Long-Term KTM 1290 Super Adventure: Homeward Bound, Part 4

Editor's note: Former Editor At Large Aaron Frank's long-term KTM Super Adventure is headed back to Motorcyclist headquarters in Irvine, CA, from Aaron's home in Milwaukee, WI. Piloting the bike for us is Joe McKimmey, art director of sister Bonnier brand Dirt Rider. He was crazy enough to contemplate a trip from Chicago to California in early March.

You know by now that our theoretically well-considered plans to bring the long-term Super A project bike back from the frozen wasteland of Wisconsin started with the promise of a riding vacation for Dirt Rider Art Director Joe McKimmy. It ended, unfortunately, with the big KTM taking a tumble off the road so extensive that it mangled the "bomb proof" Jesse Luggage and twisted the top box into origami. Fortunately, Joe is okay—partly displaced collarbone notwithstanding—and, after getting the full description of the crash, we're more than a little surprised at how well the Super A came through. It's one tough machine.

Some housekeeping before we recount the Super A's final journey. When in Aaron Frank's possession, the KTM displayed some electrical anomalies, which we attributed to a nearly dead battery, itself the result of an undocumented farkle. Aaron installed a new battery before Joe embarked on what would have been a 5,000-mile tour from Chicago to Southern California. Joe reported an electrical issue early in the trip while riding in rain with the outside air temperature just above freezing. He'd come to a stop and inadvertently stalled the bike. After restarting it, the entire instrument cluster was dead. The bike ran fine, and all the exterior lights worked, but no instruments. He rode like that for several miles before making a stop to change gloves. When he restarted the bike, the instruments came back and remained working for the rest of the trip.

Unfortunately, in the accident the instrument cluster was destroyed, so our best guess that the Super Adventure had some sort of connector issue or something wrong in the display itself can't be verified. (Once more on the trip, the fuel gauge appeared to "hang" at full, and we've all complained that the default, after-fill-up reading of 420 miles for the range display is nowhere near reality. Ever.) A reader emailed in to suggest that his 1290 Super A does the same thing but that the cause is the display remaining on kilometers even when the rest of the cluster is set for miles/mph. He said that once you do the math to convert, the range display is a lot more accurate. Who knew?

For the bike’s part, everything else continued to work even as the display went AWOL. And it’s also worth noting that we had no problems with the KTM’s electronics while it was still in California.

Joe had nothing but praise for the bike’s ability to consume miles. “I loved the heated grips and seat, and I was comfortable at highway speed immediately,” he said. More than that, the KTM belies its physical size in sporting potential. “I had a couple of days dragging footpegs in Arkansas,” he recalls, “and it was a blast.” By that time, the Continental TKC 70s fitted in Wisconsin had about 3,500 miles on them and were “looking good,” according to Joe. By the end of the trip, with an estimated 5,700 miles on them, the front was cupped and the rear well squared off, suggesting this is the practical limit for the TKC 70s, at least on this powerful, often heavily loaded ADV machine.

Before the Super A left California it was fitted with Jesse Luggage Systems' Odyssey II aluminum hard cases ($980) and mounts ($300). The 8-inch-wide bags carry 44 liters on the left and 35 on the pipe side. While not light—10 pounds each, plus mounts—they're beautifully made, water tight, easy to pack because they're top loading, and magnificently tucked in, which makes the Super A easier to split lanes with for us in California, and generally easier to park and store for everyone else. (Narrower bags also lessen the chance than you'll kick one of them while you're adventuring off road.) A few of us grumbled at having to lock both front and rear latches for maximum security, but we all appreciated the no-nonsense functionality of these cases. Finally, while the bags were seriously twisted up after the crash, they were basically intact.

In a follow-up call with Al Jesse, he promised to look at the bags when they returned to his Arizona shop and, if he could, he would rebuild them to prove just how hard-core his offerings are. We'll be amazed if he can do it, but never doubt the man's tenacity. It's also worth noting that had we envisioned carrying a sleeping bag on the outside, we'd have opted for Jesse's lid racks (jesseluggage.com), which would have made the installation much more stable.

Our first thought was that the 1290 would be totaled. After all, the impact had managed to twist some serious luggage and do damage to quite a lot of the bike above the handlebar. Surely the frame would have a ding or the rear subframe would be bent. And wouldn’t the front wheel or fork be in jeopardy of damage?

Apparently, no. Soon after returning the bike to KTM’s Temecula, California, shop we got a text and photos from KTM’s service facility here in California noting that our erstwhile long-termer is not destined for an insurance write-off as we assumed. Apparently the Super A is tougher than that.

“The fuel tank is fine,” we were told by our press contact. “The back of the bike is fine, the subframe isn’t even bent.” That’s a real surprise given the angle and intensity of the hit. We’re willing to chalk that up to the combination of Jesse and SW-Motech luggage taking the brunt of the impact. We were concerned that the front end was damaged because the impact cleaned off everything above the handgrips, but that’s not the case either. “No,” our contact said, “the front wheel is fine, the fork is straight. No problems there.”

Replacing all the damaged parts will take some money, and that includes a new shock. Apparently, the bag that got loose and entered the rear wheel either had enough force to break the shock shaft or the impact itself did the trick, but there’s $2,000 for a shock right there.

In truth, KTM doesn't yet have all the parts to determine if the engine is undamaged, though it turns freely. Since the accident began with a bag locking the rear wheel, it's logical that the engine had stalled before the crash, so it never had a chance to run without oil pressure. And we don't yet know if there are electrical issues, either lingering or new from the impact. Once KTM gets the Super A running again, we'll report back. But we have to admit that we're impressed such a nasty accident didn't kill the Super A.