1290 S A S 2018

shifty · Jan 20, 2019

Rasher said:
I almost bought one of the cheap SDGT, but I did not like it much on the test ride, it vibed a lot more than my 1190 - probably not helped by tall top gear, then the suspension felt rock solid after a decade on adventure bikes, the killer was I did not fit on it, it bent my back in half and my legs did not fit into the sculpted bit where they are meant to go.

Even the lower gearing on my 1190 still requires at least 60mph before top gear feels smooth, but that is what gears are for!

The only real tweak I made to the adventures I have owned is moving the gear shift lever as standard you have to lift you knee to your ear before the top of your boot even touches the gear lever to change up.

To solve the pillion problem get your Mrs on her own bike, worked wonders for us, much more comfortable, we can go much further in a day with less aches and pains at the end of it.

A long trip is the best way to get a feel for a new bike (That's my excuse anyway)

might just be me getting more used to it, but I would swear my gt is getting smoother with the miles ??

totally agree , a long trip is the best way to get to know a bike,,, that's sometimes why a half hour test ride can be somewhat unhelpfull ,especially on a bike that is a departure from what your used to,

AndyB_11 · Jan 23, 2019

I was exactly the same with the GT when I changed from an 1190 Adventure S and the first 100 mile ride left me with a small degree of neck ache so I was left wondering whether I’d made a mistake and by mid summer I’d be trading it in for a 1290 SAS.

What changed my mind was a long weekend in the Ardennes where I spent the Saturday ragging the tits off it accompanied by an S1000XR and a Supercharged Kawasaki and after a decent number of miles that weekend I suddenly felt as if I ‘got’ it.

Move forward to a 10 day ride around the Baltic with the bike massively overloaded where it still behaved impeccably and I did a couple of 600 mile days without chronic arse ache and it’ll be staying at least another year unless another bargain messes with my mind again

What you have to weigh up is whether the better luggage carrying capacity for touring on an Adventure bike outweighs the better handling (apart from when you overload it) of the SD then factor in the different power characteristics of the SD. Just to confuse matters even further I’d go for the SAS over the SD if the prices were identical but my SD was one of the heavily discounted ones which I couldn’t resist and knew I probably wouldn’t take a big hit if I later found I’d made a mistake.

Rastaossie · Feb 16, 2019

Just traded a 15 plate GS for a SAS to keep the SDGT company. Did big tour on the GT last year and since then did no miles on the GS as Ride magazine put it the GT is 'One bike to rule them all' and i agree. Only change to make is gear it down a bit since it isnt happy at legal speeds in top where i always found the GS to be unhappy at legal speeds at all. I always thought it was massively undergeared. Covered around 400 miles on the SAS in the last 3 days and have laughed most of the way its going to be a tough choice from here on in but looking forward to an orange summer.

discoed · Nov 14, 2019

Well I took the plunge and last Monday I took delivery of a 1290 SAS ex demo bike with 500 miles on the clocks from Accrington KTM. I traded in my BMW R1200 GS Adventure Rally TE (67 plate). I loved the GS and I'd done 12k on it last year, been Hilltopped and had a full Akro exhaust system, its a great bike but I'd got a bit fed up of the sheer bulk of it and the slightly brutal nature off the big GS. It was my second LC GS and my third GS adventure in total. Between GS's I'd had a KTM 990 adventure which gave me a taste for the big LC8 V twin.

So in the last few days since owning the 1290 I have done just over 400 miles (on work trips....better than the train option) and I have to say I love it, there are some negatives, I miss the auto adjusting suspension of the GS, I miss the lack of dive you get from the tele lever front end, I miss the fuel range but to be honest the plus points so far make up for it.

As has been said the biggest plus point is the engine, the angry, eager rorty, growling surge of power is intoxicating after the Germanic Baaaarp of the GS, (I used to ride the GS hard so I know it has a decent top end if you work it but it doesn't compare the the KTM). I know the 1250 offers more but it still lacks the magic of a V twin. The GS had quick shifter (QS) on it but it was very particular in how it liked to be used, fully pinned open throttle or fully shut down, great for hard riding but notchy if you try with half throttle. The KTM QS is like silk! any throttle position it just works and is a real delight to use.

My ex demo KTM came with a comfort seat and Akro end can but I had to add heated grips(??!!). I'm about to fit a chain oiler and a few other odds and ends. I'm amazed at the weight difference! the KTM seems like a lightweight after the GS and you can feel this on the road, a little less planted but a lot more manoeuvrable and flickable.

Next job is to fit SW Motech pannier frames, fog lights (GS habit) and a bash plate. Off to mid Wales on Saturday so it'll soon be time for its 9k service - another benefit of the KTM!

Very very pleased I made the change!

<img src="https://i.vgy.me/JaTp79.jpg" alt="JaTp79.jpg">

Nutty · Nov 15, 2019

Nice one discoed, they’re fantastic bikes

rocky burns · Nov 15, 2019

discoed said:
Well I took the plunge and last Monday I took delivery of a 1290 SAS ex demo bike with 500 miles on the clocks from Accrington KTM. I traded in my BMW R1200 GS Adventure Rally TE (67 plate). I loved the GS and I'd done 12k on it last year, been Hilltopped and had a full Akro exhaust system, its a great bike but I'd got a bit fed up of the sheer bulk of it and the slightly brutal nature off the big GS. It was my second LC GS and my third GS adventure in total. Between GS's I'd had a KTM 990 adventure which gave me a taste for the big LC8 V twin.

So in the last few days since owning the 1290 I have done just over 400 miles (on work trips....better than the train option) and I have to say I love it, there are some negatives, I miss the auto adjusting suspension of the GS, I miss the lack of dive you get from the tele lever front end, I miss the fuel range but to be honest the plus points so far make up for it.

As has been said the biggest plus point is the engine, the angry, eager rorty, growling surge of power is intoxicating after the Germanic Baaaarp of the GS, (I used to ride the GS hard so I know it has a decent top end if you work it but it doesn't compare the the KTM). I know the 1250 offers more but it still lacks the magic of a V twin. The GS had quick shifter (QS) on it but it was very particular in how it liked to be used, fully pinned open throttle or fully shut down, great for hard riding but notchy if you try with half throttle. The KTM QS is like silk! any throttle position it just works and is a real delight to use.

My ex demo KTM came with a comfort seat and Akro end can but I had to add heated grips(??!!). I'm about to fit a chain oiler and a few other odds and ends. I'm amazed at the weight difference! the KTM seems like a lightweight after the GS and you can feel this on the road, a little less planted but a lot more manoeuvrable and flickable.

Next job is to fit SW Motech pannier frames, fog lights (GS habit) and a bash plate. Off to mid Wales on Saturday so it'll soon be time for its 9k service - another benefit of the KTM!

Very very pleased I made the change!

Got a nice sumpguard for sale and that's in Mid wales

https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/518552-Ktm-1090-1190-1290-sumpguard

1290 S A S 2018

shifty

Active member

AndyB_11

Still waiting

Rastaossie

Member

discoed

Registered user

Nutty

Registered user

rocky burns

Well-known member

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