KTM 1290 Super Adventure S

At the top of KTM's touring-focused adventure range sits the 1290 Super Adventure S, and the clearest way to describe what separates it from everything below it is one feature: genuine radar-based adaptive cruise control, which automatically maintains distance from the vehicle ahead. That's confirmed directly on KTM's own India product page, and it's a feature you simply won't find on the smaller 890 Adventure — this is KTM building a bike meant to cover long highway distances in comfort, not just handle rough terrain well. The engine is a 1,301cc 75-degree V-twin producing 160PS at 8,750rpm and 140Nm at 6,500rpm, run through a 6-speed PANKL gearbox with a Quickshifter+ and a PASC slipper-assist clutch. Suspension is WP's semi-active system front and rear, using electronically controlled magnetic valves to adjust damping on the move, with an optional Suspension PRO package for riders who want to fine-tune it further. Braking comes from twin 320mm front discs gripped by fixed Brembo calipers and a 267mm rear disc, managed by Bosch's two-channel ABS with both cornering and offroad modes, alongside lean-sensitive traction control. Seat height adjusts across a 20mm range between 849mm and 869mm, kerb weight is around 250kg, and the 23-litre fuel tank includes an integrated storage compartment with a USB socket — a touring detail, not a styling one. The dashboard is a tilt-adjustable 7-inch TFT unit, and KTM has fitted keyless ignition with an anti-relay-attack system to guard against the relay-based theft method that's become a real concern on keyless vehicles, along with tyre pressure monitoring and automatic turn-indicator cancellation. Mitas supplies a bespoke Terra Force-R tyre compound for this bike specifically. All of this sits on top of a chassis still capable of a reasonable amount of green-laning, even if that's not its primary brief the way it is on the smaller 890 Adventure R. At Rs 22,73,900 ex-showroom, this is a flagship purchase — riders choosing it are usually covering serious highway distances, often cross-country, and want a bike that handles that at a near-car level of comfort and safety tech while still being capable if a stretch of the route turns unpaved. It's the touring-biased counterpart to the 890 Adventure R's off-road bias within KTM's own range, and at this price point it's squarely competing with the top-end adventure tourers from BMW and Ducati rather than anything smaller. Against KTM's own 890 Adventure R, the 1290 Super Adventure S gives up some outright off-road capability in exchange for a chassis and electronics set clearly built around covering ground quickly and comfortably on paved roads — the semi-active suspension and radar cruise control both point toward sustained highway use rather than technical trail riding. Servicing a bike with this much electronics complexity is best handled at a dealer with real experience on KTM's flagship models, and buyers should factor that into where they choose to register and maintain it, since not every KTM outlet carries the same depth of support for the top-of-range machines.