If you liked what you saw with the 2021 KTM 1290 Super Adventure S, and you live in the United States, well…we have some bad news for you. The new 1290 ADV bike will not be coming to the USA this year, and instead will be a 2022 model.
This news comes to us from our Bothan spies, and the indication is that none of KTM’s upcoming 1290 bikes will see US soil until next year, including the KTM 1290 Adventure R and KTM 1290 Super Duke GT – two models we are expecting to see updated soon.
Episode 85 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is out, and in it we talk a lot about a bevy of topics, in this free-wheeling (but not three-wheeling) show that is mostly about motorcycles…most of the time.
Before the show gets too far, we talk about a new bike in the Asphalt & Rubber garage, a 2018 KTM 1290 Adventure S. You can expect to hear a later show detailing more this bike, as we put some miles on it.
First up topic-wise, we discuss the idea of air conditioning for riders, namely air-conditioning in motorcycle helmets. Talking about the preference motorcyclists have for their head protection (or lack there of), we get into a heady conversation about brand loyalty and the head winds that new helmet brands openly face.
Naturally, we have a little Ducati conversation, first talking about the spy photos of the new Hypermotard, and then talking about the news of Ducati teaming up with Hero MotoCorp in India.
Next up is two technical conversations, one about Alta’s first recall, and the other about Yamaha getting caught fudging the numbers on its emissions testing parameters.
The show’s big discussion though is about Harley-Davidson squaring off with President Trump over tariffs. In that conversation, we look at the Sophie’s Choice being made between the President and the Bar & Shield brand.
You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well.
We hope you will join the conversation, and leave us some audio comments at our new email address: twoenthusiasts@gmail.com.
Apologies if things have been a bit sparse here the last few days, as I’ve been making yet another trans-Atlantic crossing…my third in just seven days.
The trip has been worth it though, as I have been fortunate enough to ride in Morocco with Bridgestone the last few days, testing out the new Battlax A41 adventure-touring tire, and the Battlax T31 sport-touring tire.
Because of the schedule, we are going to have to Tarantino this “Gone Riding” post a little, and do thing in reverse, but there is plenty to talk about.
Our routes have been based out of Ouarzazate (productions like Gladiator and Game of Thrones have been filmed here), and it is a high-desert terrain with red rocks and plenty of sand and wind.
With two different tires, I have been on a host of bikes as well. On the Battlax A41, it was the BMW 1200GS Rallye, KTM 1290 Adventure S, and the Honda Africa Twin; while for the Battlax T31, it was the Suzuki GSX-S1000F, BMW R1200R, and KTM 1290 Super Duke GT.
Feel free to pick my brain about the new Bridgestone tires, the bikes I have been on, and what it is like to visit Morocco and the Ouarzazate region.
As always, you can follow our thoughts on the tires via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and you can see what our colleagues are posting on social media by looking for the hashtags #BattlaxA41 & #BattlaxT31
The KTM 1290 Adventure S seems finally set to come to the United States, after debuting last year at the EICMA show. Ever-tentative about new model releases, KTM North American only brought in the KTM 1290 Adventure R this year, leaving its road-focused ADV counterpart for the rest of the world.
First spotted in filings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) by the folks at Motorcycle.com, it looks like the KTM 1290 Adventure S has proven its worth abroad, enough so that KTM feels comfortable bringing it into the largest ADV market in the world.
As such, this news surely means that the 2018 KTM 1290 Adventure S is coming to the USA. It features cast wheels (19″/17″), cornering ABS, semi-active WP Suspension pieces, and 158hp of fun on tap.
It doesn’t look like 2017 KTM 1290 Adventure S is coming to the USA, but our European readers will enjoy the street-focused ADV bike, as it straddles somewhere between the touring-focused KTM 1290 Adventure T and the off-road shredding KTM 1290 Adventure R.
The KTM 1290 Adventure S offers a turnkey street bike with ample power (158hp), while the 19″/17″ dual-sport cast aluminum wheels give added off-road abilities.
KTM has also added semi-active suspension from WP, as well as traction control (with an off-road setting) and the Bosch cornering ABS package.
In reality, the 2017 KTM 1290 Adventure S helps the Austrian brand keep a strong hand on the 19-inch wheel portion of the adventure-touring segment, helping keep at bay bikes like the potent Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro and the BMW R1200GS.
With a revised look for the 2017 model year, and all the promise the previous model years have shown, we expect sales to be strong for the KTM 1290 Adventure S.
For our American readers, the photos after the jump may be as close as we get to this machine. Many thanks to our friends at MotoFire for sharing them with us.