2018 Ktm 1290 Super Adventure S Long Term Review

Roads come up in all shapes, sizes and conditions, and the KTM 1290 Super Adventure Due south is designed to handle them all. It combines serious horsepower with a capable chassis, state-of-the-art electronics and useful touring features. (Photos by Kevin Wing)

With ambitious, chiseled pattern by Kiska and modular compages, KTM'south range of liter-form motorcycles share common elements (engine, trellis frame, instrumentation) but are tailored to individual missions. The chirapsia heart of the lineup is the liquid-cooled, 75-degree LC8 V-twin that's been bulked up and sharpened over the past 15 years, from the original 942cc, 98-horsepower, carbureted version that powered the 2003 950 Take chances to the 1,301cc, 177-horsepower, fuel-injected version in the latest 1290 Super Duke R. True to KTM's "fix to race" philosophy, the LC8 has proven itself time and again, from winning the Dakar Rally in 2002 to peachy the two-wheel record in the Pikes Pinnacle International Loma Climb in 2017.

Read our 2017 KTM 1090 Adventure R vs. Honda Africa Twin showdown here!

Compact and powerful, the LC8 V-twin is the workhorse of KTM's street bike lineup.

We've tested—and been impressed by—near all LC8-powered models over the years, but KTM made a quantum leap forward in 2014. That'due south the yr it shifted from the raw-and-rowdy era of the 950/990 Adventure to the land-of-the-fine art era of the 1190 Adventure, hitting a more even balance betwixt on- and off-route operation and showcasing emerging technology (information technology was the starting time production motorbike to offer cornering ABS).

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Packaging is tight in and around the chrome-moly steel trellis frame.

And merely as the 950/990 Adventure was the genesis for spin-off models like the Super Knuckles, Super Enduro and Supermoto, the 1190 Hazard gave life to the 1290 Super Duke R naked sportbike, the 1290 Super Duke GT sport tourer (read our long-term review here) and the latest crop of adventure tourers—the off-road-ready 1090 Adventure R and 1290 Super Risk R and the new street-focused 1290 Super Run a risk Southward.

Although it has the same basic shape as the 1190 Adventure from which it's derived, the 1290 Super Gamble S is higher upwardly on the evolutionary calibration. Its larger engine makes more power, its semi-active break is more versatile and its electronics are more avant-garde. Windscreen height can be manually adjusted on the fly, and the handlebar, levers and seat are adjustable.

A distinctive design chemical element now shared among several KTM models is a vertically dissever headlight assortment outlined past a pair of bright-white LED daytime running lights that resemble downturned horns, like a balderdash gear up to charge. On the 1290 Super Adventure S, the array houses parallel sets of vertically stacked LEDs with low beam, high beam and cornering lights that illuminate sequentially equally lean angle increases.

With a distinctive vertical separate, LED daytime running lights surround stacked LED headlights and cornering lights.

Replacing the analog tachometer and dual monochrome digital displays used for the by several years is a 6.5-inch, total-colour TFT display that automatically switches from a white groundwork in bright light to a black background in low low-cal.

New full-color TFT display has precipitous graphics, but some of the text is too small to read at a glance.

Also new are auto-cancelling turn signals, the Race On remote keyless arrangement for the ignition and fuel cap (inside the fob is a spring-loaded key for removing the seat and locking/removing the accessory panniers), a waterproof smartphone compartment with a USB charging port in the cockpit and the KTM My Ride Bluetooth system. And our test wheel is equipped with the optional Travel Pack ($524.99), which adds Hill Concord Control, Motor Slip Regulation and Quickshifter + (upward and down clutchless shifting).

The 1290 Super Take chances Southward is alpine with a spacious cockpit and an upright seating position. Mounts for the accompaniment Touring Cases are integrated into the tail section. The cases are stylish and piece of cake to use, but the high exhaust piping limits volume on the correct side (right: thirty liters, left: 36 liters).

Greg'southward Clothes
Helmet: Scorpion EXO-AT950
Jacket & Pants: Scorpion Yukon
Boots: Sidi Gavia Gore-Tex

When the 1290 Super Run a risk Southward arrived, we immediately pressed information technology into service, using it as our photo mule for a 850-mile comparison test ride to Joshua Tree National Park. In improver to a fast shutter finger, photographer Kevin Wing also has a quick wrist, and he was difficult to keep upwards with on the KTM fifty-fifty though it was laden with fully loaded factory accessory Touring Cases ($1,199.99) and his heavy backpack was blimp with camera gear.

The 1290 Super Adventure S is ready to take on any route, paved or unpaved, the twistier the better.

That was a cold, blustery couple of days, and in terms of comfort and wind protection the 1290 passes muster. Its tiptop-adaptable seat (33.9/34.4 inches) is hard and its windscreen, which is manually adjustable on the fly over a 2-inch range, provides only moderate coverage though it deflects airflow smoothly. But air current-blocking hand guards and heated grips continue hands warm, and, as with nigh chance bikes, rider ergonomics are spacious and the seating position is upright and comfy.

Although height-adjustable at 33.ix/34.iv inches, the passenger's seat is too hard for a bike so well-equipped for long-booty miles. Standard luggage rack accommodates KTM's accessory top trunk.

Pack mule, thoroughbred, trail equus caballus, spirited bronco—pick the equine metaphor for the experience you lot want and the 1290 Super Adventure S will deliver thanks to its four riding modes (Sport, Street, Offroad and Rain), Motorcycle Stability Control (multi-mode, lean angle-sensitive ABS and traction control) and WP semi-active suspension with 4 damping settings (Sport, Street, Comfort and Offroad), pushbutton-adaptable rear preload and about 8 inches of front/rear travel.

The KTM's agile handling, semi-active, long-travel suspension, Brembo brakes and cornering ABS and traction control brand short, confident work of tight corners.

Bandage aluminum wheels in nineteen-inch front and 17-inch rear sizes carry Pirelli Scorpion Trail II 90/10 chance tires that favor on-road performance but have moderate off-road capability (we stayed on the pavement for this review, but we've off-road tested other KTM Adventure models and they've been more than up to the job). Add in standard features similar cruise control, a tire-pressure monitoring organisation, a centerstand, a luggage rack and integrated mounts for accessory panniers, as well as a 6.1-gallon tank that's practiced for more than 200 miles, and what you become is a well-rounded motorcycle for sport and adventure touring.

That's what I honey virtually today's do-it-all adventure bikes: the only affair holding me back is my imagination. Well, that and the usual obligations of employment, family and a mortgage. But seriously, as a Rider staffer I get more opportunities to ride than most, and when it comes to types of bikes and styles of riding, I'm omnivorous and voracious.

The 1,301cc 5-twin is potent and seductive, but it radiates a lot of heat.

Capable, versatile, exciting bikes like the 1290 Super Run a risk Due south feed all my appetites. For weeks I've been commuting on the 1290, and those fifty round-trip miles are a nervus-jangling journey of chock-full freeways, lane sharing and traffic lights. With the panniers and baggage rack I can easily transport any I need, and with damping set to Comfort the wheel floats over U.S. Road 101's ubiquitous concrete seams. And the KTM My Ride organization and smartphone app, with my Sena headset and iPhone paired to the cycle, allows me to display and control incoming calls (I reject those while riding), music and turn-by-turn navigation.

On a rare rainy twenty-four hours, I switched over to the Rain riding way, reducing ability, softening throttle response and increasing traction command sensitivity to ameliorate deal with the slick conditions. And on a recent morning time'southward commute, a big, ruby-red banner saying "rear tire pressure low" flashed on the TFT display to get my attending. I monitored the front and rear tire force per unit area readings on the dash to make up one's mind whether to pull over immediately or keep going, and with tire pressure belongings steady, I was able to brand it to work to exercise the necessary repair, appreciative that the bicycle was looking out for me.

The merely thing holding you back on the Super Adventure S is your imagination.

Turn downward a desolate winding road, switch over to Sport style and hold onto the reins—as soon as yous give it the spurs, the 1290 launches eagerly into a full-on gallop, lightening the front wheel and mashing the rear contact patch into the pavement. This is riding at its thrilling, adrenaline-fueled best, with a lively, powerful V-twin wrapped in a high-caliber chassis with cutting-edge electronics.

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In Sport mode, this version of the 1,301cc LC8 makes 132 horsepower at 9,300 rpm and 81 lb-ft of torque at vii,400 rpm at the chain-driven rear bike, in a bike that weighs 535 pounds soaking wet. Street mode softens throttle response a flake and ratchets up traction command sensitivity, simply it still delivers full power. Pelting and Offroad mode, on the other hand, dial down engine output to 86 horsepower and 63 lb-ft of torque, taming the 1290'southward red-blooded temper for tricky conditions.

Whatsoever your destination, this motorcycle will become you at that place—and it volition be ane heckuva ride!

Regardless of the status of the pavement or the radius of the curve, the KTM is unflappable. There's no hesitation in the electronic throttle's response, there'southward never whatsoever uncertainty that the semi-active pause will keep the chassis calm and the tires in contact with the road and in that location's nothing but confidence coming from the strong, communicative Brembo brakes.

And I never gave a second thought to shifting the slipper clutch-equipped 6-speed transmission, peculiarly when clicking through multiple clutchless upshifts while hard on the gas (for downshifts I adopt using the clutch for a bit more finesse). The 1290 Super Adventure Due south feels solid and well integrated, with no glaring deficiencies or compromises.

My 2 complaints about the 1290 are the same ones we've had nigh KTM Adventures in the by, and they perhaps stem from its performance-oriented nature: the seat is too hard and the engine radiates too much estrus. Installing KTM's accessory Ergo seat may solve the seat effect, simply it costs $199.99 and increases seat meridian by 0.8 inch (a heated version is too bachelor). Engine rut, on the other manus, is less amenable to a quick fix.

2018 KTM 1290 Super Chance S Dyno run on the Jett Tuning Dyno.

After near 2,000 miles of testing, nosotros're non ready to give the 1290 back and I'm looking forward to our next multi-mean solar day adventure. While writing this, I wandered down memory lane and recalled past trips I've taken on its predecessor, the 1190 Adventure—a challenging press launch ride around Mount Teide, a volcano in the middle of the island of Tenerife; a multi-day comparison ride and staff campout in Central California, with a few dirt roads thrown in; and an 11-hour superslab ride out to Moab, Utah, for a couple days of trail riding, followed past a breathtaking return trip through Bryce and Zion National Parks.

Exactly the sort of adventure touring the 1190 was designed for, a mix of conditions and surfaces and speeds. And the 1290 Super Hazard S is more powerful, more sophisticated and better equipped in every way to handle whatever hazard you accept in mind. Only remember to drop your mortgage payment in the mailbox on your way out of boondocks.

2018 KTM 1290 Super Run a risk S with optional Travel Pack ($524.99) and accompaniment Touring Cases ($1,199.99).

2018 KTM 1290 Super Take chances S Specs
Base Price: $17,999
Price equally Tested: $18,524 (Travel Pack)
Warranty: 2 yrs., 24,000 miles
Website: ktm.com

Engine
Type: Liquid-cooled, transverse 75-caste V-twin
Displacement:1,301cc
Bore x Stroke: 108.0 x 71.0mm
Compression Ratio: 13.ane:1
Valve Train: DOHC, 4 valves per cyl.
Valve Insp. Interval: eighteen,600 miles
Fuel Delivery: Keihin EFI w/ 52mm throttle bodies ten 2
Lubrication Arrangement: Dry sump, 3.eight-qt. cap.
Manual: vi-speed, hydraulically actuated wet slipper clutch
Final Bulldoze: X-ring concatenation

Electric
Ignition: Digital electronic
Charging Output: 450 watts max.
Battery: 12V 11.2AH

Chassis
Frame: Chrome-moly steel trellis w/ engine equally stressed member & aluminum subframe; cast aluminum swingarm
Wheelbase: 61.4 in.
Rake/Trail: 26 degrees/4.7 in.
Seat Height: 33.9/34.iv in.
Suspension, Front: 48mm USD fork, semi-active due west/ 7.nine-in. travel
Rear: Single shock, semi-active w/ seven.ix-in. travel
Brakes, Front: Dual 320mm floating discs w/ opposed 4-piston radial calipers & ABS (linked to rear)
Rear: Single 267mm floating disc west/ ii-piston caliper & ABS
Wheels, Forepart: Cast, 3.50 x 19 in.
Rear:Bandage, 5.00 x 17 in.
Tires, Forepart: 120/70-ZR19
Rear:170/lx-ZR17
Wet Weight: 535 lbs. (equally tested)
Load Capacity:479 lbs. (as tested)
GVWR: 1,014 lbs.

Functioning
Fuel Capacity: six.i gals., last 0.9 gal. warning lite on
MPG: 91 PON min. (low/avg/loftier) 35.3/38.7/48.half-dozen
Estimated Range: 235 miles
Indicated RPM at threescore MPH: three,500

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Source: https://ridermagazine.com/2018/05/30/2018-ktm-1290-super-adventure-s-road-test-review/

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