1290 SAS first impressions

thughes317

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So, I've been hesitant to post a review of my S10's replacement due to some perceived animosity from a few members whenever someone here discusses the virtues of a bike other than that which is this forum's namesake. I love this forum and the awesome members here, find this a great place to hang out and exchange knowledge regardless of brand ownership, and I will continue to contribute and troll here as I see fit. At Dirt_Dads insistence, I am sharing my recent experience with "another brand".

5200 miles, 15 days: Salton Sea, Sonoran desert, Mojave desert, Extraterrestrial Highway, Area 51, Los Alamos, Route 66.

Left central KY 2 weeks ago on my 2022 1290 SAS having less than 700 miles on the odometer (just enough to get first dealer service completed); some observations below:

- fuel mileage: about the same as my S10 (43-45 mpg)

- long distance comfort: S10 wins at this point (although I did spend a bunch of time and $$ monkeying around with finding the right seat, bar risers, seat leveling, etc.). The rider triangle on the orange bike is too short between seat and pegs for even my average 32" inseam.....my legs start to cramp up after an hour or so. Perhaps some highway pegs may help? I will say that the stock bar height and bend on the KTM is perfect for me, I used to get some pretty bad lower back pain on the S10 (which I would fight with liberal handfuls of ibuprofen every couple of hours) but I now realize that was due to the shape of the stock Yamaha handlebars.

- crosswinds: The S10 has always been the most rock solid bike I have ever ridden in cross winds. That said, if the S10 rates a "10" in the wind, the SAS gets an "11". At first I thought it may be due to the fuel being carried down by my toes on the KTM vs between my knees on the Yamaha but I eventually realized that the KTM comes stock with a steering stabilizer. (duh)

- power: No contest, KTM wins. That said, the S10 has more power than anybody needs 99.9% of the time...it's just that the inner hooligan can't get enough of twisting the grip on that LC8 lump. The multiple ride modes on the SAS are nice but to be honest I've only only used "sport" or "rain"......basically "S" or "T" on the Yamaha. I have not played with "Rally" mode yet (lets you manually adjust throttle response, engine breaking, wheelie control, traction control, etc.) so I can't comment on what it's like fully uncorked.

- suspension: Caveat: I owned a non-ES so I can't make an apples to apples comparison here, and my S10 had 50K miles on the stock suspension (never serviced). I can say that the active suspension on the SAS is pretty sweet. Setting it in the "comfort" mode for slabbing it, the thing floats along like a mid-70's Buick Electra (only without the vague handling of the land yacht). Switching to "sport" mode tightens things up and makes for a lot of fun on the back roads. There's also an "auto" mode that adapts to your riding style, as well as "street" and "off road". The "standard" mode for preload automatically adjusts for the correct sag as passenger and gear loads change, you can also adjust the preload in 10% increments up/down. I splurged for the tech pack which gives full control of compression/rebound both front and rear (independently), have not played with that yet either but I don't have a very well developed palate when it comes to understanding the nuances of finer suspension adjustments.

- maintenance: I did not have to adjust the chain at all for the 5000+ mile trip. I did run a chain brush over it and squirt some lube on twice during the trip: once when it was caked in dust from crossing the desert and once after an all day ride in the pouring rain. Chain and sprocket replacement remain a fact of life for this bike, so the S10 gets the nod here.

wind/rain protection: It's a draw here. My S10 had the OEM "tall" screen on it and a chinesium knock-off spoiler clipped to the top edge, the rider bubble was completely quiet and there was no buffeting anywhere, downside is that I never got any air to my face to cool off on the really hot days. The adjustable screen on the SAS provides that same quiet rider bubble when cranked up to the high position (something you can do on-the-fly....advantage KTM) and when cranked down allowed for the air to hit me mid-face (so that the vents on my helmet actually became effective), although there is a bit of air buffeting my elbows that I didn't get on the yamaha.

- misc: Two things which I thought would be gimmicks really surprised me in their usefulness: the heated seat and active (radar) cruise control. The heated seat (biscuit-warmer) was a life-saver for the first couple of days on the slab in pouring rain and 40 degree temps. The active cruise control....holy shit.....it's amazing! Set the max speed you want to go (usually @ 80 on the highway) and the following distance (I normally had it set for about 3 car lengths, more in the rain) then simply let it do its thing. If you get stuck behind a slow vehicle while waiting to pass, as soon as you hit the turn indicator to pull out it automatically begins to accelerate as soon as the blinker comes on. Stuck in slow traffic in a construction zone? No worries, it just slows you to the pace the vehicle ahead of you regardless of the speed changes. Also, being able to upshift/downshift without having the CC disengage is really convenient (speedshifter and or clutch assisted shifts: the CC won't disengage until the clutch lever is held in for more than 4 seconds). My biggest concern was what happens if someone pulls in front of me suddenly (inside my safe following distance), will it jam the brakes on and get me rear-ended? Apparently it looks to see if that vehicle is pulling away from you (however slightly) and only reacts if said interloper is slowing (and reducing distance between you and their rear bumper)....pretty neat. You can also adjust how aggressively the CC slows or accelerates you. It also recognizes objects as small as another motorcycle in front of you. (Sorry to gush, but I am really impressed with this system.)

summary: My cramped legs missed the S10 on this trip but my inner man-child giggled like a school girl (that's a weird statement) every time I twisted the throttle, so it's a wash. No weird glitches with the sophisticated electronics on the SAS, which seen to be to subject of most KTM horror stories. Wish I could have kept both, the S10 for long miles and the SAS for everything else but I'm not independently wealthy. Perhaps I may go full in favor of the orange after I get some highway pegs sorted out, but for now each has it's merits and I'm not regretting the decision to jump ship.


2023-roadtrip.png


I'll post a few pics from the trip as I get the time.
 
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Dirt_Dad

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Thank you for indulging my request and giving us your thoughts. I've been curious about how it's going.

Sport and Rain modes. That's about it for me, too. I understand Rally on my 890, not sure when it would be useful on the SAS unless you're doing a lot of off pavement.

Interesting to get your thoughts on the radar CC.

Great trip photos. Seems like an excellent way to break in the beast.

Looking forward to more as you learn the bike. :)
 

Cycledude

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Very interesting trip to a lot of places I’ve never been to ! , Your picture of the stock windshield make it look nearly useless but your description make it sound fantastic.
 
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Dirt_Dad

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...but my inner man-child giggled like a school girl (that's a weird statement) every time I twisted the throttle
By the way, as far as I can tell, 28K miles into the SAS,...this reaction never goes away. In fact, it becomes an addiction. It's often followed by the thought, 'did this bike just do that!!?', yes, yes it did. And of course another school girl laugh happens at that point.

It's at least 80% of the reason I can't imagine my riding life without the SAS.
 
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