Yes, yes, we all know that KTM’s impressive Adventure bike range goes where no goats fear to tread. Well maybe that’s a bit harsh on the little four-legged horned devils. They’ll certainly traverse the near vertical side of a 5km high mountain better than anything powered by a petrol engine in a motorcycle guise. They’re also cheaper to feed and, asked kindly, will aggressively donate (usually with a fond head-butt), a warm cup of milk for your tea/coffee mug. So until KTM produce an orange robotic goat that you can ride your only choice, or choices, are to acquire any of the machines we have here for off-road tomfoolery.
Goat praise aside and where I’m going with this is that we all know ‘any’ KTM Adventure bike of any dimension will rip across any terrain that’s not smothered in tarmac, right? So after many people will tell you how proficient these new 2021 bikes are at getting the tyres dirty, I thought I’d go the other way and applaud the tarmac attributes of this quartet. 
Now let’s be honest here, when some riders purchase these bikes, especially the 890 Adventure and the 1290 Super Adventure S, I doubt much off-road will be in their minds. Sure they can and will, but very short dirty excursions are more on the cards than a filthy long one, which sounds a bit perverse to the confused mind, but true.
So let’s get into the road antics on the 890 Adventure first. I managed around 500km last year on the 790 Adventure so I can tell you if the 890 is better or just a ‘new phone’. Well it is on all counts, especially the new engine. Don’t just think it has bigger pistons because a lot has changed inside those glamorous casings.
The first thing that’s apparent is the improved mid-range drive, especially seeing as our bikes had the optional ‘Rally’ soft wear that makes the throttle response more instant. Then the 890 Adventure will lift the wheel in second gear, if you fancy a bit of that. 100Nm and 115hp are now yours and that will propel you to an indicated 214kph (around 10kph more than the 790), which I never saw of course, honest officer.
Being the ‘road’ option of the Adventure range it has a relatively low seat height of 850mm, which is ideal for daily commutes as you tread through traffic. There’s also a re-shaped adjustable screen, which I found to be a bit noisy whilst deflecting wind and only came into its own when I shoved my head forward into it. Still, no one in Europe or the like exceeds 120kph, and then it’ll be fine, unlike us ‘speedy’ South Africans.
The 890 Adventure seemed to be best when riding in a lazy manner enjoying the surroundings and sweeping through long smooth roads, which is where it’s aimed with a bit of off-road for a heart beat increase – unlike the Adventure R…
Now I thought this would be a bike for dirt only with its Metzeler Karoo 3 ‘knobbly’ rubber bits. There was even some sticker that mentioned speed rating on the tank (around 160kph), if I’m not mistaken, which I ignored, for a while. Even on the road the fatter 48mm WP Xplor forks and PDS shock felt more adaptive and plush than the 890 Adventure, something I wasn’t expecting at all.
Yes it’s taller with the seat reaching 880mm from the road, which I also found more comfortable that the 890 Adventure’s suspiciously harder offering? And let’s be honest here it is the better looking of the pair and, even on the road, I found the R a more rewarding ride, again totally unexpected. Look, I’m not ragging the Adventure option, as it is a superb machine and will undoubtedly appeal to many. For me though, I’d leap onto the R every time over the lower seat on Adventure, which I’d never have considered at the start of the day.
So when the second day of the launch came, with the bigger and heavier 1290s, I became a bit excited to say the least. Sure 160hp and 138Nm isn’t too abrasive after riding 200hp+ super bikes, but they are big motorbikes to throw around in a sometimes reckless and childish manner, which the KTM brand always seems to generate more than the ‘others’.
And guess what, they continue to be wild things. Within 50m of leaving the hotel gates I had the 1290 Super Adventure R on its back wheel for another 50m with a chuckle inside my helmet resembling a clown filled with helium, sort of. Instantly I felt the changes to the 1290 were astounding, so much so it feels highly civilized now and as posh as a Bentley, with two-wheels of course. To myself the 2021 1290 R is a remarkable feat of engineering from KTM and far from being just a ‘new phone’.
The 21-inch front wheel with ‘road’ tyres makes the R handle in a way it shouldn’t for its 221kg mass, all down to its newly designed frame and surrounding components. I would travel anywhere at anytime on the R and be proud to do so, and the new colours look fantastic. Quite simply the new suspension, seating, ergonomics and the cute little adjustable screen gelled with myself more than any other KTM I’ve ridden to date, and before that it was the 1290 GT, how things move on with time?
Talking of moving on, the mighty and highly technical 1290 Super Adventure S was the final ride of the day, and the most intriguing. Let’s get the main talking point out of the way first, the little black box sitting between the huge twin headlights. It’s called Adaptive Cruise Control and unfortunately I never tried it (sorry), but it is the latest in motorcycle gadgetry and is a form of advanced radar detection, very flash indeed.
As is everything else on the 1290 S making it the most advanced touring/adventure bike currently available from any manufacturer, which of course will spawn an argument from many manufacturers.
You also get WP’s finest ever semi-active electronic suspension that can be fiddled with on the fly and that monster 160hp refined V-Twin. An ideal set-up to carve through twisty roads with its road derived ZR rated tyres and a smaller 19-inch front wheel. This smaller diameter obviously turns quicker than the R model and I wouldn’t hesitate to even perform the odd track-day, or two, around a circuit. 
Therefore the 1290 S is the most versatile of the four and, if you’re into irritating Apps on a modern phone, then this will entertain you more than the sexy neighbour’s naked birthday party and your new drone, except you won’t get arrested. You might with the top speed though as the 1290 S will easily surpass 250kph by some margin. Is it the new bike for every angle of motorcycling, I’d say so, and hard to beat with that designation?
So they’re all tremendous on the road with some making me smile more than the others. And if you’re wondering which one lifted my skirt the most, it’s the beautifully suspended 1290 Super Adventure R, so there.
Now before I go you’ll notice, or should have, that I’ve left out all the technical bits and how KTM have changed just about everything on these new models. The answer is simple folks; this article could have turned into a 200-page book. So don’t shout at me, just make some tea, sit down and go to www.ktm.com and absorb everything you need to know or what you’d like to know on all four bikes. Except on how to catch a goat.
Oh, and all of these bikes are now available for you to ride at your local KTM dealer, so go visit. 
