First Ride: 2023 KTM 1290 Adventure S

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I’m going to have to re-do this road test. A “do-over,” if you will. As in, I need to test KTM’s 1290 Adventure S again. Preferably in Italy. Or, at least, some place with similarly lax enforcement of speeding laws. As beautiful as Austria is — and as impressive a viewing as KTM’s Motorhall Museum was — it’s the height of cruelty to have to test a motorcycle as potent and capable as the 1290 on roads as enthusiastically policed as those around Munderfing, the spiritual and production home of KTM. Indeed, trying to put a “Ready to Race” KTM 1290 through its paces on public roads in Österreich is a little like asking Michael Phelps to do laps in a five-metre pool; quick second-and-a-half spurts do not capture the majestic power of either.

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But I did nevertheless glean some insight into KTM’s latest super adventurer. The biggest surprise was that, contrary to everything I read on ADV forums, the 1290’s seat was quite comfortable. Especially so, in fact. Now, to be sure, seat comfort is a personal judgment. Nonetheless, the Adventure S’ perch hit all the right buttons for me. It’s firm without being hard; shaped, but still mostly flat; and it has no massive angled portion at the front to trap private parts in an excruciating battle with the gas tank. Seriously, the big KTM’s seat is superior to that on the GS or Multistrada, and, Lord, what I wouldn’t do to have it on my V-Strom 1000.

The other thing that stood out is that KTM has the best man-machine digital interface in the motorcycle biz. Dramatically easier to use than either BMW’s — with its infernal “multi-controller” — or Ducati’s, the KTM digital dashboard is both powerful and intuitive. A simple four-way toggle and “click” button will control where you go and access the information; while a simple back button gets you back to the home page when you screw up. The submenus are logically laid out, sufficiently so that the Adventurer S is the easiest motorcycle I’ve found on which to adjust the suspension on the fly.

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Speaking of which, the big KTM has a few new items that I’ve been demanding for years. Along with the standard-issue rear pre-load setting that can be set up for solo riding and two-up touting, the KTM also allows for rider-chosen settings. I’d call them “manual,” except that all the adjustment is done by computer. Nonetheless, KTM’s system allows you to choose pre-load height in 10-per-cent increments between zero and 100 per cent, a far better system than relying on mandatory factory settings.

Being a bum-up kinda guy, I had the rear pre-load set to 50 per cent even for riding solo, getting the big Adventure with its large 120/70ZR19 front Mitas Terra Force-R to turn in more quickly (the rear is an equally-humongous-for-an-adventure-bike 170/60-ZR17). So impressive and so welcome. And, as I said, a doddle to modify on the fly. Oh, and the front fork’s pre-load can be set in the same increments

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As for the suspension setting themselves — as in the damping — that’s one of the questions that needs answering in a longer road test. Suffice it to say that, even in Comfort mode, KTM’s suspension setting are on the firm side. Compression damping for the WP Semi-Active Technology shock and forks seems especially strong. Just as hammering the gas for barely a second is no way to test a motor, trolling through Austrian side-roads at 80 kilometres per is no way to test high-performance suspension. My impression for our short road test was that I’d prefer more variability — especially on compliance side of the equation — but I cannot be at all certain. Again, think Canadian speed limits more enthusiastically enforced.

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Another thing needing elucidation would be the seating position. Oh, the stretch from arse to pegs is expansive, and, as I said, the seat itself is comfy cozy. The reach to the handlebar, on the other hand, is a bit of a stretch. However, in proper dirt-bike fashion, the handlebar is rotated forward for better ergonomics while standing (yes, even the road-oriented S version of the Adventure can’t escape KTM’s dirt-bike roots). Would simply rotating them back to a more sitting-friendly position solve the problem? With but three hours to put on miles and, lacking the correct size Torx bit, I don’t know. It’s just one more item to confirm when we get to hammer the 1290 in the manner it deserves.

One thing I can say is that the windscreen — and its incredibly easy adjustability — worked a charm. Positioned low, it was perfect to sporty riding; Twist the adjustment wheel into its high position, and it did a good job of deflecting wind at speed.

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Of course, the main reason that I need to sample this bike in a better — that should be read less “likely to incarcerate” — environment is, no surprise, the engine. For, if I figured out anything in my three hours on KTM’s 1290 Adventure bike — there are both R and S versions available — it’s that they really are as “monstrous” as all the road tests claim. For the life of me, I don’t understand why anyone needs an adventure bike — an appellation that usually includes the word “touring” in there as well — that can pop third-gear roll-on wheelies at a 100 per, but Lord knows it’s intoxicating.

Trundle out of the KTM marketing department parking lot and you could almost feel confident that you’re up to the task, the big 75-degree-V-twin’s throttle response actually a little woolly just off idle. Ditto as you torque through the lower gears. Oh, you’re well aware at all times that there’s 1301 cc — I have no idea why it’s called a “1290” other than all KTM’s bikes end with those two digits — beneath your posterior, but it still feels like almost an appropriate amount of power.

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Twist it above five grand — especially in the lower three gears — and all kinds of hell break loose. The front wheel gets light, the horizon does its Star Wars hyperdrive impression, and that big lump of an engine starts quaking — literally quaking — in anticipation of scaring you into soiling trou. It certainly managed to scare me. This much power — KTM claims 160 hp, but it feels like more — on a race track makes (some) sense, but it feels, at first blush at least, just a tad excessive on public roads. Especially in, agonizingly speed-concious Austria.

Of course, for many motorcyclists — that might even be most in the adventure segment, considering the recent horsepower race — excessive is just the right amount of power. Hence, why I have already arranged with my new good friend Riaan Neveling, KTM’s head of global marketing, to borrow the bike again next year, this time for KTM Italia. It’ll be a lot easier to find someplace where the big Katoom can exorcise its demons in a land where speed limits go to die.

One last thing. KTM Canada’s base MSRP for the 1290 Adventure Touring is but $21,799. Yes, most will leave the showroom floor costing more because KTM offers so many accessories — some of which should probably be standard equipment — but nonetheless that’s an attractive price. I really am looking forward to a more thorough pummelling of the big orange machine.