Well Well! KTM followed a trend and came up with their version of an auto box on a motorcycle. Yes, yes, we hear you, IT’S NOT AUTOMATIC DAMMIT, it’s AMT.
To be quite frank, they have done a spectacular job.
It took us a long time to get our mitts onto this bike. It was unveiled at the AMID show in January and then was sent on a countrywide tour so that dealerships could pop the bike onto the floor and let customers ogle it.
Eventually, 3 months later, the bike made its way back to Gauteng where we spotted it on the floor at RAD KTM.
From there it was sent for a checkup at KTM head office and we were handed the FOB.
1390?
The race to be the biggest capacity motorcycle on the market has been raging for a while now and, once again, KTM had nudged ahead of their Bavarian competitor by boring their 1290 out to a 1390. Well – a 1350 actually, but that mill pushes 143 HP with 145NM of torque on tap.
Why do they use the 1390 nomenclature?
Well it’s a KTM signature – think about it, the little ones a 390, then there’s the 690, 790, 890, 990, 1090… you get the drift?
How does the AMT work?
Switching between automatic or manual shift is easiest via a push button on the right handlebar.
The Automatic Manual Transmission (AMT) allows you to drop the S Evo into gear either by a conventional foot lever or via up/down paddles on the left handlebar.
At idle, it only works if you have a brake applied. The shift pattern includes a ‘Park’ mode, making the sequence P-N-1-2-3-4-5-6.
While it is significant, the AMT system is really only a small part of the whole. KTM has packed this bike with enough tech to make your eyes water.
KTM’s new V80 TFT display is seriously cool. It’s basically a touchscreen tablet for controlling and monitoring everything that the 1390 has to offer. It provides access to the updated Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system. Adaptive cruise has been around for a while and adjusts the bike’s speed to maintain a safe distance behind the vehicle in front.
KTM’s latest system has five distance levels and three modes – Sport, which reacts quickly to changes, a softer Comfort setting and new Group Ride function which is designed to see what KTM calls ‘objects with a lateral offset’, such as motorcycles in formation.
Powered by Bosch’s latest radar tech, the ACC can bring the bike to a dead stop when following traffic, before automatically moving off again when the road clears.
Clever stuff this!.
The bikes upgraded 1350cc engine uses Camshift technology first unveiled on the 1390 SuperDuke R Evo. This means that the adventure bike gets greater peak performance, alongside improved low-end rideability, plus lower emissions and better fuel consumption than its predecessor.
There are chassis updates that include increased frame stiffness with footpegs that are positioned wider and lower than before. This equates to better riding comfort. Brembo brakes slow things down with a 19/17”wheel combination on cast mag wheels.
Rounding things out, KTM has fitted the latest generation WP Semi-Active suspension, which they tell us “gives greater precision thanks to a new Pulse Width Module (PWM) and revised fork through-rod construction.”
It’s a lot but what’s it like to ride in the real world?
When we attended the 1290 launch all those years ago, KTM presented the 1290 ADV S and the 1290 ADV R. After riding both, quite a few of our lot decided that they actually preferred the smaller wheel “S” version. There were a few reasons for that – and with the launch of the latest 1390 “R” model looming at the KTM Rally, it will be an interesting exercise to take both bikes out and make a comparison again.
The big capacity crop of ADV machines are big. There’s no getting around this – and unless you yourself are a big, strong rider, rolling them around the garage is often something of a chore. When you swing your leg over and get moving, that all changes.
The 1390 S is actually quite compact for a bike of this capacity. So much so, that for the week or so that we had it, it became the bike of choice for commuting in addition to some of the longer rides that we took.
It’s seriously comfortable, seriously quick when you are in a hurry and really easy to live with every day.
Go and ride one, you’ll see what we mean.
With the smaller front wheel, it’s easy to hop on and off and maneuver about. Riding through traffic is not really as big a chore as it can be on physically larger, wider machines and she’s not ridiculously tall. The bike is comfortable with a well designed screen to keep the wind at bay at speeds. No complaints about the seat or riding position from our lot either and we like the small touches like the padded cubby in front of the filler cap on the 23 litre tank, designed for large smartphones complete with a USB-C port for charging.
There’s a second socket below the TFT dash for powering up additional devices such as your GPS or Insta 360 cam.
We’ll tell you all about grunt and modes and things, but suffice it to say that the 1390 delivers dollops of grin inducing power. It all depends on how you decide to use the throttle.
Initially, the lack of a clutch lever feels a bit weird, but we discovered that living with the AMT system is really easy and we’ll wager that most people who buy this bike will simply leave it in auto mode.
The S Evo has four ride modes.
Rain, Street, Sport and Off-road. Each of these adjust the throttle response, engine braking, traction control, suspension, and the AMT’s auto shifter.
But there’s more… Each one of those settings has its own adjustable parameters, with even more options available when you opt for additional software packs.
It’s all above our pay grade, but in our opinion, all you really need to do is pick a ride mode, choose how you want to shift gears, and let the 1390’s electronic magic take care of the details.
For town we selected street and auto. We then turned the bike towards the capital city to pay a visit to the guys at Offroad Cycles. Smooth sailing all the way with calm, comfortable predictable power that keeps a bit in reserve for when you need a squirt to overtake. Getting used to the lack of a clutch all happens quite quickly.
Shifting to Sports mode makes things happen a bit quicker and it stiffens up the suspension and that’s what we used out on the open roads. In Auto, the system responds to a more “enthusiastic” use of the throttle by revving longer before shifting up. It’s fun and you still have the ability to up and downshift as you like. Clicking up gears on the paddle shift is just a thumb reach away and on the freeway if you crack the throttle open, the bike automatically downshifts and takes off… nice!
We got The Bike Shows Donovan Fourie to ride the bike in auto around Redstar race track. Here’s his take:
A Super Adventure is built for a variety of different conditions, but a tarred racetrack is somewhat outside its original design scope. However, there is some method to this perceived madness – the public road is mostly not terribly demanding, even for a relatively simple automatic gearbox. A racetrack, on the other hand, is all about complex intuition.
Technicians working on top race bikes spend hours fine-tuning the gearing to keep the engine revs in the optimal range for maximum performance, while riders spend a great deal of time discussing gearing strategies for each specific track.
It’s complex and highly intuitive – perhaps an unfair challenge for an automatic gearbox. So let’s do it anyway!
The Super Adventure handles magnificently. It weighs 245 kg, has a 19-inch front wheel, tyres designed in part for off-road use, and 200 mm of suspension travel. Let’s not pretend it’s the next track weapon, but once it’s in Sport mode, the suspension firms up and does a commendable job. Unexpectedly, I wish I’d worn leathers. I genuinely believe we might have seen a knee-down shot.
We blasted down the pit straight with the growling motor clicking up through the gears. As we shut off and braked for the first turn, it immediately changed down for the corner. So far, so good.
As we approached the first of the series of hairpins, the bike clicked up to fourth, and then down to third for the stop-go corner. That was a dubious choice – I’d have gone for second. Until we rolled on the throttle and 145 Nm of torque took over, blasting the bike towards the next bend.
Okay, never mind – third was perfect.
The rest of the lap went flawlessly, with the gearbox choosing exactly the same gears I would have selected if I were changing them manually.
The torque of the motor makes the choice of gears easier, but still… it’s a clever machine.
After just a few hours in the saddle of the 1390 Super Adventure S Evo, thoughts of clutch levers and foot shifting seem to dissipate. To be fair, we did not do much in the way of off-road because the trails around Redstar were slick mud and we had visions of trying to explain to KTM how well their bike skids along.
We’ll get her dirty soon.
As a road adventure tourer, they have done a great job with this one.
Seriously comfortable with great big gobs of usable KTM V-Twin power and a new auto system that predicts what you need and does it without any fuss…
