Rennie Scaysbrook | March 10, 2022
It’s taken a year longer to get here than anywhere else, but the KTM 1290 Super Adventure R is finally in North America.
Big dog break dancing. The Super Adventure can crack it sideways with the best of them.
Words and Photography by Rennie Scaysbrook
Imposing.
That’s the best adjective I can think of when describing the 2022 KTM 1290 Super Adventure R. All jacked up and pissed off like a gym junkie at the end of his cycle, the Super Adventure is at the very tip of the big-bore ADV segment and a bike that, in reality, you need a few runs on the adventure board to get the most out of.
This is not a beginner’s bike.
Let’s take a quick look at the numbers: 160 horsepower, 101 lb-ft of torque, 550 pounds of wet weight, 6.1 gallons of tank capacity that’s now split down either side of the front of the chassis like the 890 Adventure R, and a seat height of 34.6 inches, meaning even Lebron James could feel comfy. Like I say, imposing, right?
This machine’s been in development since the beginning of 2018, which is about the same time the old one came out.
As seems to be the case for oh-so-many motorcycles these days, the U.S. was pretty much the last western country to get their hands on the production 1290, even though the bike was largely developed here in the hands of KTM USA’s Quinn Cody. The Super Adventure came out everywhere else as a 2021 model, but it’s here now, so I won’t whine too much.
The Super Adventure itself has been around since 2015 but was aligned to the street/touring crowd, with the Adventure R model making its debut in 2017. It remained largely unchanged until this model, as KTM put its collective focus into the 790/890 Adventure category while development continued apace on the 1290.
Big rocks don’t stand a chance with these bars.
The ’22 1290 Super Adventure R is an all-new machine in everything from chassis to electronics. Shorter, tighter, lighter is the aim of the 2022 game, a large portion of that final part coming via the new frame.
KTM’s trimmed an impressive 22 pounds from the tubular steel chassis. The shortness of the frame has been further emphasized by KTM engineers pulling the steering head a substantial 15mm closer to the rider, which in turn crunches down the rider triangle dimensions when combined with the 0.4-inch lower seat height.
The motor has been rotated forward by two degrees to provide a touch more stability on the front, and those 15mm taken from the steering head have been put into the swingarm length, which helps maintain chassis balance under acceleration and over rough terrain.
This is still a monster of a motorcycle, but perhaps one that isn’t quite as intimidating as before.
Despite its size, the Super Adventure can get into some pretty tight spaces.
The weight saving factor continues with the motor, which has seen a further 3.5 pounds lopped off thanks to thinner crankcases, a new oil circuit, and various nips and tucks from the twin-cylinder’s construction.
New split-style radiators have been fitted to the Super Adventure and help not only to keep everything cool but to narrow the front of the bike. The radiator design is part of the redesigned aesthetics that help direct hot air away from the rider’s legs and gives an added benefit of more efficient cooling for each cylinder that in turn gives more consistent mapping.
Sitting behind the new radiators is the new fuel cell, split in kinda-sorta the same style as the 890 Adventure.
All new plastics are slimmer and lighter than the 2020 edition.
I say kinda-sorta because the 1290’s fuel tank doesn’t go right down the sides of the engine like it does on the little bike but maintains a portion of gas up high like a traditional tank with the sides holding the bulk of it. The tank itself is a three-piece unit and developed in conjunction with the new airbox.
Previously, you needed to remove the fuel tank to get to the airbox to change your air filter. Now, you simply remove the two torx pieces that house the box for your phone, take the box out and you’ve got direct access to the air filter, making changes in the middle of nowhere a far easier option than before.
Those 6.1 gallons are protected by rock-solid crash bars mounted either side and atop the factory-fitted engine guard. You can take these bars off if you choose but you’d be mad to do so as the degree of protection offered far outweighs the weight disadvantage they bring.
The fully adjustable suspension gets a complete reworking with the fork getting new internals via a larger diameter piston, with wheel travel remaining the same at 8.6 inches.
LED headlight with a Daytime Running Light make for an unmistakable face.
The revised PDS shock is a couple of millimeters shorter in length but with the new swingarm angle, wheel travel is also remains unchanged, and the show rolls on Bridgestone’s AX41 rubber, continuing the two-company tie-in that started when the Super Duke of 2020 was fitted with Bridgestone’s S22 tire.
To give you an idea, the last generation Super Adventure 1290 R came to market in 2017 and KTM had the first R&D model of this 2022 edition rolling in Southern California in 2018, so Quinn and the boys have had plenty of time to get everything perfectly dialed on the chassis front.
Our test bike came loaded with every conceivable electronic gizmo KTM could offer (except heated grips and seats, despite the dash telling me they were active in 40° weather!).
The Super Adventure gets two optional electronics upgrades, including the Rally Pack and the Tech Pack. Rally gets you the Rally riding mode to go with the Rain, Street, Sport, Off-Road modes, and you get nine-level adjustable traction control.
If you go for the Tech Pack, you get all the Rally Pack’s features plus Hill Hold Assist, Motor Slip Regulation, and the Quickshifter+ system for clutchless up and down gearshifts. So, get the Tech Pack.
Standard fitment includes traction control, cornering ABS, off-road ABS that lets you disengage the rear brake on the dirt, cruise control, those Rain, Street, Sport, Off-Road engine modes, keyless ignition (why can’t we just have a key, KTM!?), tire pressure monitoring sensors and you can hook your phone up to the glorious seven-inch TFT dash and use the KTM My Ride system that allows Bluetooth for calls, music, and lets you use your maps. The dash lets you choose four “favorites” for the home screen, so you can see your presets at a glance.
New switches are a nice touch.
The dash doesn’t have a touchscreen. Everything is controlled by the new switches fitted for the 2022 model. These are the same as used on the 1290 Super Duke R and give the Super Adventure a touch of modernism over the pretty ancient switch blocks from the first-gen model.
That massive seven-inch dash is a beautiful thing.
It has been several years since I last rode a Super Adventure R, but I remember it being about the largest machine I would ever be comfortable taking off road. This new 2022 model feels slimmer in every area, from the width at the front, to the seat and the tank, the off shoot making for a bike that’s more nimble and maneuverable between the trees without losing any of the renowned stability on the freeway.
Given the sheer size, it’s unlikely you’ll take a 1290 Super Adventure R right into the snotty trails you would on a CRF450X with a big tank, but the KTM does a very good job of flattering its rider when you try and ride a little out of your comfort zone. Quinn Cody and the crew have done a marvelous job with the suspension when the road gets dirty, as the big KTM soaks up rocks and jumps far better than a motorcycle of this size has any right to.
On the street you certainly notice the big dirt bike ergos. It’s not the most comfortable as your arms are set a little higher, which makes you a bit of a sail at high speed. You also need to remember you’re riding on off-road-specific tires as well, so road holding on tarmac isn’t anywhere near as nice as if you had more street-focused rubber.
Off road manners are superb on the Super Adventure, with rider room for days in the cockpit.
When you do take it off-road, you’re going to switch it to Rally mode (you did buy the Rally Pack, didn’t you?), and leave it there. This mode allows you to vary traction control up to nine different levels, it lets you really hang it out in level two, or you can be ultra-cautious in level eight. The sweet spot for me was level three, as it allowed the chassis to behave in the manner for which it was designed without the electronic noose being tightened too hard.
Rolling with the throttle set to Sport mode will give you all the ponies the 1301cc V-twin can muster, and, trust me, it’s all you’ll ever need. Given this looks and feels like a massive dirt bike, having that amount of go on tap is quite remarkable. I’ve seen a colleague of mine take a Super Adventure S to the track in the UK and properly embarrass guys on ZX-10RRs and Panigales, so the performance is never in question.
There’s acceleration for days with the Super Adventure, but in keeping with its big travel ethos, sixth gear is a true overdrive and will drop the revs right down when you’re on the freeway, which, in turn, saves a few drops of fuel.
Road performance is excellent but held back by the off-road-specific tires.
The throttle response is beautifully mapped, especially in slow speed-corners off road where it really matters. There’s almost no jerkiness when you twist the grip—just oodles full of creamy, Austrian-built torque. It’s a sophisticated beast, the 1290 Super Adventure R, but it has an extremely vast spread of performance across so many different terrains that you’ll be hard pressed to fault it.
Which is exactly what we’re going to try and do in a few weeks when we take this and put it against a host of other big-bore travel ADV machines in an extremely comprehensive comparison test. However, even if you don’t read that test and you’re certain the KTM is the one for your big-bore ADV dreams, I’m here to tell you you’ve made an excellent choice, because the 2022 KTM 1290 Super Adventure R is an absolutely brilliant motorcycle. CN.
2022 KTM 1290 Super Adventure R Specifications
| MSRP: |
$19,499 |
| Engine: |
Twin-cylinder, 4-stroke |
| Valvetrain: |
4-valves per cylinder |
| Cooling system: |
Liquid |
| Displacement: |
1301cc |
| Bore x stroke: |
108 x 71mm |
| Fueling system: |
EFI, twin injectors per cylinder, full ride-by-wire 52mm elliptical throttle bodies, fixed-length intake system |
| Compression ratio: |
13.1:1 |
| Exhaust: |
2-2-1 |
| Transmission: |
6-speed with optional Quickshifter+ |
| Clutch: |
PASC slipper clutch, hydraulically operated |
| Electronics: |
Four Riding Modes, Power Modes, Cornering ABS, Traction Control, Quickshifter+, Vehicle Hold Control, Cruise Control, full LED lighting, Daytime Running Light, backlit handlebar switches, 7” TFT color display |
| Chassis: |
Chromium-Molybdenum steel trellis frame, powder-coated |
| Front suspension: |
48mm WP Xplor fork, fully adjustable |
| Rear suspension: |
WP Xplor PDS shock, fully adjustable |
| Front-wheel travel: |
8.6 in. |
| Rear-wheel travel: |
8.6 in. |
| Front brake: |
Dual 320mm discs, radially mounted Brembo monobloc 4-piston, 2-pad calipers, radial master cylinder |
| Rear brake: |
267mm disc, Brembo 2-piston caliper |
| Front tire: |
Bridgestone AX41 90/90 x 21 in. |
| Rear tire: |
Bridgestone AX41 150/70 x 18 in. |
| Rake: |
25.3° |
| Trail: 4.4 in. |
|
| Wheelbase: |
62 in. |
| Seat height: |
34.6 in. |
| Fuel capacity: |
6.1 gal. |
| Weight (wet): |
550 lbs.
|
