Ok, I just bought one of these based on this and other reviews. My previous bike was Triumph Tiger 1050 which I thought was the most awesome bike I ever owned but this is something else. Yes this review sounds too good to be true and yes some of the features mention are optional extras but seriously you are spot on with your comments about how it makes you feel more confident. The best bike I've ever owned by a country mile.
It's a great bike, no doubt about it....but the minor gripes are - KTM have still not resolved the problem of the engine heat coming through the seat and around the legs (even at motorway speeds) - the bikes to too tall the idea that someone of 5'9" is fine on it is surprising (I'm 5'10" and am on tippy toes) - range is a bit of a disappointment but as long as you're happy running it to empty, it will just about scrape 200 miles per tank - and yes that half pannier is a bit silly! Set against that is all the tech covered in the video and that's great. The engine, handling, new TFT screen are all fabulous and it does feel like a much lighter, more nimble bike than a GS. Very nice bike!
love this new bike, but really surprised they have not addressed heat issues! I owned an 1190.. and loved it... except the heat was really too hot to ride above 70 degrees... :( hoping they would have fixed the new one?
I suspect the heat could be resolved with a Powercommander. I speak from experience with a Yamaha I used to have, the heat would soar in slow traffic or crawling along. After a Powercommander tune (ecu reflash as well), the thing never went above 190 in the same conditions, even hot weather. Hot engines are lean-running engines. The stock cooling systems are plenty adequate. It's the fact emissions regulations require manufacturers to run them as lean as possible without damaging the engine (at least not in the short life).
My 2017 1290 adventure broke down after less than 5000 miles, electrical issues, result £1300 spent, still not mended, dealer run out of options, cause “been ridden in the rain”. KTM won’t even reply to emails, and no it’s not because I’ve been rude.
6 ปีที่แล้ว +12
I can't stand it. I must have this bike. Sorry kids. It's community college I guess.
Price comparison with R1200GS is a bit bias don't you think? The BASIC GS may be £12K but the TE which is close but not as well equipped as the KTM is well over £15K
Yeah i just picked one up. Love it more than just about any other bike ive had. The ride feels great. Power is there all the time through the whole band. Really impresed on how powerfull and fast it is. It corners great even with the off road tires. I have the R model. Time will tell but so far i have to say its one of my best buys ive made in years. The dash is great. Direct sunlight is not a issue. Im a tall rider. 6'×4" i will add some risers to make standing a little better but thats about it. Ill probaly add the heated grips and seat and im currently looking at panniers and bags so ill get it all together soon. The factory wind screen is wat to low i will say. You will need to upgrade that right away. I might help more average riders but doesnt do a thing for a tall rider. Havnt hooked up the teck to the app yet but from what ive sceen it looks pretty good. Time will tell.
Excellent review and I love this bike. Almost flawless... insanely quick, total corner junky and safe as a nuclear bomb shelter. The Katoom has it all for me.
cannot decide on the R or the S for long range travel. not going to go serious off roading on either, but although i know ill do 90% paved rds, id like to be able to take the thing to Alaska some day. i wonder if the S (with proper 60/40 tires) would be suitable for 100s of km of gravel at a time without regretting the entire time not getting the R ??
Watch- 2 Wheeled Rider. He just did a trip to Alaska from Virginia on the SAT. His videos are fantastic, and very detailed trip expenses including tires.
Factory quick shifter and semi active suspension for President. Next bike has to have it or BUST. This thing NEEDS a low mount muffler, a full right side pannier and a 17" front wheel. Bam, instant sport-tourer.
I love it but I'm from the south of Spain and, can you imagine the heat coming from the engine and the manifold in August? A problem they should have sold for such a good and expensive bike!
Go with soft bags. There's a dozen awesome options on the market that will take abrasion, spills, tumbles, and every extreme you can throw at them without breaking the mount frame, crushing a leg bone, or forcing the steering into a direction you don't want to go. th-cam.com/video/TZTRVLwO51Q/w-d-xo.html
Great review, and love this bike! glad ktm stuck with the chain and didn't go with the heavy, ugly, power robbing shaft... ps. how's the heat coming off this bike??
I ride my KTM 1290 SA S regulary. When the weather is hot and i ride slowly i can sometimes feel the heat from the engine on my legs. It's not a problem.
I have watch a few reviews and they are pretty damning about the rider aids. Their point and I can understand why is that the aids will take you past what normal riders can do with the chassis so you can go so much faster than you could without them. The problem comes when you exceed the abilities of the rider aids the computer just hands the bike back to the rider when you are way past the point of return and next stop is the tarmac.
I think the problem with the bike is once all the rider aides are past the point of no return which is way past the average rider and chassis ability it just says oh shit and hands it back to the rider to deal with and a crash results. It's a great bike and as long as you as a rider know your limits its a great bike once you start relying on the bike to get you out of trouble then doesn't that then make the bike and all it's rider aides pointless
I completely agree with you until the rider uses the rider aides to go faster than the riders ability. ABS traction control are safety features that you would never want to roll back on but I think that when the extra features push you beyond your limits as a rider and past the bike's natural limits and when it goes wrong then it ends up in a crash. These developments are not rider aides in my opinion they take your beyond your and the bike's limits and your ability and I don't think that's a good thing.
It wouldn't put me off buying the bike because I feel sure my ability would wash out way before the bike's would and it's a better bike for that. However my last two have been the Honda VRR1200X DCT and currently the ZZR1400 and the thing I cannot get used to on the KTM is the engine i is very smooth for a twin but compared to those bikes it is quite buzzy.
@@WpgBarry So, some of this control is tires (get the grippiest possible) and learn these new limits in regard to traction/environment? Always be on your game? Heard of one guy who crashed because he trusted cornering ABS in the rain. Hmmm.
it's the opposite: the aids keep the rider safer far longer, despite poor riding. The rider aids don't "take" the rider anywhere he wasn't already going. At some point stupidity and physics take over. The result is far fewer people crash.
1290 Super Adventure has a safety flaw in its design, the motorcycle has a major safety problem. I bought mine six month ago and since day one I have been experiencing head wobble at speed ranging from 100 to 120 mph. I contacted the dealer and they said “there is a software upgrade regarding the head wobble” I took the motorcycle to the dealer, after the software upgrade I discovered that the four setting for the damping is not working any more there is not difference in the performance between sports, street, comfort or off-road. Show less
I had the 2018 model SAS , the only thing I was impressed was the engine the rest of the bike just need 10 years of development, unstable at hard cornering, moves all the time, at 230 km per hour wobbling all the time, i am wondering, which is the reason to have all these power on a bike that can't handle, the brakes compare with a GS 1200 brembo are totally different, the abs on the KTM are so intrusive specially in the rear wheel, and the suspension is totally a rubbish, the mode sport is ok but the confort is the worst i ever experienced, it makes the rear link be so loose and the behavior of the bike totally change and makes more unstable, the SAS model have not spoke wheels as the previous model T, the seat is hard as all models in the brand generating pain in the ass, but they sell a soft one for much money, and be careful with this, it 's sold as and adventure bike that need to filter first the gasoline and revise or change gasoline pump filters every 7,000 km,because the EFI system is so sensitive, so improvement and maintain this bike cost much more than BMW, i am totally disappointed with this bike.
It's got, it's got, it's got none of the above! Until you pay the extra 3000 - 5000 $$$$ for all those features to add to the base model. Still one hell of a great bike if you have the $$$$.
SkuStyle this is what I found when I got a 2015 super adventure... I still don't know how hill hold control works because the guy who connects the computer doesn't turn it on. What a load of crap ktm....
"Floating panniers" are bloody terrible, I'm surprised they continued with this because the previous ones were bordering on dangerous. On the plus side, however, those cornering lights do look very good - they actually seem to work.
The new floaters have been tested and shown to reduce weave more than not having them on the bike and folks have ridden with them at 230km/h without issue. So maybe they have them "done right"?
EU Bike Dude ...I opted for the SW Motech Trax Adv and the quick detachable frames. Loaded up to 15-17kg in each pannier, I often had the cruise control set to 170 km/h on my trips, and they don’t budge. Extremely well designed and rugged.
Love it, but what about durability... nobody knows. You sit on the bike not in the bike. Chain. Narrow bars (like a bicycle), quality not @ BMW level...yet. But my favorite... it's NOT a GS.
How about an American review instead of a european review that totally turns viewers off the second they begin talking jibberish!!!! Blah, blah, blah pip pip cherrio.
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Ok, I just bought one of these based on this and other reviews. My previous bike was Triumph Tiger 1050 which I thought was the most awesome bike I ever owned but this is something else. Yes this review sounds too good to be true and yes some of the features mention are optional extras but seriously you are spot on with your comments about how it makes you feel more confident. The best bike I've ever owned by a country mile.
really like this bike... considering purchase... just curious if you have any issues with heat coming off that engine?
How I wish I could say "oh yeah, I think I'll buy a super adventure s" 😆 well done 👌
Very good review!
Straight to the point, decent riding and nice night shots.
Well done
What a great review. Finally someone talks and proofs about the technical specs of this motorcycle. Subcribed.
It's a great bike, no doubt about it....but the minor gripes are
- KTM have still not resolved the problem of the engine heat coming through the seat and around the legs (even at motorway speeds)
- the bikes to too tall the idea that someone of 5'9" is fine on it is surprising (I'm 5'10" and am on tippy toes)
- range is a bit of a disappointment but as long as you're happy running it to empty, it will just about scrape 200 miles per tank
- and yes that half pannier is a bit silly!
Set against that is all the tech covered in the video and that's great. The engine, handling, new TFT screen are all fabulous and it does feel like a much lighter, more nimble bike than a GS.
Very nice bike!
love this new bike, but really surprised they have not addressed heat issues! I owned an 1190.. and loved it... except the heat was really too hot to ride above 70 degrees... :( hoping they would have fixed the new one?
I suspect the heat could be resolved with a Powercommander. I speak from experience with a Yamaha I used to have, the heat would soar in slow traffic or crawling along. After a Powercommander tune (ecu reflash as well), the thing never went above 190 in the same conditions, even hot weather. Hot engines are lean-running engines. The stock cooling systems are plenty adequate. It's the fact emissions regulations require manufacturers to run them as lean as possible without damaging the engine (at least not in the short life).
I just got mine in yesterday. Too bad it's February and there is snow on the ground. I just get to look at it for now
My 2017 1290 adventure broke down after less than 5000 miles, electrical issues, result £1300 spent, still not mended, dealer run out of options, cause “been ridden in the rain”. KTM won’t even reply to emails, and no it’s not because I’ve been rude.
I can't stand it. I must have this bike. Sorry kids. It's community college I guess.
I imagine it would be really difficult riding a more common bike if you've ridden this for a year or so, it handles so many aspects of riding for you
Price comparison with R1200GS is a bit bias don't you think? The BASIC GS may be £12K but the TE which is close but not as well equipped as the KTM is well over £15K
Yeah i just picked one up. Love it more than just about any other bike ive had. The ride feels great. Power is there all the time through the whole band. Really impresed on how powerfull and fast it is. It corners great even with the off road tires. I have the R model. Time will tell but so far i have to say its one of my best buys ive made in years. The dash is great. Direct sunlight is not a issue. Im a tall rider. 6'×4" i will add some risers to make standing a little better but thats about it. Ill probaly add the heated grips and seat and im currently looking at panniers and bags so ill get it all together soon. The factory wind screen is wat to low i will say. You will need to upgrade that right away. I might help more average riders but doesnt do a thing for a tall rider. Havnt hooked up the teck to the app yet but from what ive sceen it looks pretty good. Time will tell.
Excellent review and I love this bike. Almost flawless... insanely quick, total corner junky and safe as a nuclear bomb shelter. The Katoom has it all for me.
Please tell me where you can find a GS for 12,250 and also if that includes the wheels and engine ?
Didn't know the GS had an engine ?
Yep same question for me where the hell can u get a new gs for 12,250 ???last time I looked it was 15,750 for the rallye and 18,000 for the adventure
Best adventure bike made to date.
cannot decide on the R or the S for long range travel. not going to go serious off roading on either, but although i know ill do 90% paved rds, id like to be able to take the thing to Alaska some day. i wonder if the S (with proper 60/40 tires) would be suitable for 100s of km of gravel at a time without regretting the entire time not getting the R ??
Watch- 2 Wheeled Rider. He just did a trip to Alaska from Virginia on the SAT.
His videos are fantastic, and very detailed trip expenses including tires.
Good review, like the bike but I hear they vibrate badly at hi speed ??
Factory quick shifter and semi active suspension for President.
Next bike has to have it or BUST.
This thing NEEDS a low mount muffler, a full right side pannier and a 17" front wheel. Bam, instant sport-tourer.
JIGA BACHI Superduke GT?
Alex Diaz It would be the logical choice, rightfully so. But in this case too sporty for my use.
I have seen a Messi look alike from Iran. Now, you too, Steve. lol
Thank you for the review.
Very serious you say:"it's got a plutonium powered nuclear fusion reactor! LOL excellent! "TO THE INFINITY AND BEYOOOOOND"
is it 'wild' for a ktm? i got 1290 superduke and its too wild for the street ride
It's definitely not as wild as the Super Duke R. Way less aggressive.
I found the 1290 SDR refreshing to whack wide open on the streets. Slow-until-max-revs is a thing of the past with this Vtwin.
What about heat ? If ride 400 km
I love it but I'm from the south of Spain and, can you imagine the heat coming from the engine and the manifold in August? A problem they should have sold for such a good and expensive bike!
Is this bike good and comfortable for pillion?
Yes, it is good and comfortable fpr pillion. Of course, you have more space and comfort on a honda goldwing.
Lol the rainy clips of the TFT screen are ripped off by another TH-cam video
I hate this reduced size pannier thing that manufactures do,Triumph do it with the Explorer also.
Go with soft bags. There's a dozen awesome options on the market that will take abrasion, spills, tumbles, and every extreme you can throw at them without breaking the mount frame, crushing a leg bone, or forcing the steering into a direction you don't want to go. th-cam.com/video/TZTRVLwO51Q/w-d-xo.html
Great review, and love this bike! glad ktm stuck with the chain and didn't go with the heavy, ugly, power robbing shaft... ps. how's the heat coming off this bike??
I ride my KTM 1290 SA S regulary. When the weather is hot and i ride slowly i can sometimes feel the heat from the engine on my legs. It's not a problem.
...I have the original 2015 model and I’ve never found heat a problem from the engine. It can get hot, but it doesn’t affect me
I have watch a few reviews and they are pretty damning about the rider aids. Their point and I can understand why is that the aids will take you past what normal riders can do with the chassis so you can go so much faster than you could without them. The problem comes when you exceed the abilities of the rider aids the computer just hands the bike back to the rider when you are way past the point of return and next stop is the tarmac.
I think the problem with the bike is once all the rider aides are past the point of no return which is way past the average rider and chassis ability it just says oh shit and hands it back to the rider to deal with and a crash results. It's a great bike and as long as you as a rider know your limits its a great bike once you start relying on the bike to get you out of trouble then doesn't that then make the bike and all it's rider aides pointless
I completely agree with you until the rider uses the rider aides to go faster than the riders ability. ABS traction control are safety features that you would never want to roll back on but I think that when the extra features push you beyond your limits as a rider and past the bike's natural limits and when it goes wrong then it ends up in a crash. These developments are not rider aides in my opinion they take your beyond your and the bike's limits and your ability and I don't think that's a good thing.
It wouldn't put me off buying the bike because I feel sure my ability would wash out way before the bike's would and it's a better bike for that. However my last two have been the Honda VRR1200X DCT and currently the ZZR1400 and the thing I cannot get used to on the KTM is the engine i is very smooth for a twin but compared to those bikes it is quite buzzy.
@@WpgBarry So, some of this control is tires (get the grippiest possible) and learn these new limits in regard to traction/environment? Always be on your game? Heard of one guy who crashed because he trusted cornering ABS in the rain. Hmmm.
it's the opposite: the aids keep the rider safer far longer, despite poor riding. The rider aids don't "take" the rider anywhere he wasn't already going. At some point stupidity and physics take over. The result is far fewer people crash.
Who came here from Rok bagros
1:42 hahaha well played
I know the feeling, because I owne one....
1290 Super Adventure has a safety flaw in its design, the motorcycle has a major safety problem.
I bought mine six month ago and since day one I have been experiencing head wobble at speed ranging from 100 to 120 mph.
I contacted the dealer and they said “there is a software upgrade regarding the head wobble”
I took the motorcycle to the dealer, after the software upgrade I discovered that the four setting for the damping is not working any more there is not difference in the performance between sports, street, comfort or off-road.
Show less
I had the 2018 model SAS , the only thing I was impressed was the engine the rest of the bike just need 10 years of development, unstable at hard cornering, moves all the time, at 230 km per hour wobbling all the time, i am wondering, which is the reason to have all these power on a bike that can't handle, the brakes compare with a GS 1200 brembo are totally different, the abs on the KTM are so intrusive specially in the rear wheel, and the suspension is totally a rubbish, the mode sport is ok but the confort is the worst i ever experienced, it makes the rear link be so loose and the behavior of the bike totally change and makes more unstable, the SAS model have not spoke wheels as the previous model T, the seat is hard as all models in the brand generating pain in the ass, but they sell a soft one for much money, and be careful with this, it 's sold as and adventure bike that need to filter first the gasoline and revise or change gasoline pump filters every 7,000 km,because the EFI system is so sensitive, so improvement and maintain this bike cost much more than BMW, i am totally disappointed with this bike.
It's got, it's got, it's got none of the above! Until you pay the extra 3000 - 5000 $$$$ for all those features to add to the base model. Still one hell of a great bike if you have the $$$$.
SkuStyle this is what I found when I got a 2015 super adventure... I still don't know how hill hold control works because the guy who connects the computer doesn't turn it on. What a load of crap ktm....
👍
Great bike but horrible headlight!
"Floating panniers" are bloody terrible, I'm surprised they continued with this because the previous ones were bordering on dangerous.
On the plus side, however, those cornering lights do look very good - they actually seem to work.
The new floaters have been tested and shown to reduce weave more than not having them on the bike and folks have ridden with them at 230km/h without issue. So maybe they have them "done right"?
Triumph have had them on the Tiger and Explorer for the last 5 years and everyone took the p*ss. Now KTM have them it's hi-tech LOL
EU Bike Dude ...I opted for the SW Motech Trax Adv and the quick detachable frames. Loaded up to 15-17kg in each pannier, I often had the cruise control set to 170 km/h on my trips, and they don’t budge. Extremely well designed and rugged.
Love it, but what about durability... nobody knows. You sit on the bike not in the bike. Chain. Narrow bars (like a bicycle), quality not @ BMW level...yet. But my favorite... it's NOT a GS.
Failure rate of BMW is 40% per Consumer Reports.
there is a 50000km overhaul video of the LC8, it looked brand new!
Tx
Ktm 1290 the best adventure bike
(gs 1200) - hold my beer...
taibangl ]\
just cant stand the look of it!
How about an American review instead of a european review that totally turns viewers off the second they begin talking jibberish!!!! Blah, blah, blah pip pip cherrio.
David Kina ...this was an informative and articulate review IMO