Super Adventure
SUPER ADVENTURE
CW TEST
2015 KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE
BARBARI OR BENIGN, KTM'S 1290 ADVENTURE BIKE SATISFIES YOUR EVERY RIDING MOOD
Blake Conner
When the KTM 1290 Super Duke R concept was first shown at EICMA in 2012, we couldn't believe our eyes. At the time, it seemed so over the top as to be almost absurd. But now, after having lived with a Super Duke R for more than a year—and also having logged serious miles on two versions of the 1190 Adventure—stuffing the 1,301cc twin into the brand-new 1290 Super Adventure makes complete sense.
How so? With one of the very best electronic packages in all of motorcycling, the Super Adventure can be anything you want it to be. Mile-eating tourer? No problem. Roost-chucking adventurer?
Yep. Wheelie-crazed hooligan? Yeah, that too. With engine—and now suspensionmanagement so advanced, there is no such thing as too much horsepower. A couple of quick flicks through the onboard menu, and the Super ADV can be as tame as a kitten or as fearsome as a tiger. But that super-size V-twin is only part of the news with this bike; it has a whole lot of other features that are just as notable, though none of them gets your attention in quite the same way as its engine.
The Super ADV’s standout features include: semi-active WP suspension, cruise control, heated rider seat and pillion, LED cornering lights, electronic engine-braking control (called MSR: Motor Slip Regulation), and Hill Hold Control (HHC). Not only are these new to KTM’s Adventure range, but also they are a first for the Austrian company in general.
Before I tell you how the new KTM Super Adventure was to ride, let’s take a closer look at some of these features.
Most significant is the WP suspension, which has a 48mm fork and a monoshock that are electronically controlled by the bike’s suspension control unit (SCU). This happens in real time based on information from stroke sensors on each unit and a pair of accelerometers front and rear. The SCU applies damping changes instantly and constantly to maintain the desired preferences selected by the rider in the menu, with Comfort, Street, Sport, and Off-road options. These selections are totally independent of the bike’s similarly named ride modes. Rear preload can be set via a menu in the computer, while the SCU automatically adjusts damping depending on the load and weight distribution readings it takes from the sensors.
While on the subject of electronic wizardry, KTM’s MSR is an electronic means of limiting compression braking to the rear wheel and helping the slipper clutch keep the bike stable under hard braking while downshifting, by cracking open the throttle butterflies slightly to reduce load. Since the stability control system knows the bike’s lean angle, this is taken into account as well. Hill Hold Control, another new feature, keeps the Super Adventure from rolling backward on inclines by automatically applying the brakes for five seconds when the ECU senses the vehicle is on a hill, all without the rider having to be on the brake. If the rider hasn’t started to move forward after five seconds, the brake pressure is slowly released, but if the rider wants HHC to re-engage, all he needs to do is reapply the brake to start the cycle over again. This should make getaways a snap when you have a passenger and fully loaded bags.
Another cool feature: two LED arrays built into the leading edge of the fairing. These are not auxiliary lights in the traditional sense; they illuminate only when the bike is banked over. The three LEDs on both sides are aimed at different angles, and they light up in sequence as the Super Adventure reaches different lean angles. At to degrees, a single LED lights up, followed by the second at 20 degrees and then all three at 30. This is designed to dramatically improve lighting on a twisty road at night by filling in the void when your leaning motorcycle’s headlamp is pointed off the road at
places you really don’t want to end up.
Back to the one thing that makes the KTM Super Adventure such an E-ticket ride: its engine. Although sharing many components with the 1290 Super Duke R powerplant, such as the cylinders, connecting rods, and pistons, the crankshaft’s flywheel mass has been increased by 4.4 pounds for improved bottom-end tractability. The cylinder heads and camshafts are also different. Additionally, the ECU tuning is unique, sharing nothing with the naked bike. KTM engineers fine-tuned this engine to give it a powerband that’s more suitable for a luxury adventure-tourer than a complete nutcase like the Super Duke R, the latter of which made 151.6 hp and 93.3 pound-feet of peak torque on the Cycle World dyno. We expect the Super Adventure to produce comparable torque figures, a broader powerband, and slightly less horsepower at the peak of the rev range.
The press introduction and ride for the new Super Adventure took place
on Gran Canaria, the second largest island in the archipelago off the coast of northwest Africa. This felt appropriate because I had ridden the 1190 Adventure on neighboring Tenerife for the first time two years ago. It was after riding that bike that I returned and told the rest of the Cycle World staff that the 1190 might just be the single best all-around motorcycle ever made. Now, though, after spending two days exploring the inner island’s vast wealth of twisty roads, I have to say that this new bike trumps the 1190.
The first thing you must know about the Super Adventure is this: It possesses almost a diabolical amount of performance. Despite all of the amazing electronics put in place to save your butt when you can’t restrain yourself, it’s still an animal of the most predatory nature. To get a true sense of what lies underneath the layers of intervention,
I shut off the TC completely, which also happens to allow the bike to wheelie undeterred. As we headed up into the mountains at a brisk pace, I quickly discovered what a nasty (in a good way) machine KTM has built. Like the Super Duke R that preceded it, the Super Adventure produces instant and amazing acceleration. The front tire just skims the road surface at times or occasionally snaps into huge wheelies. This is truly amazing when you consider how composed the Super Adventure is when all of its electronic systems are on.
Scrolling through the ride modes during my two days of riding, I can assure you this KTM can act as tame and smooth as a Gold Wing, able to adjust its power to levels that give the rider massive confidence on slick or wet roads. And in Off-road mode, the rider can hang out the rear like he’s on a giant dirt bike with the benefit of TC. When Sport mode is selected and TC is enabled,
the Super Adventure provides the rider with just the right safety net, boosting confidence and safety.
All of these systems work so effectively together that it makes me think the KTM Super Adventure might just be the perfect single bike for almost any type of riding. As with the Super Duke R, the Super Adventure has power everywhere, but what’s most notable is the low-end torque. This will be most appreciated when moving away from a stop on a bike loaded with a passenger, luggage, and a full 8 gallons of fuel (two more than the 1190).
Adding to KTM’s growing list of electronic management is the Super ADV’s new semi-active suspension. Along with the bike’s industry-leading ABS and Motorcycle Stability Control system, the suspension adds another layer of safety that is all but invisible to the rider, whether riding fast on a twisty road or just touring along the highway. Once the rider has selected the suspension mode, the WP units constantly monitor inputs from every integrated system to provide optimal damping balance. Never on any occasion did I feel the big Super Adventure wallow or feel like it had less than optimal damping for the situation. Chassis balance front to rear always felt excellent, and ride quality was easily selectable: plush or firm.
One of the fork’s side benefits—which I tested in a most extreme way—is its anti-dive function. In Comfort or Street mode, the fork instantly stiffens under hard braking to keep the forward weight shift from bottoming the suspension, which should keep your passenger
happy on sporty rides. But for those riders who prefer a bit of natural dive to help the bike steer through tight corners, Sport mode allows just that. The system reacts so instantaneously that I could feel it making adjustments as I crossed over small sections of rough, broken pavement. On other occasions, I was amazed at how quickly the bike added compression damping after a wheelie had been set down.
Of the other new features, HHC is a standout. It worked exactly as advertised, and it will take away some of the frustrations of riding with a passenger. It was a bit more difficult to sense the effectiveness of the electronic compression braking control, most likely because the engine already has a wellset-up slipper clutch and the electronic element is so transparent in function.
The LED cornering lights are a simple and effective solution for lighting up sections of corners that are not normally covered by a highor low-beam headlight.
Ergonomically, the new KTM Super Adventure has taken a big step forward. The new seats, with individual heat controls for rider and passenger, are very supportive and comfortable. After a long day in the saddle, I felt totally fresh and could have spent substantially more time riding. Another big factor contributing to rider comfort is the manually adjustable touring windshield. There’s good range of height adjustment to allow the rider to find a buffet-free pocket of air. My only complaint is that the thick upper edge of the windshield would distort my view into corners on really twisty roads.
One of our complaints against the standard KTM 1190 Adventure is that it lacks the creature comforts and features of the BMW Ri200GS/Adventure. With the introduction of the new Super Adventure, KTM has addressed those shortcomings, building a bike that will peel the paint off its German rival from the north and enter into the same hyper-performance realm as Ducati’s Multistrada. At $20,499 (including bags), the 2015 KTM 1290 Super Adventure is definitely the company’s flagship, a premium offering that still undercuts the Bavarian boxer significantly when optioned similarly.
So, as absurd as this bike might have seemed originally, KTM has succeeded in convincing me that the new Super Adventure is exactly the nasty machine the ADV market needs. ETiM
