Hi all,


Been riding smallish bikes for a lifetime. Love the Duke, but it needs a few mods to work well. Any Irish riders out there who would like to compare notes?

Welcome to the forum

Thanks, Clinton1. I have been watching for quite a while. Interested in suspensions, not much in power.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum , you are right there are a couple of mods that could be considered as mandatory . Don't expose yourself too much : As soon @Diploman here reads that you are considering modding you'd better consider remortgaging the house too

Hi Sigov, Welcome to the forum. Don't listen to Trimapa - He likes to present "alternative facts", as untruths are now called in the US White House. He does this to divert attention from the reality that it is indeed Trimapa who is the true Mogul of Mod here. He has undoubtedly invested more in upgrading his Duke than any other member currently active on the forum, with the possible exception of bahawton. But I do like to mod as well - just more frugally.

There are a few mods I would consider quasi-mandatory:
1. Improving the front brake
2. Improving the rider seat
3. Fitting a functional rear shock to replace the woeful OEM item. (R6 conversion or aftermarket).

With these "must-haves" you are good to go. There are, however, some other basic mods you might want to consider. These are not mandatory, but would fall into the "nice to have/probably should have" category:

4. Crash protection - bobbins for front/rear wheels, crash bars, hand guards
5. LED headlight bulb to replace anemic OEM halogen.
6. SPAL fan to replace OEM shrouded fan (If OEM fan fails, this becomes mandatory).

The list can (and in many cases does) go on and on. But with this relatively short list, your bike will be sufficiently well equipped for the road. If safety is high on your agenda, I suggest you consider serious horns to replace the OEM beeper, as well as conspicuity lighting. To improve front fork action, use the search function here to look up "front axle release" - it costs nothing.

Ride well, often and safely.

Once a diplomat always a diplomat I guess . They start the fire and then with great ability manage to convince the world that the others are the culprits ..
Sigov , ignore all this , you'll soon find out that Will and I always play this little game .

Will possesses a wealth of knowledge on the Duke 390 and motoring in general , he also has ability and patience to expose all this in extensive and in detail argumented posts . They are a pleasure to read .

Allow me just to add to Will's quasi mandatory upgrades the following : Piggy back ECU or the KTM " Akra re- flash " to counter the extremely lean stock fuelling setting on our little Duke .

I like the Front Axle Release fix. And it works.
I am investigating the mushiness of the forks at the top of travel; linear springs I think would be an improvement.

The Duke 390 WP 43 inverted fork and spring setup is pretty good value for money ; However it has it's limits especially when the rider weight is out of the 75 kg-80 kg range . A couple of us here have gone for the Andreani fork kit . Well known Italian company that works closely together with Ohlins . At the other hand there is a general consensus amongst the Duke 390 owners that the rear suspension setup is a weaker spot compared to the fork setup and needs attending before attempting to alter the fork .

Andreani Group Offical website

I have already done the R6 mod with a linear spring; not many miles have been done to set-up properly, but it works great so far.