1290 Superduke R Touring

Warning: You'll learn nothing from this post. I'm just distracting myself from having to do some work.

Last year I brought the SDR and to say I love it is quite an understatement. A love affair honed on days out of generally no more than a few hundred miles however.

Roll forward to the present and I'm now considering options for my usual summer "Billy No Mates European Tour" (couple of weeks) and despite a perfectly capable 2016 GSA immediately behind me in this photo, I want to take the KTM and I want to camp.



The ideal option right now is to offload the SDR and GS and get a 2019 Superduke GT but there is no way I'm buying one at this time of year. I'll wait for the potential winter price drop.

So, I dug some Givi soft panniers out from the loft which have only travelled about 10 foot in the last 15 years as I constantly moved them out of the way to get to other crap, always thinking I should really sell these, glad I didn't.

They were offered up to the bike and seen to be a touch too long, fouling the indicators. I've added a small piece of ally section as a support behind the number plate along with some padding against the frame toward the riders seat to splay them out evenly. I could refit the original rear hanger as that sits the blinkers a bit further back, but it's damn ugly and a PITA to fit.



The main concern now will be their ability to withstand the heat off the exhaust. They look like they're sitting on the exhaust in that second photo but there's actually about a 2-3" gap all along their length. They were fine on a GSXR1000 15 years ago but as I'm sure you're all aware that 1290 lump is in a league of it's own for giving off heat so that will need a test.

My camping gear is relatively lightweight as it also gets used for bicycle touring so most of that goes in the Kriega US30 across the back seat.

I've thought about getting a couple of Kriega US20's to attach to the US30. Although expensive these sell for good money second hand so I should be able to shift them on easily if this is a one off trip. Need a run out with the current setup first, if it would just stop fucking raining. Anyone tried the US70 setup as they call it on something other than an adventure bike with copious real estate?

And to finish off the "you're doing it all wrong" vibe. I'll probably be fitting a pair of sports touring tyres before I go as the rear Metzler is knackered.

What you really really need is a big aluminium top box for all those I've been there stickers.

I am so disappointed.

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I've got canvas panniers that vary between an inch or two off the exhaust of my 1190, to actually resting on it, and I've seen no signs of heat damage.

You need a Ventura system, so versatile and easy to use and the bags can be used on any bike with the appropriate rack, alternative is the BMW roll bag, the one with the hard base, I strap mine across the rear seat with Rok straps.

DING-DONG said:

You need a Ventura system, so versatile and easy to use and the bags can be used on any bike with the appropriate rack, alternative is the BMW roll bag, the one with the hard base, I strap mine across the rear seat with Rok straps.

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This is indeed the answer

My mate has one on his SDR I have one on the GT and had it on the Hyper as well

Easily the best luggage system for this type of bike or dare i say any bike

redrick said:

This is indeed the answer

My mate has one on his SDR I have one on the GT and had it on the Hyper as well

Easily the best luggage system for this type of bike or dare i say any bike

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+2 , you are also taking approximately twice as much shit as you need , really.......you are.

fatbob99 said:

+2 , you are also taking approximately twice as much shit as you need , really.......you are.

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I haven't even listed what I'm taking so no idea how you work that one out. The US30 already has the camping gear in and there ain't enough space for other luxeries like underwear. If I wasn't camping the US30 would be sufficient. Those panniers are empty in the photo, just looking at options without spending on bike specific luggage.

redrick said:

This is indeed the answer

My mate has one on his SDR I have one on the GT and had it on the Hyper as well

Easily the best luggage system for this type of bike or dare i say any bike

Click to expand...

Just trying to use what I already have without splurging money for SDR specific stuff.

Daxaar said:

Just trying to use what I already have without splurging money for SDR specific stuff.

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Yeah i get that and admire it

However ( and not for me to lecture etc) the SDR is such a good bike for touring on KTM actually turned it into a proper tourer with the GT ( well you know what i mean)

My pal did 30k on his last one and intends to do the same on his new one and he does big trips 4 - 5 weeks at a time although no camping

I often go with him for a couple of those weeks

The ventura luggage sytem turns the SDR into a genuine long trip bike at not a huge cost and as most of the system is transferable from bike to bike its a decent return compared to panniers etc the other thing i love about the ventura bags is the stuffability, no need to fuck about folding to fit etc, stuff it all in stick it on the rack and go

As i said go with what you have but if you are going to do it again and again ( you will as the KTMN is brilliant) a reasonable investment

As long as your clearance is 3 inches or so you and you can stop them from drooping I think it'll be fine. Bit of heat reflective material along the undersides as a precaution.

A couple of smaller Kriega would also do the trick with less potential hassle

For my twopence worth when I took my SDR on trips I used an old Giant Loop, coyote(?). Basically carried everything with a few sundries in the tankbag. Amazing what you can get in 'em and can also be sold on easily. I've just seen they also do a Mojavi, couple of angled forward small soft panniers with a flat top which might fit under your existing Kriega setup and shouldn't go anywhere near your exhaust.

Just a thought.

If the SDR has the same rear subframe as the GT then I’d avoid Ventura unless you intend to either replace the brackets that support it at the back or carry a small ratchet strap to repair them with later in the trip when it fails.

Ok, I overloaded mine by filling a 50l bag then putting a small tent, sleeping bag and self inflating mat on the rack behind the upright part of the system but as a design it’s flawed and I’m using the KTM panniers plus a rollbag this summer.

AndyB_11 said:

If the SDR has the same rear subframe as the GT then I’d avoid Ventura unless you intend to either replace the brackets that support it at the back or carry a small ratchet strap to repair them with later in the trip when it fails.

Ok, I overloaded mine by filling a 50l bag then putting a small tent, sleeping bag and self inflating mat on the rack behind the upright part of the system but as a design it’s flawed and I’m using the KTM panniers plus a rollbag this summer.

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The subframes on the SDR is different to the GT and IIRC there are no P clips

Having said that the P clips on mine are substantial and look like they would take some breaking

I tend to have the big bag on the forward side of the rack I.E resting on the seat so the weight shold not be an issue any way

I had the 50l bag resting on my tarp so the weight was on that rather than the frame and the roll bag was on the rack which should have meant it was also supported by the seat and tarp bag.

The biggest problem is that there’s hardly any clearance between the subframe and the support bars on the luggage so you can only get a P clip with 1mm wall in there. I used some self amalgamating tape around the bars of the luggage frame to try and stop any vibration causing stress fractures but the fucker still let go which left the frame swaying about until I ratchet strapped it down.

Ok, I did a lot of miles in a short space of time on crap roads going through the Baltic States but it’s luggage made for touring and that’s what I was doing.

Daxaar said:

I haven't even listed what I'm taking so no idea how you work that one out. The US30 already has the camping gear in and there ain't enough space for other luxeries like underwear. If I wasn't camping the US30 would be sufficient. Those panniers are empty in the photo, just looking at options without spending on bike specific luggage.

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I worked it out by thinking you were going camping with no mates for 10 days , I've been doing that on various bikes over the past few years ( although with mates) and whilst I started with bikes much smaller I always overloaded with stuff I didn't need....however I never had as much storage as your picture.

Just the ventura rack over the seat and a dry bag on the rack at the back.
Also the design isn't flawed , if you pack the bag it is possible have the majority of the weight taken by the pack above the seat.

AndyB_11 said:

If the SDR has the same rear subframe as the GT then I’d avoid Ventura unless you intend to either replace the brackets that support it at the back or carry a small ratchet strap to repair them with later in the trip when it fails.

Ok, I overloaded mine by filling a 50l bag then putting a small tent, sleeping bag and self inflating mat on the rack behind the upright part of the system but as a design it’s flawed and I’m using the KTM panniers plus a rollbag this summer.

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Decided to go Kriega. Already got the 30 and easy to shift on later.

My current plans will see me heading out 7th July with the KTM Motohall as a vague target via the B500 again then possibly heading back over the Chimay weekend. Got a link for online booking the municipal campsite? The form on this page only goes upto 2015! None of the other sites I can find it on have a booking form.

We’re going to the Sachsenring for the MotoGP so we’ll be leaving there on Monday the 8th though where we’re going depends on the weather.

Heading south east into Romania is probably favourite then we’ll do the Transalpina and Transgagarasan plus probably lose a day so the tourist can do her bit and wander around Brasov eating ice cream and visit Dracula’s castle. After that who knows? Maybe venture into the Ukraine simply because I’ve never been or maybe go to the Black Sea just because it’s there.

The only certainty is that we’re ending the two weeks at Chimay but we’re stopping at Brigittes place and locking the bikes in her yard for the weekend.

Pat, Eddie and John H are all stopping at the municipal campsite and you need to send them an email to reserve a place. They speak English so you’ll be fine.

If you want to join us doing high passes and fucking about in the east let me know and we can make a vague plan but we’ll be in hotels rather than in a rag shed