Kris Keefer

                                            Photo credit to Drew Ruiz


Kris Keefer is a former SX/MX racer and current Dirt Rider Magazine editor, along with being a test rider with his own company Keefer Inc.

Thanks Kris for doing this interview, I appreciate it.


Kris, you are a former pro Supercross rider and Motocross rider, can you give us some background on your racing career?

Yes, I raced professionally for several years.  I raced Supercross for only two years back in 2004 and 2005. My mom was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) when I was just five years old and it turned for the worse around the yearly part of 2002 (when I was peaking as a racer). I was always brought up that family comes first so I tried to race as much as I could, but my mom's disease required me to be home most of the time (due to my parents being separated since my late teenage years). My mom was bed ridden (due to the disease) and we could only afford a caretaker for so many hours, so the rest of the time was spent spending quality time with my mom. I had some help with her in 2004 while I worked as KTM's R&D's test rider and that led me to race the whole West Coast SX Series. I qualified for my first main event that year and even lead the Anaheim 3 heat race for several laps, which was a highlight for me. My mom passed away in December of 2004, but she always told me to pursue my passion and that lead me to my first factory ride in Canada in 2005. Andy White from KTM Canada (at the time) hired me to race their newly developed KTM 250 SX-F, since I did so much develop work on that bike. I then developed relationships up there and raced for KTM again in 2007 and a few races in 2009. I have been back several times to race since then and have a lot of friends that I consider family in Canada now! I am practically an adopted Canadian! My main gig most of my life was being a test rider but I always loved racing!    


You are the associate editor for Dirt Rider Magazine and a test rider. What are you responsibilities in these roles?

I am very lucky to be the Associate Editor of what I feel is the best testing based magazine there is. My responsibilities are widely spread, but mainly I evaluate products, dirt bikes, and create valuable content for our reader. Let me elaborate on this a bit. I am not the type of guy to be at the office five days a week, as I feel I am best used out on the track. I am very fortunate to have a great group of people to work with at the magazine. We all work together to give our reader the most informative information there is for them to digest. I enjoy writing test articles because I know what I want to hear when I am looking to go buy a new bike or aftermarket accessory. I take testing very personal. All we have as a magazine (and heck myself included), to sell is our integrity. That is all we can offer!!! These people are spending their hard earned money on what we might say works well. I take that to heart because I know how hard it is to spend money that is tough to come by. I really try and make sure to respond back to readers who have questions on what they might want to buy, but are unsure about. Our industry is not like the car industry where they can go test drive it before they buy it. They rely on us to point them in the right direction!  


You raced some Canadian nationals this summer; how did that deal come about and how did it go?

Well another gig I have is co-hosting the Pulp MX Show with Steve Matthes. I enjoy talking moto on the show, among other things, but it really has opened up some doors for me in the industry. Whether he knows it or not I owe a lot to Matthes, but I don't dare tell him that or he will get a huge head! I was talking on the show one night about how I want to go back up there and race. Kevin Tyler from the MX 101 Yamaha racing team up there got a hold of me and I went and took a family vacation and raced the first two rounds. The first round didn't go well as I had some bike issues, but the second round I finished top ten (9th) in the hyperactive young buck MX2 class! Not bad for a 36 year old test guy! I really wanted to challenge myself and ride a 250F up there. Yamaha has the best 250F in production form, so the team built me an unreal race bike and in return I wrote an article about the team and my experiences up in Canada. 


Would you be interested in doing some more races if the right deal came together?

Absolutely, if something came up and it fit my schedule. My testing business and Dirt Rider come first, but if the deal was right I would love to go race as much as I can. I think have plenty to offer a team. I just love dirt bikes, period! I love meeting new people and helping them out with their testing problems that sometimes they might run into. Usually, I get to meet a lot of those great people at the races. 


For those who may not know, how would a day of testing go for you and what would it entail?

There are all different types of testing actually. Production is testing is different than magazine testing. Pre-Production bike testing is usually called "blind tests". Engineers will not share what is different on the test bike and it is up to me to decipher what is better or worse and relay it back to them. They can change up to ten different parts on any given day and you must give them the right information. They have their paperwork in front of them when you are downloading them the info, so you have to be precise with your words. I prefer that kind of testing. I like not knowing what I am evaluating and giving feedback on directly what I feel on the track. Magazine testing is a little more laid back, but I really try to bring the blind testing over the magazine side. That way there is no confusion or pre-notion on what is good or bad. It is very long days. Usually starting by 7:30AM and ends at dark. I have huge stock in Bag Balm for my ass, because it gets chapped a whole hell of a lot! Monkey Butt for days. 


Anything you can share with us about some major changes in the next year or two with the bikes or gear?

Come on! Part of the deal is I have to keep my fat mouth shut! You know this! HAHA! I got tested early on in my career when I was at Yamaha. Ed Scheidler came up to me and said " I heard you been talking about what we been doing here, to others"! I was like "no sir, I swear"! I was so nervous and almost pissed at the same time! He then looked at me in the eyes and said "Good, I was just making sure you weren't talking"! However, I can tell you that KTM is making all of the Japanese manufacturers step up their game on production motorcycles. KTM has taken the 450 SX-F and 250 SX-F and made them lighter, more compact, faster, and with an electric start! The Japanese better start working hard to shave pounds ASAP. 


You've also started your own company- what exactly is Keefer Inc.? What gave you the idea to start it?

Keefer Inc. was started over five years ago. I noticed companies needing someone reputable to help make their products better before going to market. So I created Keefer Inc. to help these companies. It started out with only a couple companies, but now I have several that use me to help them develop their future endeavors. I also want to say that I created my company so it is an unbiased form of an opinion, on any product or machine. All of my Keefer Inc. testing is confidential (I sign a confidential agreement) so zero information can get shared with competing companies. This ensures each company an honest and fair evaluation to help their product advance and get better. For some people it's tough for them to believe in, but I am trying to break the mold when it comes how products and dirt bikes can be evaluated fairly. Nothing worth doing is easy right? 


Thanks again Kris for you time,
 hope to see you out on the track soon.
And remember everyone to checkout the latest issue of Dirt Rider Magazine and if you are looking for Keefer Inc. R&D services you can reach Kris at keeferinc@hotmail.com for more info.