12 Month Review (Love & Hate'ish) - 2022 KTM 1290 Super Adventure S

After 12 months of ownership, what do I love & hate about the 2022 KTM 1290 Super Adventure S. Long story short, I love the bike, but it does have a few quirks.
Soft luggage top box base 3D print files. Not the prettiest, but functional 😀
www.thingiverse.com/thing:6367987

[@elkruno]

I have made 26700 km just in 13 months. Can not be more happy, 0 issues at all. All brands have some issues, its a fact. Depend on how lucky you are and which driver you are as well, mantainance etc… cheers from Barcelona!

[@motocrad]

Hi, totally agree, great to hear you've done so many miles with no issues. Thanks for the comment :)

[@markfromleeds]

Loved your review pal. Genius how you mounted your soft luggage well done with that!

[@motocrad]

Thanks fella, yep, any chance to use the 3D printer 😀

[@jaronard1]

Suspension mode in sport mitigates most of the head shake when removing hands from bars, or accelerating quickly.

[@blackherring2009]

About fuel cap - man you are doing it all wrong! :) When you atop at petrol station - turn off the bike with side stand! Put down side stand - engine will turn off you step off the bike and open fuel cap. It will not lock up. :) Generally stopping engine with kick stand is good habit as you will not make it roll accidentally as it always will be in gear. I live in mountain area and that is essential thing.

[@motocrad]

That makes a lot of sense, sounds like a good way of doing it. To be honest I was struggling to come up with negatives 😉

[@blackherring2009]

@@motocrad I got mine only yesterday. :) Was watching your video to understand what to expect. Thank you for sharing! My positives and negatives from the first day of riding: Gearbox is amazing. Menu layout is really good. Stability is outstanding, same like my 890R, squeezing through traffic in rushhour through lanes really good, same like with 890R. Things I had to do immediately: remove rubber grips, adjust seat height , readjust handlebars - and both levers in terms of tilt and reach distance. negatives: while riding on bad roads or cobblestone roads - windscreen rattles and vibrates a lot, so there is no way I am mounting GPS on Powerparts mount. Need to have alternative solution. I decided to ride at least 1000 or 2000 km to understand what I will need or not need to add to the bike. I don't know about tires yet, because weather here was wet and cold, so I was basically going all over the place with rear tire sliding out frequently. But I need few more days to make sure I understand if I like them or should I change them later. That's about it after the first day . Thank you again for video!

[@motocrad]

Great review, sounds like you're getting to grips with the bike pretty quick. Totally agree on the powerparts gps mount, I don't find that mine rattles, but it certainly vibrates which is why I opted for the Touratech mount. All the best with your new machine & thanks for watching :)

[@cliftonsr]

I had to use a 1290 Super Adventure R rally seat for my 2022 KTM 1290 Super Adventure R and it gave me more leg room as well as being a lot more soft and comfortable. No more sore tail bone for sure. Awesome video.

[@motocrad]

Thank you. I think the rally seat is the only one I haven't tried 😕

[@sd5458]

My problem with the indicator button is that it wears out my left hand glove on the thumb very quickly. Pain in the ass along with the preload adjuster warning on start. Other than that it's a great bike.

[@jordan_drones]

KTM 1290 Super Adventure🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@FastyRides]

Hiya pal. yes you can change the battery to stop the pre load, i personally didn't bother. I have also heard that if you keep the bike on a trickle charger the error should go away. I am keeping mine on one at the minute and haven't had the error come up yet. Fasty

[@motocrad]

Thanks fella, that's a good tip. I think waiting for the dash to finish the startup bit also helps 😀

[@daviddavis6618]

Hi, My 1290 Sas has now 17‘000km and it’s a lot of fun. The negative details you mentioned I have seen these, too, but after getting used to it, who really cares? The important things are the outstanding engine, the excellent suspension, the very comfortable ACC, etc. I only once had an issue and it was my fault: very first ride out in spring, the battery was super weak, and unfortunately I switched the engine off shortly after leaving home. But I had a charger in the top case, and after 40‘ charging at a local shop, it started again, and later that day I fully charged the battery for a few hours No issues at all sice then! Very reliable bike in my view. I can’t speak for others, but some of my BMW friends (we are crossing the Alps, doing long tours together) seem to have more technical issues than I. All the best 😀

[@motocrad]

Hi, certainly is a lot of fun, i recently fitted some 70/30 tyres and now I can take the fun off-road. 2 years old so less precious about dropping now 😉 Seems to be luck of the draw, similar to cars. I've had Land Rovers in the past and never had any trouble, yet they have a terrible reputation. I'm hoping to do the Alps by the end of the year. All the best.

[@goncalom1898]

How do you like the akrapovic sound? I’m considering buying one. How do you compare it to the stock exhaust with DB killers in?

[@motocrad]

Hi, yes it sounds better than stock, but it's not much louder/throat'ier with the DB Killers in. I am going to take the DB Killers out just to scratch that itch, watch out for a future video 😉 Bottom line is it looks & sounds better than stock, £1300 better, hmm, tough call. If loud is what you're after then something like the Arrow Sonora or Wings might be a better choice. If loud isn't what you're after then for me the Akra is a good option.

[@user-qb3hr7rb2q]

Regarding the filler cap delay - try using the kill switch rather than ignition switch when fueling. If you have to spend longer at the fuel station, hit the ignition switch to turn off the electronics after fuelling, and take your time.

[@motocrad]

I'll try that next time I'm out, thanks for the tip 😃

[@AlexandreBlondin]

Just curious... What was the warning you got on the dashboard starting at 19:42? I just did a road test on a 2024 SAS and loved it, but it did throw a similar warning about the key being out of range, when it was sitting right in the cubby on the front of the tank. I'm not worried about the mechanicals of this bike but KTM electronics get me a little nervous.

[@motocrad]

Hi, the warning was the Ice Warning that comes on when the ambient temp drops to 4°c or below. The only time I've seen the Key Out Of Range warning when riding was when I had the ARA (Anti Relay Attack) feature turned on. Turn ARA off and no more warnings. I think when you have ARA on, the key goes to sleep to prevent the attack motion should prevent it from sleeping, but not always. I've done a video on the Keyless Ignition and talked about the ARA some more 😀 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mmTPo3iLp52Bf7ssi=jZw7T1z31dKPnz6V

[@steliosmpourounis4876]

Hi there...Good video.But how many kms or miles does the bike have now???

[@motocrad]

Hi & thank you 😃, Its just rolled over 6000 miles.

[@piotrmodnicki3406]

Hi thanks for your input well done 👍🏻, now I have a question I’m a 1250 gsa rider and have been almost as long as o can remember 😂🙈, and my question is does it really solve the problem with shaking after you have changed the tires ? I’m considering changing to this bike fancy something new but this issue would really put me off as I’m not an average gsa rider I mean always have a fast tempo. And I live in Bawaria so motorway for my it’s always around 180/200 kmh Please can you provide some input on that , is the bike at least a little bit like the gsa at this sort of speeds with the metzeller tires on ? Thank you so much in advance. And safe travels.

[@motocrad]

Hi, thank you and yes I can confirm that changing the tyres does solve the shaking issue. I must add though that I only noticed the shaking previously if I let go of the bars. I've not ridden a GSA so I couldn't compare. I can say though that I have done 233kmh, on a private road, and the KTM felt fine. Not sure I'd want to ride at that speed for too long though. I made a video reviewing the Metzeler Tourance Next 2 tyres and I think I demonstrate that the shaking is fixed in that video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5zEiqmDgt94nqc I recently upgraded the windscreen to the Puig Touring screen and that has really helped with wind protection at higher speeds.

[@piotrmodnicki3406]

@@motocrad Thank you so much .

[@fabiena1787]

For the preload adjustment error, it has happened to me maybe twice. Cycling the bike off and on does the trick, but I would add: even if KTM says it's ok, it seems better to stand off the bike while you're switching the ignition on, after an error. That will make the preload motor work less, which seems like a good idea if the error was related to anything electrical in the first place. It's just a guess on my side, I must admit, but that makes sense. You can also (depending on your height) releave soome pressure on your seat while pushing on the ground with your feet.

[@motocrad]

Hi, thanks for the comment. Yes totally agree, taking some weight off so it doesn't have to work as hard helps :)

[@sd5458]

I agree with this, but rather than an "error" I feel like it's more likely related to the bike calibrating the weight on startup.

[@YarekBalear]

Regarding the occasional electronics warnings, I read somewhere else that if you leave the bike for 20-30 seconds before starting it, the warnings don’t happen. Something to do with letting the startup procedure finish properly. Since I’ve followed that, I’ve not had an issue. On the filler cap thing, I’ve never had that problem 💁‍♂️

[@motocrad]

I found that letting the dash finish its startup bit and then starting the bike in neutral helps. I've since bought a LiFePo battery, and I've had no warnings since.

[@IvanDP86]

Sir, Thank you for your videos. Do you know any tool or mobile app for diagnostic by obd with 6 pin? When I had my BMW I used MotoScan but with ktm I don't know any tool. Thank you so much!

[@motocrad]

Hi, you're very welcome. It's not something I've used, but this tool looks like it might do the job: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284917678704

[@IvanDP86]

@@motocrad thank you!!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@buldezir]

All same on same 2022 SAS :) And as ex-owner of Multistrada v4s - same opinion. Ducati is more "premium", better UI, better suspension (IMHO), but engine... for normal riding KTM's is muuuuuch better.

[@m2kk]

Hey there, how many miles /kilometers did you do I that 12 month. Sorry did a fast forward in the vudieif already answered. 🙏 Unfortunately mine, on 20k kilometers in 12 month was still longer at the service station than in the road. Also broke down twice abroad. Definitely worst experience for me ever. 🙏 But happy to hear urs drives great. Ride hard, ride safe, 👌

[@motocrad]

Hi, I've ridden just short of 10,000 kilometers in the last 12 months. Sorry to hear about the problems you've had, hope it's all good now. All the best :)

[@furculitza1]

Whether problems did you have, @m2kk?

[@m2kk]

@@furculitza1 hi there, no joke, just today, season start ride, it broke down again. My list is long, it starts with simple break fluid container loosing fluid twice, rear seat heating switch loosening itself until I mounted it myself, engine control errors, dampening and suspension errros (system failure), till MTC, ABS, ACC and Throttle Control failing. Leading to 1% power failsafe run mode. That's also what just happened to me bow. I've explained it here, kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6jZqYSBftasgJY but the video is in German.

[@Irresponsibleful]

The direction of increase/decrease got me too... Software Engineer also... ACC warning in Rally is also annoying, they should give an option to disable it. Keyless - I do love actually, no messing about with a key. I do roll with a tank bag, so didn't notice fuel cap thing. Maybe shutting off the bike would solve it ? Need to test it.

[@motocrad]

Hi fellow Software Engineer, I was beginning to think I was the only one who found the increase/decrease the wrong way round. The fuel cap thing isn't all that bad, I was struggling to come up with negatives for the review, the bike more than makes up for it in every other way 😉

[@TomThomas-vf5go]

Hi,could i get the STL file for your luggage mount please.

[@motocrad]

Hi, I've created a Thingyverse account and uploaded the files, for some reason it won't let me publish for 24 hours so I'll let you know once it's available.

[@motocrad]

Hi, I've updated the video description with a link to thingiverse for the STL files.

[@hermannschmidt9788]

The preload warning has to do with the underpowered battery. I had my first incident during a cold morning in year one already. After 3 years all kinds of other errors popped up during even hot start. It ist worse with the clutch pulled, strangely enough. With the new LiFePo Battery the spook is gone for now and the starter is revving the motor quicker. KTM really should have chosen a bigger battery. My favorite seat became the long two-in-one power parts model. Tried the heated seats in high and normal height. Wasn't happy with those. The heating foil takes away comfort too much.

[@motocrad]

Hi, thanks for sharing. I've just ordered a LiFePo battery, so it's good to know that it will solve the preload warning. I've ended up making a custom seat to solve my issue, but I've heard from a few other 1290 SAS owners all saying the one-piece powerparts seat is the best 👍

[@thepeakybiker]

I’m waiting for the 1390 Think that’ll be ace

[@motocrad]

I don't blame you, from what little info has been released/rumoured, it's looking like the 1390 is going to be epic. Has Crazy been tempting you over the orange side 😊

[@thepeakybiker]

@@motocrad yea hahaha waffling shite to me hahahaha

[@tubejorrit]

I just bought a 2023 model, really liked the colors and generally KTM saves the best color scheme for their last model years. When the 1390 gets a revise then I will have the choice of the best color for me.

[@jonasbaine3538]

If 1290S and MultiV4 were same price which would you get?

[@motocrad]

Tough question, I would need more time on the Multistrada to make that call. If it was between the V4 Rally & 1290S, I would possibly lean towards the Ducati. The Ducati is more polished and generally better in most ways, but, & its a big but, it's not £10k better.

[@jonasbaine3538]

@@motocrad Duc feels like a buy it once keep forever bike. KTM always overwrites its previous model tempting owners to constantly upgrade. Its a hard decision as 1190advS owner.

[@motocrad]

​@jonasbaine3538 that is a really good way of putting it. Now the 1390 Super Duke is out, it's only a matter of time before the SAS gets the 1390 lump.

[@m2kk]

Had both. If you prefer engine sound take the ktm. If you prefer performance and reliability, take the Ducati 👌

[@jonasbaine3538]

@@m2kk how did the fuel range compare on both? Really odd that Ducati says mv4 longer sprocket gearing change will cause electronic problems. Wish someone would change gearing anyway to see what happens to electronics and report fuel range numbers. Guys change gearing on other bikes all the time without issue including ktm 1190 1290.

[@bertranddefrontenac]

The fuel tap delay would bother me a lot! I committed economical suicide by buying the Multistrada V4 Rally, and had to pay extra for the key-less fuel tap. I'm glad it opens immediately!!!

[@motocrad]

Multistrada V4 Rally, very nice 👍

[@bertranddefrontenac]

I really hesitated between the SAS 1290 and the V4 rally. I confirm what you say in the video: the SAS is more explosive, pulls much more in the lower revs. But it's rougher too... the V4 rally throttle response is more gentle, smoother... but it unleashes when you keep the throttle open. The gears are shorter on the V4.... it compensates a little bit the lower torque... both are exceptional bikes.

[@motocrad]

@bertranddefrontenac I think you have chosen wisely, the V4 Rally is stunning. I'd be hesitant to buy a 1290 SAS at the moment. It wouldn't surprise me if we see a 1390 SAS this year. Having said that there is always a new bike around the corner, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. Enjoy your awesome new machine 😀

[@jaronard1]

If you just kill the engine, and don’t turn the bike off it’s not an issue. Not gonna kill my battery in 5 minutes while filling up.

[@blade1535]

Yup I never have issues with the fuel cap.

[@bigdaddy4x4ford]

leave key on and no delay on fuel tank

[@bigdaddy4x4ford]

Aldo helps to push down on the front of the cap

[@kevinroark5815]

What kinda Man needs to two GPS at the same time?

[@motocrad]

Haha, I was trying the export feature from Calimoto. I'd created a route in Calimoto and then exported it to the Zumo XT. I wanted to check that the Zumo didn't change the route in anyway 😀

[@ulaskvlcm]

Preload warning disappears after you change the battery 😀

[@motocrad]

That's good to know, thanks for sharing 👍

[@ulaskvlcm]

@@motocradI swap with the lithium one. About 3 kg lighter and has more ampere.

[@motocrad]

@ulaskvlcm I'd heard that changing the battery would solve the issue, but it's good to hear from someone who's actually done it 😀

[@markshirley7639]

Does t take much to annoy you fella , I get your trying to out out your negatives but your really clutching at straws ! More a fault of your impatience than the bike 🙈😂

[@motocrad]

Haha, I was clutching at straws, a testament to the bike's excellence, didn't feel right to just make a review of me gushing over it 😉

[@markshirley7639]

@@motocrad keep thinking. Out riding the new gs ! Out off the multi strata with its horrendous fuel consumption.

[@motocrad]

@@markshirley7639 Hi, not ridden the new GS, I do really like the look of the Trophy version. For me it's less about the consumption and more about the range, the newer Multistrada V4 Rally looks to be much better for both range & consumption.

[@markshirley7639]

@@motocrad best looking and best put together out there imo . I was talking to a chap with a new multi .... 34 mpg ! My 23 1290 does 50 ! Big difference

[@motocrad]

@markshirley7639 For the power and size the 1290 consumption is impressive. 34mpg isn't too good, my S1000RR does better than that 😉