Has the R1200GS met it;s match? We find out
BMW’S updated R1200GS is the best it has ever made – but KTM’S 1290 Super Adventure S is lighter, faster and less expensive. Can it convert a die-hard GS owner on a blast across the South Downs?
EVERYONE KNOWS OF the North Coast 500. Scotland’s idyllic tourist trail has become a must-ride route for most of us, and with good reason. But being submerged in some of Europe’s most jaw-dropping scenery would make almost any bike feel amazing. So let’s flip the whole idea on its head and set ourselves a real challenge. Why not head south instead of north? What about exploring that overlooked, often-ignored corner of the country where people actually live? Surely there’s great riding to be found in between the gridlocked SUVS and offshore-registered bankers?
If one bike is capable of tackling a challenge on this monumental scale, it’s BMW’S R1200GS. Britain’s biggest-selling big bike is famously ready for anything, and its new-for-2017 Exclusive variant is the top-of-the-range road-focused GS. Cast wheels make clear that it’s happier sticking to the tarmac, while almost every last trick in BMW’S vast technical tome comes as standard, including keyless ignition, multiple modes and the latest semi-active, self-leveling suspension. It’s the height of long-legged luxury.
But if two bikes are capable of tackling this challenge, the other is KTM’S 1290 Super Adventure S. Also new for this year, it’s KTM’S take on the same philosophy: to build the ultimate high-spec, hi-tech, hi-rise roadster. It too wears cast wheels, highlighting a rare on-road bias for a KTM Adventure, and also carries an enormous wealth of go-further gadgets – as well as an enormous 158bhp V-twin.
The A1/A1(M), the M25 and the M3 whisk us from RIDE’S Midlands base down into Hampshire, past a sign declaring we’re entering ‘Jane Austen Country’. Our own measure of pride and prejudice comes in the form of Cameron Thompson, a BMW man through and through. He’s owned six GSS, the latest of which is an R1200GS Adventure on which he’s covered 23,000 miles in just three years. And to go with the bike, he’s got the BMW helmet, the suit and the boots. His garage is also home to a KTM enduro but while he’s familiar with the dirtier side of the Austrian firm, he has never ridden one of its road bikes before.
Today, that changes. Heading east from the bikeriffic Loomies Café, where old crash helmets are recycled into decorative hanging flower baskets, Cameron gets to know the new 1290. Meanwhile, I settle into the VIP members-only saddle of the BMW Exclusive, and what a fantastically-pleasant place it is. We’ve ridden 150 miles this morning, and mile number 151 is every bit as welcoming, comfortable, and effortless as the first. I’ve got the seat set low and the screen set high, contentedly ensconced in a little bubble of calm, fluid, flowing momentum. The boxer motor pulses gently but purposefully beneath me, like a jackhammer made of cotton wool.
The redline on the dash shows the motor can rev to 9000rpm but it’s happy in a high gear, doffing along in the lower half of the revs, smoothly rolling the softly delivered power on and off. In the regular Road mode, the fuelling is faultless and the drive decidedly docile, and neither trait changes massively by swapping the riding mode to Dynamic. There are still no hiccups or coughs from the throttle response, and the overall eagerness ramps up only a touch.
Changing riding mode also affects the semi-active suspension’s behaviour. In Road, it’s surprisingly soft, even for a long-travel adventure bike. Simply riding in a straight line at a steady speed on a smooth road, you can feel the bike bobbing up and down in a busy, subtle shimmy. The ride quality is superb - there are no sudden sharp jolts even over rough roads - but through turns it can feel a touch mushy rather than precise and accurate. Dynamic makes it firmer, more focused, more direct. Having turned off through Petersfield on the B2146 and passed a welcome national speed limit sign, it’s clear that Dynamic is definitely the way to go.
The road cuts through a short tree-lined section, then opens up as it passes Hurst to
reveal rolling green fields every way I look. I lived in the south for more than a decade and never saw so much countryside. Guess I wasn’t looking hard enough.
Passing through South Harting, we switch onto the B2141 and the view changes again. Trees on both sides of the road grow taller until they meet overhead, creating a stunning leafy tunnel we thread our way through, summer sunlight strobing between the branches and dancing in sharp flashes across the road.
I’m enjoying the ride so much that my pace has picked up without me really noticing. Pushing the BMW harder reveals more power than you might expect, given how mild-mannered and well-behaved the motor is at lower revs and smaller throttle openings. It’s not a Jekyll-andhyde transformation, but the harder you work the engine, the more it gives back. Wind the throttle wide open above 5000rpm and the GS summons up more torque than any 1000cc sportsbike. The exhaust note takes on a deeper rasp, while the up-and-down quickshifter works
“The GS summons up more torque than any 1000cc sportsbike”
more slickly at higher revs than when you’re trundling about.
Wide bars make the GS’S 244kg easy to throw around. It’s accurate too, holding a line through long sweeping turns with total stability. Brakes are impressively strong, and the sense of control and confidence when hauling it up hard is boosted with the dive-resistant Telelever front end – not to mention the reactive suspension firming itself up to offer support. And, if anything goes wrong, there is the cornering ABS.
Most of this is all-familiar to Gs-man Cam, who got a feel for this new Exclusive on the ride down this morning. “It seemed small after my Adventure,” he smiles as we pause to compare bikes near the Goodwood racecourse. “But otherwise, it’s pretty similar. In a few places it feels a bit tighter and sharper than mine, but I guess a lot of that is the difference between a 1500-mile bike and a 23,000-mile bike. The biggest thing I noticed is how much nicer the new bike’s gearbox is – it’s a lot smoother. A big improvement.”
After watching a Chinook practising manoeuvres in the distance – another treat exclusive to the south, courtesy of nearby RAF Odiham – we continue on to rejoin the A272, then cut southeast before skirting round Shoreham and picking up the climb for Devil’s Dyke. It’s said that the Devil was interrupted as he dug a channel to the sea so that Sussex would flood, leaving this 100m-deep valley behind. Why he never returned to finish it isn’t clear – perhaps he was busy with other tasks, like formatting Saturday-night television. But from the top, we’re grateful for his laziness, as the panorama he left behind is utterly breathtaking.
Time to switch to the KTM. The seat feels taller (at 860mm, its low setting is 10mm
higher than the BMW’S) and also firmer. I wonder if it’s my slightly tired bum but as Cam swings his leg over the GS, I can hear that it’s not just me. “Oooh, that’s better,” he chuckles. “That’s more like it.”
It’s not just the 1290’s seat foam that’s firmer. The KTM’S semi-active suspension immediately feels more sporty – the softest Comfort mode is stiffer than the BMW’S Road; the regular Street feels firmer than the GS’S raciest Dynamic; and you can still tighten the 1290 further with Sport mode.
That’s not to say that the KTM is uncomfortable, because it certainly isn’t. Cam says he prefers its handlebar position over his familiar GS ergonomics – the 1290’s bars are narrower, set slightly higher and don’t reach back as far. I’d have no problem doing day after day on the 1290.
Other elements make the KTM feel a nicer place to be than the BMW. The colour dash, for example, feels like it’s from a different century to the GS’S dated dials. “I really love the display on the 1290,” notes Cam. “It looks like a little ipad. And it has a real practical benefit too: it’s much easier to read your speed, which is a big clear number, than look at the needle and the tiny little markings on the GS’S speedo.” I agree completely, though the way the screen takes - and this is no exaggeration - 6000 years to load-up when you turn the ignition on soon grates.
Our route climbs up to Ditchling Beacon, a chalk hill that’s the highest spot in East Sussex. From the top it offers yet another inspiring vista out across the South Downs,
though this one is best enjoyed from onboard the bike. But we can’t gaze out for too long, because the road quickly tumbles downhill through a tight, twisty, narrow run of sharp turns that demand nothing less than our full concentration.
They’re perfect to take advantage of the KTM’S sporty setup. Steering is a smidge lighter than the BMW, with a few less kilos of mass to drag around (a fully fuelled 238kg vs 244kg, despite the KTM carrying an extra three litres of petrol in its larger tank). The front end dips more into turns - that’ll be forks rather than the clever Telelever - but there’s good feedback and enormous ground clearance, letting you carve through corners with confidence.
But the biggest joy comes on the way out of a turn, when you get to unleash that incredible 1301cc V-twin. Up to around half revs, the motor simply feels enormously grunty, with a far sharper edge than the BMW, thanks to a faster-revving character, a more responsive throttle, and a sense of lighter engine internals. Speed is gained effortlessly and in a much more expressive, engaging way – even just rolling-on the throttle for a quick overtake, the KTM radiates an excitement and a presence, giving a sense that it’s enjoying itself far more than the slightly-stoic BMW. The KTM’S up-and-down quickshifter needs a lighter touch than the BMW’S at lower revs too, meaning it gets more use.
But beyond 5000rpm, the 1290 is possessed by the spirit of a superbike. Torque builds to a ludicrous 103lb.ft - not only more than the gutsy R1200GS, but also a greater grunt output than Ducati’s Panigale R or even Kawasaki’s supercharged H2. And if you have the road and the brainspace to hold on for the final rush to the redline, it sears through those heady revs with a fierce, feral appetite.
“That 1290 is so much fun,” grins Cam. “I really wasn’t expecting it to be so fast, but it has loads of character too.” Given that Cam’s bike history also includes a Honda Fireblade, a Ducati 996R and a Yamaha V-max - bikes not exactly short on speed or personality - that’s high praise indeed.
“When I started riding the KTM, I was a bit disappointed to find that it wasn’t as smooth as the BMW,” he says. “On the GS, I can drop down to 40mph in top gear but the KTM starts to clatter at that speed, so you have to change down to fifth or fourth gear. But the more I ride the KTM, the more it’s growing on me. It feels nicely balanced at any speed, I prefer the bar position and it feels more alive, more exciting.”
We continue south to the coast road that loops round Beachy Head. Its long, smooth, open corners meander gently through the largely empty landscape, only blighted by a handful of coaches and distracted tourists. It’s easy to forgive them, given the proximity to the sheer, white-faced cliff edge. We pause in a car park to take in the view over the south coast, set the BMW’S sat-nav for home, and decide who’s taking which bike for the three-hour ride back.
Cam’s eyes light up. “I think I need another go on that KTM…”