While Harley may be taking all the limelight with the final release of their Pan Am, the all-new KTM 1290 Super Adventure R is about to arrive in dealership across the UK.
The 2021 KTM 1290 Super Adventure R has been redesigned to let adventurers wander anywhere with added agility, class-leading performance, and an extensive list of electronics that work together to enhance the rider’s feeling while out exploring.
The 23 litres of fuel is now held as low as possible in a 3-part tank clothed in reworked bodywork to provide lower centre of gravity and better stability. The funky new diecast open-lattice swingarm is longer than in the past, again to accentuate stability, especially under acceleration, and they’ve even moved the engine position and tweaked headstock positioning for the same reason.
There’s 220mm of suspension travel at both ends provided by WP XPLOR adjustable technology which has been honed and thoroughly tested across European and North American landscapes. The KTM 1290 Super Adventure R supplements that with all the electronics KTM have developed with Bosch. They join the 6-axis party with lean angle sensors filtering information on the exact pitch and position of the bike and its behaviour. In turn, this affects the degree of severity employed by the Traction Control, Motor Slip Regulation, Motorcycle Stability Control and Offroad ABS. And of course being KTM they let you choose, so all rider assists can be tweaked or disengaged completely.
For power the new Adventure R relies on the Euro 5-ready LC8 which produces 160 hp at 9,000 rpm and 138 Nm of torque at 6,500 rpm. They claim it means the best power-to-weight ratio in the class, but we know that all becomes irrelevant when you slap on crashbars and luggage or eat too many pies in the evening.
If you’ve ridden an earlier model you’ll be delighted to know that there are now two radiators and ducting to reduce the heat you’ll feel on your legs as you sit in the slightly lower (880mm) seat. And as they properly implement changes based on real-life lessons, the air filter is now easily accessible and they’ve even turned its mounting around so that they fins are now vertical, meaning heavier particles will fall to the base of the airbox letting the engine breath better for longer. The service intervals are an admirable 15,000kms.
The gear shifting is apparently slicker, the switchgear redesigned and the new TFT screen more intuitive to use, so if it’s your thing, the new generation KTM 1290 Super Adventure R will be available at UK KTM dealers from March 2021 priced £15,999
