R has 21/18 wheels so slower turning but more compliant over crap roads than the S.
R also doesn’t have semi active suspension and looks much better
2021 1290S
- Thread starter Arsey
- Start date
R has 21/18 wheels so slower turning but more compliant over crap roads than the S.
R also doesn’t have semi active suspension and looks much better
Basically R with the 21" wheel is more suited to off roading and the S with the 19" wheel is more road focuses. R gets longer travel conventional suspension, S electronic semi active suspension and comes with radar cruise control if that's your thing.
R comes with crash bars as standard and costs an extra £1k compared to the S!
Problem you will have is virtually no one has an R as a demo so will be a leap of faith to order the R based on a test test ride on the S.
If you like bikes with 21" wheels then probably not a problem
Stick to the S unless you hate the colours. The S handles awful roads brilliantly. Way better than the 2017 model. If you plan to go pot hole hunting then the R may suit, but you is better off watching where you is going. Also it comes with an anti-dive setting that's brilliant. Caps B.
If you carry a pillion it's now a great choice too.
Off to Hiltop on Wednesday
Lets see what a Geoff map does to it.
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If you carry a pillion it's now a great choice too.
Off to Hiltop on Wednesday
Lets see what a Geoff map does to it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
R has 21/18 wheels so slower turning but more compliant over crap roads than the S.
R also doesn’t have semi active suspension and looks much better
It certainly does, I saw one in the flesh a week or so back and it was bloody lovely!!!
Ive had both! (* a couple of years ago now - things may have moved on ...)
The R is actually, a very nice road bike! As has been said, the two big stand out differences are suspension and wheel size (and spokes).
For all the convenience of electronic suspension, (one up, two up at the press of a button etc) the manual suspension of the R is very, very plush. Back to back there is a real difference and there will always be just a hint of zeros and ones in the electronic package. The manual had just such a silky feel to it. But ... you had to get it set up right (which took me weeks of fettling up and down the local rat run with a screwdriver!!) (front forks you can tweak a click of rebound or compression on the move, which actually, was really handy jumping from fast smooth A to bumpy B)
The 21'' front is again, actually, very good if you like gnarly back b roads. That and the manual suspension just floats beautifully.
The trade off is that big gyroscope that is quite slow to turn. That again can be handy sometimes* - holds a line very well and doesn't follow your eyes quite as quickly as say a sports bike will. *Holding a deep line on the road and not peeling in early.
The other trade off is a 90/90 profile. For me I'm sure it was all in my head, but I just couldn't bring myself to really push it on corner entry like you would a 17" front with its traditional profile. Also your choice of tyres for 90/90 will be slightly limited.
But very nice bike. Its plush silky ride was a big highlight for me.
The R is actually, a very nice road bike! As has been said, the two big stand out differences are suspension and wheel size (and spokes).
For all the convenience of electronic suspension, (one up, two up at the press of a button etc) the manual suspension of the R is very, very plush. Back to back there is a real difference and there will always be just a hint of zeros and ones in the electronic package. The manual had just such a silky feel to it. But ... you had to get it set up right (which took me weeks of fettling up and down the local rat run with a screwdriver!!) (front forks you can tweak a click of rebound or compression on the move, which actually, was really handy jumping from fast smooth A to bumpy B)
The 21'' front is again, actually, very good if you like gnarly back b roads. That and the manual suspension just floats beautifully.
The trade off is that big gyroscope that is quite slow to turn. That again can be handy sometimes* - holds a line very well and doesn't follow your eyes quite as quickly as say a sports bike will. *Holding a deep line on the road and not peeling in early.
The other trade off is a 90/90 profile. For me I'm sure it was all in my head, but I just couldn't bring myself to really push it on corner entry like you would a 17" front with its traditional profile. Also your choice of tyres for 90/90 will be slightly limited.
But very nice bike. Its plush silky ride was a big highlight for me.
Was in looking at the S and the R on Saturday. Both looked great. Will test ride the R in a few weeks.
Was on my way out and spotted this in the “Sold” section. The Matt blue paint is stunning.
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Was on my way out and spotted this in the “Sold” section. The Matt blue paint is stunning.
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As other have said the R is more aimed for offroad.
I personally love good quality traditional suspension but still bought an S model (2018) after riding both models twice, the S felt like a sports-tourer in terms of handling, much better than the 1190S it replaced for riding in a sporty manner on smooth roads.
I knew I could set the R Suspension up better given time, but the convenience of changing with a press of a button does narrow the gap, otherwise you have to set the manual stuff up in a compromise setting, or for what you ride the most, so overall not much in it unless your going to stop every time you encounter different road conditions and adjust it.
The 21" wheel was the deal breaker for me, I am sure the skinny little bastard gives more grip than I can use 99.99% of the time, but I want as much grip as possible as it may get me out of the shit when I run out of talent, it also offers more sporty rubber options (Conti Road Attack 4's are awesome, best I have used on our 1090 / 1190 / 1290 in last 5 years) The 21" also turns quite slow and felt to me as if it was trying to sit the bike up - 21 model may be a bit different but the differences the wheel sizes and tyre choices make will have a similar effect overall.
Lastly it is a bit taller, so you may struggle to reach the floor, although 21 model is definitely a bit lower to the ground than the 17-20 models.
If all I did was ride narrow back lanes and shitty roads then the R would be the one - but it would also be an 890 model, as for offroad then that would be a 690 most likely and certainly nothing bigger than the 890. Of course YMMV.
Of course the R colours do look really nice, so if you just want to ponce about at local bike meet with manly looking chunky tyres and tell anyone willing to listen tht you plan to enter the Romaniacs next year then it has to be the 1290R.
Just go for a long ride on the 1290S, put throttle in Sport (or it will hold back power quite a bit) and then try and ride as many roads types as possible - and just swap suspension modes, maybe play with pre-load as that can be changed on fly and will affect how it steers and feels in the bends.
Don't waste valuable test time on other menu's or even pissing about cruise - it works, and it is just a waste of valuable test time IMHO.
PS, tyres are a bit budget for some reason, so if your used to decking out your current steed / getting your knee down everywhere bear this in mind before chucking it on its side on the first corner you encounter ;-)
Get seat height where you would prefer it before setting off, I went off wit it low, and my 2018 has higher seat postion to start with and I ride with it in highest setting so it felt real odd, and I could not be arsed to stop and fuck about - but will try one again if I get serious about a change, but although a bit better in several areas I did not find it vastly superior so will keep mine a fair bit longer as I still love it.
Have fun.
I personally love good quality traditional suspension but still bought an S model (2018) after riding both models twice, the S felt like a sports-tourer in terms of handling, much better than the 1190S it replaced for riding in a sporty manner on smooth roads.
I knew I could set the R Suspension up better given time, but the convenience of changing with a press of a button does narrow the gap, otherwise you have to set the manual stuff up in a compromise setting, or for what you ride the most, so overall not much in it unless your going to stop every time you encounter different road conditions and adjust it.
The 21" wheel was the deal breaker for me, I am sure the skinny little bastard gives more grip than I can use 99.99% of the time, but I want as much grip as possible as it may get me out of the shit when I run out of talent, it also offers more sporty rubber options (Conti Road Attack 4's are awesome, best I have used on our 1090 / 1190 / 1290 in last 5 years) The 21" also turns quite slow and felt to me as if it was trying to sit the bike up - 21 model may be a bit different but the differences the wheel sizes and tyre choices make will have a similar effect overall.
Lastly it is a bit taller, so you may struggle to reach the floor, although 21 model is definitely a bit lower to the ground than the 17-20 models.
If all I did was ride narrow back lanes and shitty roads then the R would be the one - but it would also be an 890 model, as for offroad then that would be a 690 most likely and certainly nothing bigger than the 890. Of course YMMV.
Of course the R colours do look really nice, so if you just want to ponce about at local bike meet with manly looking chunky tyres and tell anyone willing to listen tht you plan to enter the Romaniacs next year then it has to be the 1290R.
Just go for a long ride on the 1290S, put throttle in Sport (or it will hold back power quite a bit) and then try and ride as many roads types as possible - and just swap suspension modes, maybe play with pre-load as that can be changed on fly and will affect how it steers and feels in the bends.
Don't waste valuable test time on other menu's or even pissing about cruise - it works, and it is just a waste of valuable test time IMHO.
PS, tyres are a bit budget for some reason, so if your used to decking out your current steed / getting your knee down everywhere bear this in mind before chucking it on its side on the first corner you encounter ;-)
Get seat height where you would prefer it before setting off, I went off wit it low, and my 2018 has higher seat postion to start with and I ride with it in highest setting so it felt real odd, and I could not be arsed to stop and fuck about - but will try one again if I get serious about a change, but although a bit better in several areas I did not find it vastly superior so will keep mine a fair bit longer as I still love it.
Have fun.
Grey panels lacquered.
Although they haven't made a very good job of the lacquer it does make the bike look 100% better in my opinion. Looks very good in the flesh, not so sure the pictures show it off.
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I've been to see Mark at 'Paintzfiction' this morning. He done lots for me over the last 10 years. he did my Guzzi 1200 sport in Gulf colours, lovely job. After some discussion we decided, he would remove the orange S stickers and replicate them in silver paint with the highlighted areas done in a darker silver, then clearcoat over everything. I'm taking the panels to him after my return from Portsoy. I'll post some pics toward the end of September. Hopefully should look good.
Yes, I test rode an S and bought an R. All my other bikes at the moment have 21" front wheels so I was able to extrapolate.
Basically R with the 21" wheel is more suited to off roading and the S with the 19" wheel is more road focuses. R gets longer travel conventional suspension, S electronic semi active suspension and comes with radar cruise control if that's your thing.
R comes with crash bars as standard and costs an extra £1k compared to the S!
Problem you will have is virtually no one has an R as a demo so will be a leap of faith to order the R based on a test test ride on the S.
If you like bikes with 21" wheels then probably not a problem
Had a great day riding today, first to Oxford KTM to test out the 1290 SAR then out to Chadlington for a bacon buttie at Clarksons Diddly Squat farm shop... Gotta say i was very underwhelmed with the KTM. It felt cheap, rattled everywhere, there was an audible 'clunk' from the front end whenever i went over any uneven surface and during one corner i was concerned it wasn't going to make it round...Felt like it really didn't want to turn in, very different experience from cornering on the big GS... It only had 250 miles on it but it felt like it had 20000k miles on it.. Took it back to the dealers and told them about the front end clunking and he tried to tell me it would have been the head race bearings that wouldn't have 'bedded' in yet ....
. The only positive i have to say about it was the engine, it really did go very well..
Anyway that's the orange itch scratched, won't be scratching it again....
Now where's my GSA..
. The only positive i have to say about it was the engine, it really did go very well..Anyway that's the orange itch scratched, won't be scratching it again....
Now where's my GSA..
Had a great day riding today, first to Oxford KTM to test out the 1290 SAR then out to Chadlington for a bacon buttie at Clarksons Diddly Squat farm shop... Gotta say i was very underwhelmed with the KTM. It felt cheap, rattled everywhere, there was an audible 'clunk' from the front end whenever i went over any uneven surface and during one corner i was concerned it wasn't going to make it round...Felt like it really didn't want to turn in, very different experience from cornering on the big GS... It only had 250 miles on it but it felt like it had 20000k miles on it.. Took it back to the dealers and told them about the front end clunking and he tried to tell me it would have been the head race bearings that wouldn't have 'bedded' in yet ....
Anyway that's the orange itch scratched, won't be scratching it again....
Now where's my GSA..
Will probably have been the chain tension. Makes quite a noise if a bit loose. Easily fixed.
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I would agree about the chain. I found it very disconcerting initially until I realised it was the chain rattling on uneven surfaces. My SAS turns in lovely despite only having the preload set at 20% (shortlegs). Not so keen on the Mitas tyres though.
Fully appreciate the chain rattle although I wouldn’t expect it on a bike with only 250 miles. For me it was all the other stuff that really let the bike down. The switchgear felt cheap, there was no solid click when using the indicators. The cancel button was crap, so much so that I had to keep looking at the TFT to make sure they weren’t still on.. The clunking from the front end was also a little concerning and the dealership experience was crap…
Yes, but don't put up with it.
For very many years I have tweaked the chain on KTM is very slightly tighter than the recommended. I've never had a single problem with a chain or drive on one and that tiny bit extra has helped just about all of them with chain slap. If you've got a noticeable 'chug' on throttle take up it's usually the chain still too loose.
Always load the suspension at the rear to make sure it's not too tight after adjusting though. Not so easy with electronic suspension but doable.
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Had a great day riding today, first to Oxford KTM to test out the 1290 SAR then out to Chadlington for a bacon buttie at Clarksons Diddly Squat farm shop... Gotta say i was very underwhelmed with the KTM. It felt cheap, rattled everywhere, there was an audible 'clunk' from the front end whenever i went over any uneven surface and during one corner i was concerned it wasn't going to make it round...Felt like it really didn't want to turn in, very different experience from cornering on the big GS... It only had 250 miles on it but it felt like it had 20000k miles on it.. Took it back to the dealers and told them about the front end clunking and he tried to tell me it would have been the head race bearings that wouldn't have 'bedded' in yet ....
Anyway that's the orange itch scratched, won't be scratching it again....
Now where's my GSA..
Fair play for giving it ago - although personally I would have tried the S rather than R to give you a closer experience to your GSA.
Having had the 1190, old 1290 and now 800 miles in on the 2021 SAS I am "tuned in" as to how they go and would not go back to a GS/GSA.
The only downside so far for me is the indicator switch on the latest one which is just odd but now gotten used to it
................ and KTM UK/Austria being completely useless when it comes to supplying the extras - looks like it will be over 3 months before I can get the tall Ergo seat for example
What?
Have you only ever ridden a GS? 250miles into a brand new chain that's been ragged on test rides and was almost certainly slack to start with WILL be slack. You can adjust a chain to perfection after every ride until it settles down if you've a mind too.
At least it's adjustable. Those power sapping GS shafts have to be put up with when the clonk clonk starts
And you can't fix the harsh suspension - you just have to live with that. The shift cam bikes I've ridden were noticeably crashy after jumping off the KTM. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Chain rattles only on the roughest of roads, otherwise it's silky smooth. The bike appears very well put together including the switch gear. As for the indicator cancel, once you suss it, it's very nice you simply push it down.Can't comment on the dealership. I'm very fortunate to have a very good dealer not to far away.
It's just such a bloody easy bike to ride and to ride quickly without drama. I haven't ridden the latest V4 Multistrada, but the KTM spanks everything else I've ever ridden. That includes the latest 1250 GS's. I can't say the 1250 gs was a crap bike, it's a fantastic bike, just a bit vanilla for my liking.
4000mls down the road and I'm still getting excited everytime I take it out. The KTM that is.
I visited Geoff at Hiltop this week. As usual the bike is even more amazing now. If fact its a bit too bonkers so for the first time ever I need to return - get the throttle dialed down a bit!
As usual with Geoff software the bike now has so much torque and will now sit happily at 50/52mph in 6th on the flat instead of 60mph+ before. The role-on power is sensational. That'll come into its own two up with luggage.
If you fancy a trip to Geoff it'd be worth waiting until mine is dialled in a tad and he's saved the changes for this bike.
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As usual with Geoff software the bike now has so much torque and will now sit happily at 50/52mph in 6th on the flat instead of 60mph+ before. The role-on power is sensational. That'll come into its own two up with luggage.
If you fancy a trip to Geoff it'd be worth waiting until mine is dialled in a tad and he's saved the changes for this bike.
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What?
Have you only ever ridden a GS? 250miles into a brand new chain that's been ragged on test rides and was almost certainly slack to start with WILL be slack. You can adjust a chain to perfection after every ride until it settles down if you've a mind too.
At least it's adjustable. Those power sapping GS shafts have to be put up with when the clonk clonk startsAnd you can't fix the harsh suspension - you just have to live with that. The shift cam bikes I've ridden were noticeably crashy after jumping off the KTM.
Nope, had a R1 and a Bandit before transitioning onto a GS so well versed with chain driven proper fast bikes. Never had any significant noise from either of those. As far as adjusting the chain to perfection, that’s what I’d expect the dealership to do..
Oh and of the 3 GSAs and 1 1250 GS the only clink I ever got was putting them in gear, that I can live with…
Fair play for giving it ago - although personally I would have tried the S rather than R to give you a closer experience to your GSA.
Having had the 1190, old 1290 and now 800 miles in on the 2021 SAS I am "tuned in" as to how they go and would not go back to a GS/GSA.
The only downside so far for me is the indicator switch on the latest one which is just odd but now gotten used to it
................ and KTM UK/Austria being completely useless when it comes to supplying the extras - looks like it will be over 3 months before I can get the tall Ergo seat for example
I think you may have got that the wrong way round… I was riding the S as they didn’t have a R as a demo bike..
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