2017 KTM 1290 Super Adventure - Long Term Review

2017 KTM 1290 Super Adventure - Long Term Review: Sadly the time has come to return the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S to those nice folks at KTM UK. During my time with the bike I have got to know it's little idiosyncrasy's and in this, my long term "living with" video I not only share those with you, both the positive and negative points, but also take an in depth look at the cost of ownership of the bike. If you're interested in big adventure machines, and in particular what the Super Adventure is like to actually live with, stay tuned!

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My current motorcyles are:-
Honda CRF250L
Triumph Street Triple R
BMW R1200GS
Ducati 899 Panigale

[ronanrogers]

Thorough review - thank you, and well done.

As an owner of the 1290SA here’s my thoughts:

1. Chain drive is fine, and I believe is actually better if you’re a serious Adventure rider as you can actually replace it easily. I fitted a Pro Oiler with GPS that sends a metered dose of oil to the chain according to the distance travelled, which can be varied via the handlebar switch if there’s heavy rainfall. Never had a problem.

2. The luggage is dreadful, and I’m very happy I went with the SW Motech Trax Adventure with the quick detachable frames...is there any better? Superb.

3. Tyres are crap if you get off the asphalt for long. Mine got bogged in wet grass leading into my garage at the farmhouse. I fitted Heidenau K60 Scouts which have been great all round, although I’m speed limited to 190 km/h, and have cruised at 170 without issue

4. Lights are okay, I didn’t think they’re as good as TMF did, but maybe that’s down to my ordinary eyesight. I fitted pretty good Givi S320 LED lights to the crash bars as daytime running lights & of course for foggy and rainy days.

I also fitted a Laser 750 Triple R light bar that neatly fits between the stanchions, and used some custom CNC fork tube brackets. It throws massive light 900 metres down the road. It looks reasonable, neither beautiful nor ugly, but it’s incredible UK manufactured kit.

5. The only failure has been the main switches on the left handlebar, which does all the menu settings and headlight beams. My dipper switch failed, necessitating a whole new switch being fitted under warranty. Failure is not unheard of, but regardless of that it’s a terrible design and very easy to inadvertently turn on high beam

6. Size & bulk - it’s quite large, but not heavy at rest and therefore not heavy underway. I’m 1.79m tall, and it’s at my limits for handling ease because of the height and bulk, but it’s certainly manageable in almost all circumstances. I do need to be extra cautious at rest in traffic because of my tippy toes, and also when doing very slow car park turns at walking pace...practice makes perfect

7. Maintenance - oil and filter changes are easy, if somewhat clumsy & potentially messy because of the twin drain plugs, with the rear plug nestled above part of the exhaust pipe...all doable, but some concentration required.

Rear wheel removal was easy when I got a puncture...but it’s a big wheel and tyre assembly.

Tank removal is somewhat involved because of the cowling etc, but it’s pretty logical. I have the 30 litre tank, which is a beast, so I like to get it below half when I remove the tank.

There’s two very useful Accessory power outlets that are switch activated, which really helped adding lights & chain Oiler pump. Ones up front on the rear left side of the headlight, and the other is back near the tail light assembly under the pillion seat.

I wired in a PDM60 for all of my accessories and it was really easy to find clean routes for all the cables because it’s quite a large bike.

I easily installed an Arrow header (with much smaller cat, and it fixed the backfiring that began when the after market muffler was fitted)...pretty good access to everything.

KTM alloy bash plate easily fitted.

Generally easy to work on, perhaps because it’s so effin big that you generally have good access.

Cleaning - agree with TMF; plenty of nooks and crannies especially around the headlight and wind shield.

8. Riding (isn’t that why we buy them?) - generally brilliant!!! Love the semi active suspension, but don’t really trust its durability (no issues to date, just a fear of the unknown and complex).

Brakes, ABS, traction control & slipper clutch are all superb and confidence inspiring.

No problems with engine heat in a European summer, but the US, Australia etc could be a different issue.

Riding modes work very well, especially throttle control.

Heated grips and seat are for the Arctic. I cook on high.

Balance is superb largely due to the engine design.

A happy owner, who wishes he had more free time.

[richardgroenenboom]

just picked up the 2020 model, great bike, a turned in my Versys 1000 SE 2018 for this one, no regrets and i am still running it in drove 220 km today, got a week to run it in, next saturday she gets her 1000 km service. It is a great bike very much fun, and i love the 2 cilinder engine, thanx for the review it helped making my choice between the BMW 1250 GS and this one, great channel keep up the great work. greetings from the Netherlands, Richard

[King_Harrold]

Hey, great review.

These reviews are always more useful a couple of years on, as they become available on the secondhand market, post PCP deals etc.

I'm looking at this bike and thought I'd check insurance.

For comparison:

Current bike is a 2005 Honda CBR600RR. Comprehensive insurance £180.

KTM Super Adventure 1290s 2017 (got a reg off an eBay advert) is £260 comprehensive.

Not that much of an uplift for me. 33yr old male in Derbyshire. Comprehensive and 9yr protected NCB. Office management job. Licence 15years.

Hope this helps any perspective buyers.

[MotoVibes]

I just wanted to give you a quick shout out - I have been following your channel for more than 3 years. I really enjoyed your content about the BMW R 1200 GS when I was in the market to make the move to an adventure bike. I had the bike for 2 years and switched to the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S for the 2018 season. Of course I watched everyting I could find about the KTM before I made the switch including your excellent reviews! So in both cases your reviews were very helpful. Anyway, I thought I just let you know that I enjoy and appreciate your content a lot! Greetings from Berlin, Germany!

[DaddyRabbitification]

I've noticed here and on a couple of other reviews that heated grips are buried in the menu. All you need to do is press the up arrow on the menu selector and you are immediately into the heated grips menu. similarly, pressing the down arrow puts you immediately into the heated seat menu (if equipped). there is a menu selection to establish this quick action if yours doesn't come that way, as mine did.

[fraancetate]

Im not a biker but i really enjoy your channel, its fascinating to learn about a new subject which you explain in such easy no nonsense terms plus you are great company and a nice person, thanks alot for sharing your brilliant videos

[johndurham]

Obviously I'm commenting a couple of years late £750 for insurance!!!
I collect mine next week and at 51 yrs old with an average post code and 9 years no claims my insurance is £155. That includes protected no claims and pillion cover etc
Considering your cost of ownership was 2/3rds insurance this drops massively for me.
Great in depth review though 👍

[richardchidwick]

Another practical and balanced review. My go to channel when I want to get real views of a bike that says it like it is. Many thanks -already looking forward to the GS v KTM comparison, keep them coming Mr.

[Saellem]

I absolutely love long-term reviews because of the depth of information they give. This one was especially great, thank you.

[marcindemczuk]

Thank you for the review. Always a pleasure to watch.
I believe that it would be more fair to have insurance quote from multiple insurers (although KTMs are in high risk insurance group and thus are expensive to insure).
As R1200GS owner, i gave driveshaft vs chain a bit of thinking in the past and now strongly believe that the strongest point behind driveshaft is lack of maintenance.
With chain you can get scottiler (or similar) and reduce maintenance (bike will be more messy due to potential oil spill).
Driveshafts are nice until there is an issue with them. New one costs close to $1000 and reconditioned ones around $400-450 (no idea how long they will last) and that is for part only. Rubber boots around driveshaft joins are $80 each and final drive $600 (all prices approximate). That is a lot of money if any of these will fail. In contrast, $175 will buy you chain and sprocket kit for KTM 1190 (just as an example). Additionally, unless you ask dealership/mechanic to check your final drive, you cannot see its condition (unlike chain). Driveshafts can last for a very long time but there are posts on the forums when they failed on people with 15k-30k miles. In such case cost of driveshaft and labour associated with replacement will greatly exceed cost of 2-3 sets of chain and sprockets.

[kimoleopoldo]

I have a 2018 and ive had it for 1 year. Love it today as driving it from the dealership except got some skills ....fast...tough reliable and attractive. From harleys. Dirtbikes. Cafe style...i owned them. Nothing comes close to the feeling i get from this bike.

[BobW]

Andy, a good balanced review as ever, with your own USP of YouTubers 👏 I’m seriously looking to add a new ‘22 version of this, and was surprised not to find a TMF update for the 21/22 model with its many changes.

[biker_dan]

Another good review, , , I am picking up my new 1290 Super Adventure s next week... In Australia KTM has an offer on where they are dropping $6200 off the price, on the road price is now $22990 which is an offer no one could refuse, , thats about 12, 675 Pounds Sterling at the present rate..

[MrEmanuelFerreira]

755 for the insurance? in Portugal is 100 euros or something like that!!
I prefer Chain to Shaft, weight saving, and when it will go wrong, you can get a chain anywhere in the world. ;)

[armosphere]

Another great video, TMF. I really appreciate you doing balanced reviews - there isn't enough coverage of downsides to new bikes (although i acknowledge top-end new bikes are very good these days), appreciate your efforts!

[gordonparish]

Great feed back pal as always. On the back of your review and many others I’ve bought a new one, cheers

[franckystudio]

First of all, thank you for this quite interesting video. I will be switching from 1290 SDR 2016 to 1290 SAS 2020 in few days, so your feelings and analysis for this bike were nice to hear. I totally agree with you on the fact that the only thing that could "prevent" you from choosing this bike over others in that category is the design... the only point that made me hesitate, a bit.... That LC8 engine is a work of art and is sensational. You add all these great electronic features and the confort of a long travel suspensions bike and you get what I would call the best all around bike of the market. Price of insurance is less expansive in France (in my case) and maintenance service seems to be a little cheaper also....

[keyop]

Finally test rode one yesterday. ❤️ IT! 🙂 Been out on my Street today. Not ready to give that up just yet. Think I might have to get used to living on bread and water.

[teapotone]

Another stocker of a vid bud, loved that. I keep being told to test ride one of these as an alternative to the GS, but the chain and looks put me off I think? I'll certainly take one out though once I'm back riding again. Great vid mate, keep'em coming 👍

[twowheelsoneleg]

These full "living with " reviews combined with your balanced unbiased style are invaluable to anyone considering a purchase. You get so much deeper than the traditional magazine reviews even their "long termers" which you only get piecemeal month by month. Good to see you getting a mention in MCN keep up the good work