KTM 1290 Super Adventure in the top test
The strongest travel enduro
Even more displacement, power, torque, tank volume and richer equipment than the 1190s: the KTM 1290 Great Adventure had to prove itself in the top test.
"What-for-one-need-one"-Questions are fashionable among us motorcyclists. They are asked for every technical innovation, match our average age, which is nearing 50, and give the questioner an aura of skeptical wisdom. In the case of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure the question arises: Why do you need a travel enduro with 160 HP? KTM does not answer this question, nor does it brush it aside, but instead exposes it as meaningless. Because its 1301 cm³ engine, which comes from the Super Duke, can do so many things so well that you cannot do it justice if you only look at the maximum performance. In the lower speed range it can glide through town or over narrow gravel roads, in the middle at first moderately and then more and more powerfully, and at the top it can happily turn up to the power peak at 9300 rpm and beyond.
KTM 1290 Super Adventure in the top test
The strongest travel enduro
2 6.1 liters per 100 km at a moderate speed
Who then fills the tank hundreds of kilometers later, prompted by the almost too cautious gasoline level indicator, gets an idea of how the developers fuel the temperament of their engine: with ample gasoline injections. The state-of-the-art injection basically does nothing else than the antiquated accelerator pump, it just makes it better dosed and more efficient. Result: Even at a moderate speed on country roads with lots of curves, ascents and descents, the KTM 1290 Super Adventure consumes 6.1 liters per 100 kilometers; Driven with high performance, it can also be two liters more. The large-piston V2 still consumes 6.0 liters at a constant 130 km / h.
It was advisable to begin this test with an appreciation of the engine, because at first it completely dominates the driving experience with the KTM 1290 Super Adventure. The longer you are on the road with it, the more precisely you can see that it creates favorable conditions in most respects to utilize the potential of its engine.
Enduro
KTM 1290 Super Adventure in the driving report
Does that still make any sense?
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3 Flat steering head angle, long wheelbase and caster
Thanks to the wider handlebar, the KTM 1290 Super Adventure is even more comfortable than the 1190; that it forces your knees a little further apart because of the expansive tank hardly bothered. The mighty motorcycle can easily be steered far into the sporty area. The driver has enough freedom of movement to brace himself against the brilliant acceleration or to support a quick change of lean angle with a subtle hanging-off to one side and the other. On very narrow, winding roads or in the top test slalom – whenever the centimeter counts – you want an unobstructed view of the front wheel. There the wide front and the additional wind deflectors behind the windshield are annoying.
With a flat steering head angle, long wheelbase and caster – both values significantly longer than on the BMW R 1200 GS Adventure – the chassis geometry of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure is on the stable side of the scale. That can also be felt; it wants to be folded into an inclined position with a lot of pull on the handlebars. But the driver gets used to it quickly, especially since the stiff chassis allows precise steering and offers good feedback. You don’t have to worry about excessive steering angle. The long wheelbase is also a good way of slowing down the pronounced pitching movements of the motorcycle with the long suspension travel.
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4 speed levels of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure, practical
The semi-active damping of the WP spring elements, however, takes on most of this task. It constantly processes the measured values from all possible sensors and adjusts the damping depending on the driving situation and the nature of the road surface – the clicking of the valves can be clearly heard. When braking, it increases the pressure damping at the front and decreases the pulling damping at the rear, and vice versa when accelerating. The preload of fork and shock absorber remains constant during a ride. The suspension strut can be adjusted to the changed load in four stages while the engine is running. The spectrum of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure ranges from the solo driver level to two people with luggage, and the individual levels have proven to be practical.
In summary, that can also be attested to the damping of the shock absorber, apart from perhaps a little too gentle adjustment in comfort mode. Street mode is the right choice for most situations, but if you want to reach it properly, you’ll learn to appreciate the Sport damping mode on the rear wheel. In this mode, the KTM 1290 Super Adventure conveys an unadulterated feeling for the enormous grip of the rear tire. Even for two-person operation on bumpy roads, the sport mode is more suitable than the comfort mode, which comes up with such low pressure damping that the rear suspension sometimes sags or feels like it because it gets far into the progressive range.
5 Fork works better on bad roads
The fork’s damping control is less easy to understand in some situations. It responds hesitantly to small waves, i.e. in the so-called high-speed range. As far as can be determined – a fork whose damping is regulated by electronically controlled proportional valves is not as easy to test as a conventional one – the fork of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure runs easily mechanically, so the hesitant response seems to be caused by the hydraulics will.
Wherever it comes from, it causes constant slight bouncing of the front end in bends with bumps, which can even increase to real shimmy with light drivers. It gets a little better in comfort mode, while the fork feels blocked in sport mode. The MOTORRAD testers went with the KTM 1290 Super Adventure on a particularly bad, rough road with a lot of skepticism, but were pleasantly disappointed there: If the bumps hit the front end, the fork works very well, even the tight sport mode is acceptable and handlebar slapping is not an issue. For the much more frequent normal driving program, one would like to see a coordination with the front of the comfort mode and the slightly softened rear of the sport mode, but this mix is not available with the KTM 1290 Super Adventure. So the street mode remains the most acceptable compromise.
6 KTM 1290 Super Adventure with a tendency to pendulum
It is also difficult to understand the tendency of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure to oscillate, which differs only slightly from the 1190 Adventure in this respect. As already mentioned, the chassis geometry offers all the prerequisites for stable straight-line stability, and the unloaded motorcycle can be driven on the motorway up to a top speed of 250 km / h. However, even at a slower pace, you can feel that the Super Adventure is a ticklish motorcycle in terms of aerodynamics, which can easily be provoked to stir the steering by gusts of wind or wind whirls from the cars in front. With empty suitcases she starts to commute beyond 200 and when fully loaded she even starts at around 170 km / h.
Well, that fits in with KTM’s recommendation not to drive faster than 150 with a full suitcase load of ten kilograms per side. So no one can say they were not warned. The fact that the pendulous KTM 1290 Super Adventure continues unimpressed when the throttle is vigorously turned off is irritating. Anyone who is forced to brake while the handlebars are slightly agitated by a veering truck spends practically the entire deceleration phase in the wake of its vortex and can experience the motorcycle swinging below 100 km / h. In general, when the vibrations set in, it is better to first apply the rear brake and then slowly take your foot off the accelerator until the movement subsides.
7 Brake system coordinated overly carefully
While KTM relies on the discipline and / or callousness of the Super Adventure riders when it comes to driving stability, the braking system has been carefully tuned. It’s not a hardware issue; Brake calipers, discs and pads of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure could also decelerate a super athlete appropriately. The control quality of Bosch ABS components is also beyond any doubt. It is a deliberate renunciation of braking power, which in ABS mode Road from 100 km / h does not allow a higher average deceleration than 8.8 m / s². Combined with the sport mode of the damping setting, the values are even a tad worse because the anti-dive function, which is active in the other two modes, is switched off here.
What the brake system of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure can do can be found out in off-road mode, in which the rollover detection is switched off and the rear wheel is allowed to lock. 9.6 m / s² is an impressive announcement, but the accompanying dance on the front wheel and the whistling of the tortured rear tire are not for everyone. An optimized road mode would be better.
8 functions and warnings give the left hand plenty to do
For those who are confused by the sheer number of modes – and for the author himself – here is an overview: The electronics offer four driving modes, Sport, Street, Rain and Offroad. The first two differ only in the throttle response and how the traction control intervenes, in the last two the power is reduced. The semi-active chassis of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure offers a four-stage damping setting in the Sport, Street, Comfort and Offroad modes; the preload of the shock absorber can also be adjusted in four stages of the load. The ABS, in turn, can be operated in the Road and Offroad modes, which differ as stated above. In addition, the Super Adventure boasts the ABS called MSC, which is suitable for leaning, multi-stage seat and grip heating, a cruise control that turns the right handlebar fitting into a huge switch box, tire pressure sensors and a cornering light activated by a lean angle sensor.
Apart from the MSC and the cornering lights, which are controlled automatically, all of the above-mentioned functions and warnings can and want to be set and monitored from the handlebars, which especially gives the left hand on the handlebars plenty to do and distracts from driving.
It is wise to configure the favorites menu with all the information that you want to see constantly on the display and to take the time to stop at the roadside to switch between the various driving and damping modes.
9 Heated handles and seats, cornering lights and wind protection
KTM certainly has reasons for not equipping the KTM 1290 Super Adventure with a gearshift assistant after the 1190, but it was precisely this luxury that the MOTORRAD testers would have liked. It would go well with the sporty, dynamic character of this motorcycle.
Finally, a word about a special test day. It began early in the morning with a 120-kilometer motorway tour to determine 130 consumption, continued with the driving and braking tests on the Michelin test site in Salon de Provence and ended after another 450 kilometers on small and tiny, often bumpy streets in the evening after eight o’clock. An exhilarating but exhausting ride. It had rained days before, muddy streams ran over many streets, after sunset the temperature dropped rapidly to four degrees, the last 60 kilometers were driven in the dark. And the testers gratefully accepted the amenities the KTM 1290 Super Adventure offered. Grip and seat heating, ABS, traction control, cornering light, damping modes and wind protection. Why do you need all of this? Quite simply: for intensive motorcycling.
Innovation cornering light
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Very helpful in the dark: the cornering light of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure with headlight range adjustment.
The KTM 1290 Super Adventure is the first KTM with cornering lights. Activated with signals from the lean angle sensor, it provides further evidence of the numerous possibilities that arise through clever electronic networking.
The so-called adaptive cornering lights of the BMW K 1600 GT and the R 1200 RT swivel more and more out of the central axis of the headlights, analogous to the incline of the machine, and can thus illuminate the bends in front of the motorcycle . For the cornering lights of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure, KTM has chosen a simpler, but also well-functioning solution: two side light units, each with three groups of LEDs, which are activated at ten, 20 and 30 degrees incline. You feel your way further and further into the curve as if with light fingers and can even be adjusted in the light range. The effect is amazing. The auxiliary headlights not only illuminate the curve, but also guide the driver’s gaze due to the time delay in which they illuminate. The tendency, which can often be observed, to move to the middle of the street in left-hand bends due to uncertainty about the suddenly much too short cone of the main light, is reduced as well as the risk of getting into the opposite lane in right-hand bends.
Downside of headlights
The main headlight is a downer in the innovative lighting system of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure. The fact that its yellowish light does not match the cold white glow of the cornering lights is just a blemish. On the other hand, the fact that it shines comparatively weakly, spotty and briefly is very annoying.
Even the high beam, which is often used on lonely roads, does not give the driver an undisturbed view ahead. Too much light emits upwards, is reflected back and forth in the windshield and dazzles. A small cover over the headlight could help.
Conclusion
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Pictures: KTM 1290 Super Adventure in the top test
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Technical specifications
38 Pictures
Pictures: KTM 1290 Super Adventure in the top test
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