2021 2022 2023 2024 KTM 1290 Super Adventure Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR Review 

Hiya! Yes my friend I wished I’d have tried these out sooner. Never did. But what a great tyre! You explain it exactly as I have. Cannot go wrong with these even if you do only 5% off road. They handle and ride like a normal road tyre 👍 Cheers Ric

Hello Dennis! Thanks mate is great to hear from you and appreciate the positive feedback. I have to say there are up there with the best "all purpose" tyre I have used. Obviously is a compromise tyre so will soon feel its limits when pushed a little too far on tarmac or Hardcore off road. But its surprising how hard you can ride it given the tread pattern. Particularly on a warm day, Cheers Ric

Hi Alberto. Yeah mayte they are definitely hard to beat for an all round tyre. They are my favourite. I maybe putting them back on my SAS spoked rims instead of the Anakee Wilds now that I have a 790R for off road. The SAS can manage with the STR.

Hi @Ricardo_Yeep, about the Anakee 3 you mentioned, I stopped using them after a couple of sets. They were becoming flat quite quickly to me. With Pirelli, not even when it's time to replace them, I find them flat. Cheers

Hiya Jack! Thanks for the comment, Yeah I hear theyre good tyres and youll get some decent miles out of those. Particular on tarmac in comparison to these ones. Seems like everyone but me is doning a road trip! pfhhh... lol roll on next year and hope for the best :)

Hiya Bruce! Thanks again mate. Yeah I had a few comments asking for some info after some use so thought I’d put some info up on them. Absolutely love them 👍

Hello Jose! Thank you for the comment. And yeah I’m pretty impressed by this tyre for sure. Looking forward to getting them on the tiger soon hopefully. I’ll have to check out the Michelin you mention ! Thank you 🙏 Cheers Ric

Hiya Austro. Thanks mate I agree really good in the wet for the type of tyre it is. A really good change from the stock tyre if you want to open up more riding options without too much compromise on the road performance! cheers again for watching and dropping comment! Keep safe, Ric

Spot on totally agree mate. Although now I have a set of rims for off road and cast rims for road. I’ve gone full on 90/10 for my off road antics and road tyres for the road 😂 The STR are deffo the best halfway house though 👍

Hiya Ivan! Yes mate I agree with everything you said. Too tyres and to be honest I think I will got back to them 👍

How you liking the STR's ? I'm considering these for a dr650 with a supermoto rear and 19" x 2.5" front wheel setup. You think they are up to twisty road work?!

​@@gabrieltiso8537 They've performed well on twisty roads for me on my 1290. But as I've learned, tires performs differently on different bike sizes. However I doubt you'll be disappointed, except if you do very gnarly stuff or ride in mud.

@@KMeyn that's true, lots of variables! Whatever I end up with will be better than what I currently run. Those anakee adv are looking very good too. Appreciate the response 🤙

¡Hola mi amigo español! Me alegro de saber de ti y de tus encantadores comentarios. Me alegro de que encuentres los vídeos útiles y divertidos de seguir. Y no hay problema con escribir en español ya que yo tampoco puedo escribir en otros idiomas y dependo de los traductores online jaja. Enhorabuena por tu 1290 y buena suerte con él cuando lo consigas. Espero que tengas una experiencia sin problemas como yo. ¡Si hay alguna ayuda que pueda dar sólo dejar un comentario! Todo lo mejor Ric

Thank you mate thats a kind of you. But do check out other reviews too. Its just my own opinion of course. Cheers Ric!

Hola César yo soy de La Coruña y tengo la 1290 SAS desde el verano y el canal de Ricardo me parece una pasada, el tipo es un crack, yo uso el traductor para escribirle en Ingles, espero que disfrutes de la moto, es una autentica pasada ya lo verás. Saludos desde el Noroeste...😉

@@librepensador6800 gracias 👍., seguro que la disfrutaré. La verdad es que me he visto todos los vídeos suyos. Yo de León, viviendo cerca de Cádiz pero mi novia es de O Temple (al lado de Coruña) así que a ver si en primera o verano podemos quedar por tu zona. Por cierto, ya de paso te pregunto unas cosas si no es mucha molestia: le has puesto defensas a la moto, asientos ergo, protectores de depósito (pegatinas) y soporte trasero y baúl? Gracias de antemano

@@RicardoYeep quería decir que he visto todos y cada uno de tus vídeos. El traductor de Google ha veces hace cosas raras. Un saludo

Hello there my friend! Thank you for the comment and no problem at all. Its great to hear the video was useful or informative. But completely agree with you on these tyres are definitely the way to go. Particularly if you do a decent mix of road and off road. Its the Speed rating that makes it the clear winner for me more so on the 1290. But they ride really well. And in all conditions I have used them in. I don't mind if I get a little less miles out of them as long as I get grin factor riding! Oh and excellent news on the RallyMoto stuff. I definitely recommend them. Absolute top notch events and experiences. Well planned out rides (and not having to worry about whether you are illegally off road or not haha). Takes the worry out of having fun here in the UK. Just focus on not falling off :) I am taking my 800XC on the rallymoto event next weekend!! (giving the 1290 a break) Cheers Ric

@@RicardoYeep I'll look out for an update after the event! Ride safe buddy and see you on the trail someday 👍🏻

...so did they go on the Tiger.. ? 😊

@@alloyd6241 HAHA I have a set on the Tiger but I just was dying to get out on the 1290 again... So as you have possibly seen... SORRY I went on the 1290 the last rally moto event. Although have done about 2k miles on the tiger with them so far

@@RicardoYeep ... no worries! I'm on the cusp of ordering tyres.. it's likely to be these STR's, the Mitas e07's or even Anakee Wilds.. decisions decisions! 😱

Haha hello mate! Thanks for the info 😂 that’s really nice of him to acknowledge it in the vid of his! Made my morning 😆🙏

smokeys a good guy i won some beer from him a while ago 😀

Awesome! Yeah definitely seems a nice guy. Was no need to drop a mention particularly in the fashion he did. Loved it. Got a new sub anyway from me 👍

Hello Carl! Thanks for the comment I did look at the time and that did not cross my radar sorry. I just noticed that there was a good 5 mil at least before the min treadwear indicators which are seated deep in the grooves between the tread blocks. For sure there may very well be a material difference in the outer pattern being worn after 3,000 miles. But you are also right the 1290 does eat tyres "if your heavy handed" which I am. I love my race bikes and this is a habit I have not shaken, hard on throttle, hard on brakes haha.. I would expect another 3,000 from the rear if I am lucky the way I ride. The front still hardly touched from inspection. But good spot and worth pointing out for sure. I guess I could say that the "wet weather" grooves will noticeably wear off after around 3,000 miles along the centre section. Which I believe are the parts you refer too. However there is still at least 40/45% tyre life left before the min marker. Thanks again Ric

hey Florin! great to hear from you again. And glad the review was useful. I hear you regarding two sets of rims. I almost went down that route myself but stopped on that choice after my weekend rally. Learning my stock cast rims where up to the job and level of off road I now plan on doing. it was waste of a lot of money on spoked rims for me. So the best all round choice was these STR rallys. I could literally do a full cross country rally, and then burn home like I was on domestic road tyres... It was quite remarkable. No road noise, squirm, nothing. hence now my go to tyre of choice. YES you are right there is alwsys a compromise. I think I have " the compromise" keeping stock rims and mounting these.. Having out right road tyres on one set of rims and out right off road tyres on another set of rims is no compromise haha !! its a very lucky position to be in lol.... no cutting corners! :) Cheers Ric

@@RicardoYeep ure right mate, in the end it matters if your choice fits u better. Don’t tell me again how much I spent on the spoked wheels 😂😂 maybe my wife is reading this 🤫😂

Lol exactly!! I gotta be careful what I say I’ve bought lately as my wife has started checking some of my vids!! 🤦‍♂️😆

Hiya! Good to hear from you again my friend. I was looking at those and hear all good things. I wanted more of an off road biased tyre though so not as aggressive enough tread pattern for what I wanted. But yep great tyre for sure and probably last longer than these STRs given the tread style!

@@RicardoYeep ok as soon as I mount them I will tell you around here ...😉

@@librepensador6800 cheers that would be greatly 👍

Hiya mate.. Thanks for getting in touch! I have to say they are a great tyre and on my second rear already. Not sure it would be my choice for a scoot.... but I guess it looks good :)

🤦‍♂️😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 A) To be fair I mean surprised I didn’t get monitored on the tracking system and booted off for excessive speed on some parts…. B) didn’t end up in a ditch (oh yeah I did but thankfully a very shallow one I could ride back out of) that’s when I parted with you 😂 and ended up on the mountain the opposite side of the valley off course 🤦‍♂️ As for the the Yamaha top, I’ve a few … I’ll always be an R1 lad at heart 😜 Great weekend thanks to you mate 👍

Hi Paul thanks for the message. These are still probably my favourite all rounder. Sorry I kind of over spoke of “dry” performance as I was pretty blown away how I could ride them pretty much like a road biased dual sport such as the A41. For such tread pattern I didn’t expect it to feel like a road tyre (after it had bedded in) Regarding wet weather they were perfectly fine and really happy with them considering again the tread. I have run the classic TKC80 tyres numerous times and they were absolutely frightening in the cold and wet. TC saved my backside a few times. Also have ran the Anakee wilds which were same ball park as the TKC80s. Kinda unfair I guess as these are more 80/20 than a 50/50 but the point is I’d be happy running these STR rally’s as a full time road tyre with maybe one day a year doing a trail. They wear pretty dam quick if your heavy on the gas with the 1290 but so are all tyres with this beast. In the UK weather most often is shit. Damp and overcast. I’d still run the STR rally’s without hesitation. In fact the road rims I’m running on my 790R I’ll be putting the STRs on once the Tractionators have been killed 👍 Hope that shed a little more light All the best Ric

Hello Mathew. Thank you for the comment and feedback mate. Appreciated. As for tyre pressures on the SAS I would only recommend sticking to road pressures unless you want to increase the risk of damaging your cast alloys. Despite they fact they are a decent tyre for off road and mixed riding with tarmac. You still only have cast rims like me on the SAS. If mounted on the SAR for sure I would play about with lower pressures for better off road traction with stronger rims. But for me not on the sas. cheers Ric Oh sorry - yes had the trails on the 800XC! one of my favourites for a more road biased tyre. good mileage! but not tried on the 1290 yet as not done the miles as the STRs were my first swap

@@RicardoYeep sage advice, cheers mate.

Hiya Goatman.. Sorry for the delay mate I have been away this weekend on a ride. But I am not sure about why the wobble is there on the T7 but I have taken my 1290 up to 145 so far which is as close as I would want to get to the tyres max speed rating. The bike was solid as a rock and I could have maxed out. I have them also now on my Tiger 800XC and had that to 110 again as stable as a road tyre. I would expect some level of instability as its a 21" front and quite a tall machine. (not race bike like). But I felt safe. Sounds like something attributed to T7 maybe.? But thanks for sharing your view on it. Definitely is something to be mindful of. Cheers again! Ric

@@RicardoYeep the problem is not at max speed. It starts around 50mph and goes away at 60. The problem is that's my usual cruise speed. will try to mess with the suspension in the spring. Right now we are covered ankles deep in snow here in Poland. Happy to here you can still ride :) Take care man

@@goatman86 ah mate snow lol. We had a little not long ago (caused the rally to be deferred until now) thankfully no more snow for the time being anyway! Good luck with trying to solve the wobble. That kind of issue is a right PiA to find some times. And thank you 🙏 for watching and taking the time write. Keep well mate and catch up soon then! 👍 Cheers again Ric 🤝

Hi Yassassin, I think for a 50/50 tyre they are the best out there for performance riding in terms of speed rating and road tyre “like” feel on tarmac. They don’t feel like block tyres such as TKC80. They are much more planted and confident. BUT they are not and never will be full road tyres and think you will pretty quickly find there limitation on aggressive lean angles. The tyre edges are just not made for that kind of riding. But do let you know beforehand. When they are starting to give Quite possibly your skill level will be able to take you there.. but personally would stick to sport tyres if you plan on heavy banking over. 👍 Or of course I am just a crap rider haha and don’t have the guts to push these that far 😆 Cheers Ric

@@RicardoYeep Thanks for the prompt and comprehensive reply Ric. I was lead to believe that they are a 60-40 if not 70-30 dual sports tyre? They look superb, way better than the Karoo Street in my opinion which I was also considering. I was thinking of fitting them to my Indian FTR 1200s and they are standard on the rally version. I do ride hard and tend to load the front and want a dual tyre with feel and response. I currently have Conti Road Attack IIIs on the bike, which I'd argue are the optimum tyre for the bike which you can really chuck about - deceptively nimble given the weight. But, they aren't in keeping with the spirit of the thing and the dirt pedigree. It is after all supposed to be derived from a flat track racer, or a road going version at the very least. I accept you can't have it both ways - it may well be a case of form over function - but I don't want to compromise too much grip in the switch to dual sport rubber.

No problem! At the very most it would be 60/40 (60 road/40 off). But I think closer 50/50.. They are basically big block treads. So being big (wide) they don't squirm like TKC80 tyres under hard accel or lean. Very stable. I know what you mean as I love a spirited ride and did enjoy the stock tyres to be honest although a lot don't. But as you say these tyres does keep in with the spirit of things. They look fantastic and a good all rounder. I think its definitely the best compromise tyre for tarmac speed versus trail riding. Even if you only ever have one set I think you might be surprised with them and like them. I actually have a set on my other bike too now as I like them that much.

Hiyas mate. I always run stock tyre pressures on the rims of the 1290 35/42 👍

Good choice ! I’ve had them before too! (not on the SAS though) 👍 last ages and good all round road tyre. I’ve actually done a track day on them at brands hatch and held up well!!

@@RicardoYeep good! Thanks

Hello mate! That too box is semi rigid luggage OEM. Triumph 👍 Cheers 🍻 Ric

80km is nothing mate. On a nice day I’ve ridden these aggressively following race bikes around the twisty country back roads no issues. I didn’t have to change my riding style at all. Depending on lean angle of course however they do give you a good notice before giving out. They will start to wallow plenty before (I guess giving way). They are no road tyres but good enough

@RicardoYeep Thank you for Honest advice..

Hiya Bud.. sorry for late reply. I am not on here as often lately while sorting personal affairs out. But thanks for dropping a comment :) Yeah me too I love the stock tyres and never had a problem with them despite some hating them. To be fair my main surface is tarmac but these STR tyres do hold up well and did not have to compromise my riding much at all. The are very predicatable. And can still hit 140mph on them if you required unlike some knobby tyres that only limit to 90/100. In the wet like all tyres you gotta ride slow and careful. But in the dry and even better on the hotter days these rip up nicely.. Although I mean Rip up. If your a sport rider and like aggressive riding you will only get about 3-4k miles out of a rear. I purposesly tried to destroy a rear as quick as possible to see how long it would take.. (only riding, no burnouts). And I did it in about 2,800 miles (from memory, I would need to look at a video to remind me haha). Great tyre, expensive and may not last long Hope thet helps Ric

Yeah it stands between this pirelli or the brand new mitas enduro trail adv..it looks like a copy of the str😅

@sleepy9000 yeah I’ll probably stick the str on next after I’ve destroyed these AX41 tyres I’m trying out. The STRs are fantastic as long as your not too demanding with the off road stuff.

Hello there mate! That’s very odd I have not heard any sounds like you described. And I too have them on my 800XC which is also a lighter mid sized capacity bike. To be fair weight wise we say lighter but we are still talking insanely heavy. I doubt this would be the reason. Have you done many miles on them yet? Bedded in? And full road pressures? Only asking as I do. Again not saying this is your reason but does sound odd.

@@RicardoYeep Thanks for the reply. Almost 5ooo miles, full pressure, on and off tarmac. Must be a wobbly set from the factory. My Father had a GS that he ran the Scorpion Rally STR's on and he did not have this issue either. Well, looks like time for a new set! Cheers and safe riding!

@@sharplanceforge1898 no worries mate and hope you sort it! Reassuring to hear your dad didn’t have the noise either! Take care of and ride safe Cheers Ric

Hello mate. Sorry for late reply! I don’t know where they are made to be fair also I am currently running anakee wilds for that more off road grip (knobby). I still rate these STR as my favourite all roander so probably doing back to these soon too. They win it for me as they are still rated to a reasonable speed index 👍

Haha 😂 sure was mate! I love that bike being my first dual sport. I’ve done green lanes on that you’d dare take a full on dirt bike down and dropped it more times than I can remember. But all still good. Just needed two weeks solid man hours strip down and refresh. And I’m sorry to say it’s way more comfortable than the 1290 even with the PP seat 🤣 A lot of work and money.. Complete list over last two weeks. New Arrow exhaust Barkbusters hand guard frames Barkbusters Plastics Barkbusters skid plates New OEM clutch lever Throttle Housing Throttle cable Heated grips Heated grip switch Heated grips harness Rear wheel OEM Chain and sprocket kit Standard low screen Latest front indicators Latest rear indicators Front left and right spot lights New OEM bash plate Complete clutch unit/housing New friction plates New OEM exhaust Heed full wrap engine bars New brake pads front and rear Brake bleed nipple rubbers New Hepco & Becker headlight guard Altrider expedition luggage rack New gear selector rubber Side stand foot enlarger Triumph Handlebar pad Front and rear Pirelli STR Rally New ultra bright white bulbs Oem Comfort pillion Seat OEM complete under seat tool kit Clutch cover gasket Sump gasket Oem semi rigid luggage tailpack Gribo pillion non slip cover New OEM tank pad 4 litres Castro’s power one Oem oil filter Rear centre mounted reflector New oem Front beak New brake calliper pins New horn Full grease of bearings and axles ACF50 all electrical connectors ACF50 full bike exterior Full clean and grease of callipers Correct fluid levels Deep polish of fuel tank Upgrade to WP rear shock Fork rebuild Autosol my best mate 😂

@@RicardoYeep Triumph really know how to design their bikes these days...Im not a big fun of triple engine,but will definitely go to the dealer and take something for a test ride,just to see how it feels like. I wish you 96k more 😄

Haha another 96k thanks! But may be hard pushed lol!!! Yes I love Triumph bikes.. I nearly had a 5th (but decided to pull out on the 900 rally pro last minute before collection just for a fresh start and try something completely different)

Great review on a great tire! I ran them on my KTM 1190 Adventure R a couple of years ago when they first came out and was impressed. The rear did wear a little faster than I had hoped. Would love for you to give a try to the Dunlop Trailmax Mission. That is my new go to tire. I can’t believe a tire can last so long and handle so well!

Hi mate yeah I wanted to get a set when they came out but was a TKC80 sucker and have always been. Now I known what I been missing out on all this time. For my riding now anyway. No full on knobby needed for what I plan these days. Your spot on I think these rears will wear quicker than I’d like but still quite impressive considering the power and weight of the 1290. Plus soft enough to be decent on tarmac 👍 The trail max were an option and wanted to get some a few times but felt at the time of swapping out I needed a more aggressive block tread for my rally weekend. The trail max were still too road biased unfortunately the STR were closer to 50:50 . I think the trail max are a 60:40. Either way still a good tyre and in the right hands I guess makes no difference 😂

Hi mate. Sorry for the delay (life been hectic). As for tyre pressures I ran stock pressures on my SAS regardless of cast rims or spoked. Even on trails I kept to stock road pressures. These a dam heavy bikes and never wanted to increase risk of damaging a rim. The draw back being less grip. But yeah, Stock pressures

Hiya Nic, thanks. I did consider getting spoked rims earlier on before I did the weekend rally on my cast rims. After finding these cast rims were more than adequate for the riding I plan to do I changed my mind for few reasons. 1. SAS rims were good enough as long as you are taking it steady on the really rough parts. To be fair I wasn’t hanging around still but made sure I dodged large rocks and ditches at speeds 2. I don’t like the artificial “tubeless” spoked rims, that rubber band with sealant can fail and leak out the spoked. It’s not like a proper tubeless as with bmw or triumph where they are solid centre cast but spoked on the edges. 3. Given the cost of KTM spoked and not being proper tubeless I can’t justify it 4. I’ve heard as many stories of pinch rims and punctures with the spoked. As your more likely to reduce pressures off road. Google it. Spoked isn’t be all and end of risk. You gotta be doing the level of stuff off road that you need proper skills for to get the best of spoked. 5. I have spoked in my XC and are a bxtch to maintain, clean and keep from rusting. 6. If your hitting Terra at speeds you’ll be needing stronger wheels for impact risk, then your probably going to damage your radar or semi active suspension anyway so again gaining spoked rims on sas doesn’t eliminate risk completely In short if the were proper spoked tubeless I still may of considered the possibility. But after serious thought I’d decided to save a lot of cash and not bother as these sas rims held up fine for the stuff I did on the rally weekend which was probably more than the average owners would do with theirs off road. Hope that answers it 😂 Ps they are not direct wheels from SAR as they are still 19 and 17 inch rims. Not 21 and 18 👍

Ktm spoked rims might have their problems but are better than triumph or BMW as with them if they get bashed they are gone the ktm one's can take a beating and still hold the bead and pressure due to spoke position.

@@jamie66moto4 hiya James that’s a fair comment! 👍 pros and cons to both. I think my main gripe is the sold as “tubeless” spoked rims when in fact they are just regular spoked rims( compatible with tubeless tyres)made to be tubeless that you can pretty much do to any spoked rim. A few have done the same to the exel rims in the tigers by using the band and sealant. But comes with caution. These can fail and leave you stuck in the middle of nowhere unless you carry a tube as a safety measure. Kinda undermines the whole thing in my opinion. But agree you can bash the crap out the standard spoked rims 👍 Cheers Ric

Hiya Peter!! Haha excellent one.. well my first set I got about 4,000 miles… on the rear and the way I’ve been riding lately and inspecting the rear I reckon I would have destroyed the rear in 3,000 miles. The front still looks good though. I think next set if I don’t do any off road think I may swap out to some sport tyres instead 🧐

Hiya Jacques thanks for sharing your experience on them. Quite possibly agree as they are fantastic on the tarmac so I guess thats the soft compound kicking in . So far no punctures here but something to bear in mind. Cheers Ric

Hey thate matey! Been a while!... Yeah i should have mentioned in the vid. Thats a good point. NO DIFFERENCE compared to the OEM Mitas. They run and sound like normal tyres to me. You would not think they were 50/50 or 60/40 tyres. Truly revolutionary in my opinion. Pretty unusualy for a tyre of this nature! I am getting them for my other bike I like them that much... And I have pushed these on the Mway to undisclosed speed to test and a big thumbs up! They are a solid all rounder

@@RicardoYeep I think I might try a pair so. Thanks for the heads up on them. Great video BTW.

@@RicardoYeep I’m just checking them on the Perrelli website. A few size options there. What size side wall did you go for?

@@jasonsearle2512 120/70/R19 60V and 170/60/R17 72V making sure it’s the V rated tire 👍

Hello mate and thanks for watching and commenting. I think it all depends on what kind of off road you are doing. As “off road” can mean anything from a compacted gravel trail and maybe some grass in which case this tyre is perfectly fine. And also you have soft wet mud, rocks and clay and a more hardcore off road terrain in which case I’d agree with you. The point for me is that I don’t know another tyre that comes close to being 50/50 and still is speed rated up to 149mph and handles pretty dam good on road but also holds itself reasonable off road too 👍

Hiya John I use 35f 42r I believe stock road pressures. Never had any issues. And even on trails just leave as is.