ELECTRONIC ADDITIONS: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL AND ANTI RELAY ATTACK

ALONG WITH ITS GENERALLY UPRATED ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS, THE 1290 Super Adventure S introduces two features as standard fitment: radaractivated adaptive cruise control (ACC) and a revised keyless ignition system, called Anti Relay Attack, designed to combat the key “cloning” often used by vehicle thieves.

As with BMW’s and Ducati’s similar systems, KTM’s ACC uses the bike’s radar to maintain a constant distance from the vehicle ahead. The Super Adventure S gives its rider a choice of five distances, plus the option of “sport” or “comfort” modes to control how aggressively it responds.

Adaptive cruise control might sound like a solution in search of a problem and is certainly not something I would ever have put on a wish-list of motorcycle features, but my cynicism was quickly overcome. I actually find that I rarely bother using conventional cruise control on a bike, mainly because on crowded roads it is impossible to maintain a steady speed for very long.

The adaptive system overcame that problem completely. Once I had set a cruise speed slightly higher than the majority of the traffic, the Super Adventure either held it or effortlessly dropped to the pace of any vehicle that I came up behind and remained at the prescribed distance from it, speeding up and slowing down without needing input from me.

On a dry day with good vision, I found the shortest distance and more aggressive mode were both just about right. At night, in bad weather or when heavily loaded, a bigger gap and gentler response would be preferable and easily selected.

The system worked pretty much exactly as advertised and I did not find the experience of allowing the bike to take control remotely unwelcome, as I had thought I might. When following another bike with a car further ahead, the Super Adventure occasionally gained or lost speed if I moved across my lane, as its radar’s beam switched between the vehicles ahead. But that was not a problem and nor was the slightly surprising moment when I moved out to the edge of my lane on the highway and the KTM suddenly “saw” clear road ahead, so accelerated. The rider does very much have to stay awake with ACC activated, but I found it a useful system and definitely preferable to conventional cruise control (which can be selected as an alternative).

Thankfully, I did not need to test the Super Adventure’s other innovation: the anti-relay attack technology built into its ignition system. Essentially, the bike allows a 10-minute window between the key being activated and the bike being started, after which the keyless functions are deactivated. There is also a five-minute “suspend mode” for when the bike is stopped during a ride. How effective this is in improving security remains to be seen, but at least KTM are making an effort to address the problem.