Trail-Tough KTM 1290 Super Adventure Build  A well-equipped Super Adventure built for overlanding on tough terrain.

When KTM introduced the 1290 Super Adventure in 2015, it was advertised as a bigger, smoother, long-range adventure touring bike. Not much was mentioned about its off-road capabilities and many assumed it would be too big and heavy for serious off-road use.

But there’s a lot of hidden off-road potential in the Super Adventure. Essentially, it’s a KTM 1190 Adventure (a known off-road performer) with a bigger tank and a few more comfort options added. It has the same off-road-oriented suspension as the standard 1190 Adventure, but with even more suspension travel. An advanced semi-active electronically-controlled suspension gives the bike an impressive ability to adapt to difficult terrain. Even in stock form, it’s far better off-road than its spec sheet would suggest.

We recently caught up with Kurt Forgét, owner of Black Dog Cycle Works, at the Overland Expo in Mormon Lake, Arizona. On display at the Black Dog booth was Kurt’s own personal bike, a completely farkled out KTM 1290 Super Adventure. And not surprising if you know Kurt, he rode the bike 1,300 miles to the event from Sandpoint, Idaho — much of it off-road and camping along the way.

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Kurt is a hardcore off-road rider himself and when the Super Adventure first came out, he immediately realized its dirt potential and knew he had to have one. All it needed was a few strategic upgrades to bring out its “Ready to Race” heritage. The Black Dog crew quickly developed a selection of aftermarket products for the 1290 Super Adventure, to improve its durability and performance for riding in some of the toughest terrain. They also sourced products from other top manufacturers to help create their idea of the ultimate KTM 1290 Super Adventure.

The result is a long-range adventure touring motorcycle that can handle nearly any trail and carry tons of gear, while still allowing you to ride 600-mile days in comfort on the highway as you travel from state-to-state in search of new regions to explore. So far Kurt has taken this 160 horsepower beast across the toughest high mountain passes on the COBDR and many of the roughest sections of the AZBDR. This versatile big bike has proven its ability to handle nearly any trail and the miles Kurt continues to rack up are a testament to how much he loves this machine!

Below is a list of the aftermarket upgrades that make up this trail-tough Black Dog KTM 1290 Super Adventure Build:

The KTM’s stock street-biased Continental Trail Attack 2 tires just don’t cut it in deep sand and loose rocks. A set of grippy 50/50 dual sport tires are essential for the most difficult off-road terrain. The Black Dog KTM 1290 is set up with a mixture of rubber, utilizing the Continental TKC80 in the front and a Heidenau K60 Scout in the rear. This is a popular combination among seasoned Adventure Riders, giving the confidence of a true-knobby tire in the front with the longer wear and still-impressive grip of the Heidenau in the rear.

Good lighting is essential for safe off-road travel. A flat tire or other mechanical issue can easily set you back hours, forcing you to roll into camp far after dark. The Rigid Dually LED Auxiliary lights are a great set of lights for improving your night vision on the trail, with impressive long- and short-range light projection. They’re also DOT/SAE certified for street use so you don’t have to switch them off when oncoming traffic approaches. Each LED Aux light puts out 1,760 lumens of light while drawing only 33 watts. They also come with amber light covers that easily snap on to give better visibility in fog and make the bike stand out more to other motorists.

For serious nighttime expeditions, you need ultra-bright lighting that can illuminate hazards far down the road. The Rigid Industries 6″ SR2 LED Light Bar gets the job done, pumping out a whopping 3,375 Lumens of bright white light on the trail ahead. What’s more, the light bar is mounted to the fork with a billet aluminum BDCW fork mount, allowing the beam of light to shine in the direction of travel. The unique fork mount also lets you scan terrain at night by just turning the bars back-and-forth at a stop. Rigid LED Lights are known for being extremely durable as well, so you can feel confident they can handle the impact of flying rocks and debris.

Keeping all your gear secure and in place is incredibly important off-road, because a loose load can quickly become a safety hazard. When you are riding off-road, there’s usually no need for a passenger seat. The Black Dog Pillion Rack allows you to remove the passenger seat and install a luggage rack in its place. The Pillion Rack fits perfectly with Black Dog’s Rear Rack to create a large seamless platform for carrying everything you need for an extended trip into the backcountry. The solid 1/4-inch aluminum plate has several oversized tie-down holes to make positioning and strapping loads easier, and two hand holds are built in for lifting the big KTM. The extra surface area of the dual rack system also enables several different mounting options for RotopaX auxiliary fuel cans, or even a WARN winch.

While the stock non-adjustable steering damper on the KTM 1290 Super Adventure works well for street duties, when you’ve got nearly 600 pounds dancing around in the whoops, you need more control. A BRP/Scott’s steering damper slows down the kickback as you hit obstacles on the trail and allows you to apply smoother steering movements at high-speed. The BRP/Scotts damper seconds as a rubber mounted bar riser, giving you more leverage and less energy-sapping vibration at the bars. The device is also fully adjustable so you can increase or decrease the amount of damping force depending on the terrain.

While having 160 horsepower has its advantages, it has a few drawbacks as well — like heat coming off the engine roasting your legs. This can really become noticeable when you are picking your way through a slow technical trail on a hot day. One way to get rid of this annoyance is a set of heat deflector plates. The four-piece heat deflector kit from Black Dog, significantly improves comfort and offers additional impact protection for the rear brake reservoir. Side visibility on the street is also improved with optional Rigid Industries amber LED lights mounted on the plates.

On a heavy bike like the KTM 1290 Super Adventure, having good sump protection is a must off-road. And if there’s one thing Black Dog Cycle Works is best known for, it’s their bulletproof skid plates. The company recently released version 2.0 of their rock crushing skid plate in an attempt to make it even better. It may have already been the most rugged, bombproof skidplate on the market, but now it has additional ventilation for more-efficient engine cooling, better coverage for the ignition cover, increased ground clearance and a stronger side stand relocation mount.

Flying debris can easily get past the stock plastic radiator guard and ruin your day with a coolant leak. Once a radiator is pierced, you can leak out valuable coolant and you may not notice you have overheated until it’s too late. The Black Dog Radiator Guard offers complete protection while still providing optimized airflow to the vulnerable radiator fins. Precision-cut aircraft alloy material with an anodized orange finish makes it durable and chip resistant.

The KTM 1290 Super Adventure’s exposed oil cooler uses radiator antifreeze to cool down the engine’s oil. An impact from a kicked up rock or tip over can damage the oil cooler and potentially cause oil and coolant to mix together in the engine. If not detected quickly, this could lead to expensive repairs at your local KTM dealer. The Black Dog aluminum oil cooler guard provides a little extra peace of mind when riding in remote regions where there’s no support truck to get you out of a jam.

The stock KTM 1290 Super Adventure pegs are too small to give good grip and support required for serious off-road riding. Black Dog’s Traction Footpegs feature aggressive serrated teeth on a large platform-style peg. A larger platform gives better support for stand-up riding, reducing fatigue and making it easier to get your footing on technical trails. The additional leverage also makes it easier to steer the bike with your feet. A set of removable spikes can also be installed to further enhance traction in muddy conditions. Precision-machined aircraft alloy construction makes them nearly indestructible, and of course each peg has Black Dog’s signature built-in bottle opener for your well-deserved cold beer at the end of the day!

Drop your KTM 1290 Super Adventure a few times off-road and you’ll most likely be in need of a new set of expensive KTM mirrors. DoubleTake adventure mirrors cost a lot less than the OEM mirrors and they collapse inward on impact, making them virtually unbreakable. DoubleTake recently released their new “Adventure Mirror” design that is far more stable at high speeds and still folds down out of the way on rougher trails.

Aftermarket Parts List