KTM 1290 Super Adventure R

A 160bhp dirt bike: an idea that could only ever be the product of one company. The R is the muckier of KTM’S two 1290 Super Adventures, ditching the S’s touring screen, cast wheels and semi-active suspension for longer manually adjusted springs and spoked 21in/18in wheels. The 1290 SA-R starts at £14,899, though our test bike had a few parts from KTM’S Power Parts catalogue including an Akrapovic slip-on silencer (£818.58), the Travel Pack trio of gadgets (hill-hold control, two-way quickshifter and motor slip regulation, £584.41), and heated grips (£166.44). Plastic panniers (36-litre left, 30-litre right) are an additional £831.96.

With a full tank but no luggage fitted, the KTM weighs 250.4kg on RIDE’S scales. Deducting that from its maximum weight limit of 450kg leaves a usable payload of 199.6kg for the rider, pillion and luggage.

SPEC Price from £14,899 (£16,468.43 as tested) Engine 1301cc 75° V-twin, 4v per cyl, l/c Power 158bhp @ 8750rpm Torque 103lb·ft @ 6750rpm Transmission 6-speed, chain Frame steel trellis Front suspension 48mm forks, 220mm travel, adjustable preload, rebound and compression Rear suspension monoshock, 220mm travel, adjustable preload, rebound and two-speed compression Front brakes 320mm discs, 4-piston calipers Rear brake 267mm disc, 2-piston caliper Front tyre 90/90-21 Rear tyre 150/70 R18 Wheelbase 1580mm Rake/trail 26°/123mm Seat height 890mm Kerb weight 250.4kg (measured) Fuel capacity 23 litres

tick over smoothly at a constant speed, though the cruise-control switch on the left bar is small and fiddly (“It feels like it could snap off,” reckons Steve). The 23-litre tank gives a decent range, though the seat is firm and so is the ride quality.

“The thing about the KTM is that it’s physically tiring,” notes Simon. “Not just because of its slightly cramped riding position, or the lack of wind protection, or the fact you have to put stronger inputs through the narrow handlebars. But it’s also mentally tiring. You’re always asking yourself, ‘How fast am I going? How hard do I have to brake?’ On a full day, you’d get to 4pm and feel that bit more fatigued than any of the other bikes.”

“You certainly feel like you’re hanging on,” says Nick. “My shoulders ache after riding it. I wouldn’t want to ride one for a fortnight — the seat’s too hard, the ride’s too hard. I couldn’t own one, but I’d sure like to borrow one on a regular basis.”

We turn off the A1, meander down a tiny country lane and see the North Sea unfurl ahead of us. But Cuthbert must be smiling on us: the road to Lindisfarne is open. It’s a mile-long tidal causeway — a tarmac road that’s swallowed up for hours at a time, twice a day. Fortunately it’s exposed by the low tide for now, though there are still huge streams of seawater stretching across the road. Perfect. It seems that something about a big adventure bike has the exact same effect as when you get a pair of new wellies as a kid: you just want to splash through the puddles.

Lindisfarne to Kelso

Time to leave our sea-side splashing behind. We head back to the A1, cross it, turn left past a farm and join the B6353 heading west to nowhere in particular. It’s a brisk, open run — so open that I miss a right-turn on the sat nav and have to do an embarrassing U-turn in front of everyone. Thankfully, the Africa Twin I’m now on has a normal manual clutch rather than any of Honda’s automatic DCT business – for all the clutchless system’s arguable benefits at speed or with a pillion, I’ll take a familiar lever every time when it comes to intuitive, instant, low-speed confidence.

And it’s doubly important here given the Adventure Sports’ utterly preposterous height. The KTM 1290 felt gigantic, yet the Honda sits even higher – 900mm with the seat set to the lower of its two positions. The Honda is not a heavy bike: a fraction over 250kg on our scales, the same as the KTM which, given the Africa Twin carries

“It’s not as quick but you rarely find it truly lacking”

more fuel, makes this the lightest bike of the four. But that skyscraper saddle means it can feel the most intimidating at times.

Once on the move however, the Honda is endlessly friendly, all welcoming confidence and intuitive control. Its parallel-twin engine is the smallest, lowest-revving and least-powerful here, with a whopping 40% fewer horses than the KTM but its calm, constant and considered delivery somehow compensates. The fuelling is immaculate, the exhaust note is deliciously rich and surprisingly loud, and there’s always a good thunk of torque on hand. It’s very clearly not as quick, but for some reason you rarely find it truly lacking.

“For 80% of situations the Honda has more than enough drive,” reckons Simon. “It’s only when you’re really trying to tank along that you realise there’s a bit of a power deficit. But for the vast majority of single-carriageway road riding, it’s not an issue. It just generates the grunt where you need it. It’s only when you’re holding on to the revs that you notice you’re only moving briskly whereas, on the KTM, your eyes are spinning in the back of your head.”

After a brief taste of A697 towards Coldstream, we’re back on B-roads: the B6350, slicing between farmland to our left and the border-defining River Tweed to our right. Then, without warning, this trip