has to save them some cash.

What we know / strongest evidence:

• EnduroGP insiders in the paddock last weekend in Germany were openly talking about KTM returning to linkage suspension for enduro in 2027.
• KTM are already aggressively consolidating platforms and race teams (Rally already did that before enduro).
• Global unification = cost saved per frame per model.
• KTM’s 2026 enduro sales reportedly soft, making an “early” 2027 launch a possibility — perfect timing to reset the platform.
• Verona going KTM means he must adapt to PDS in 2026. That part is 99% locked in (see what we did there?).

Streamlining different chassis designs and models

KTM does make KTMs with linkage suspension which Verona could ride in theory – the North American model line-up includes the 450 XC-F – so he could race one of those in what is a world championship after all.

With the EnduroGP World Championship promoting itself outside of Europe in 2027 (Brazil rounds are expected), KTM could change that long-established standpoint of racing the European models in the world championship.

That seems highly unlikely not least because the PDS does work and they (until now) love to promote it as a unique aspect for enduro riders – low maintenance and all that. Josep Garcia also proves PDS works too with his consecutive world titles, as does Mani Lettenbichler, albeit in Hard Enduro and different riding conditions.

Why they might actually kill PDS:

• Global production standardisation is now a financial necessity.
• GASGAS already dropped the EC 450 F — streamlining is happening everywhere.
• If EnduroGP expands outside Europe from 2027 onward (Brasil is coming), KTM have more motivation to align platforms globally.
• PDS is unique, but it costs more to produce the different chassis for KTM, Husqvarna and GASGAS currently.

Why they might not:

• PDS is still part of KTM’s identity — low maintenance, ground clearance, proven with Garcia & Lettenbichler.
• They’ve spent big (pre-financial crisis) refining the latest PDS with the new chassis — killing it 12 months later would be a surprise.
• There’s still a massive chunk of the KTM fanbase who enjoy the lack of linkage.

Another option for KTM could be to bring in the 2027 bikes early (we hear they are not selling enough ’26 models anyway) and have the race team on those new linkage EXC-Fs from round one next season.

The 2026 model year KTM arrived unusually late due to the anomaly of the financial situation and has not been a hit. Imagine if they arrive early next year with some massive news like this?

KTM traditionally announce new models during May and with the ’26 EnduroGP season starting in April, they could bring things forward by one month for the 2027 enduro range.

Bottom line

It’s not official — and they could even do some, none or a combination of the above for a transition year.

But the rumour is serious and makes sense so don’t be shocked if 2027 KTM EXC-F models go full linkage across the board. In the meantime, ciao GASGAS in EnduroGP.

Photo Credit: Future7Media + Arnau Puig