Spark Exhaust For Duke 390 Review

Here is my quick review of the Spark Exhaust (GP Style Mounting).

 

Product Quality and Fitment

The metal used is stainless steel and has a superior finish and quality. It comes with a stainless steel bracket that anchors itself to the frame at the same location where the right side passenger foot pegs do. Fitmet of the exhaust is easy. The somewhat cumbersome part is the removal of the stock exhaust. It needs a great deal of nudging as the Duke 390 is a small bike and everything has been squeezed tightly into a small space.

 

Sound

The sound is pretty loud, but doesn’t hurt the ears. I guess that’s because I left the DB killer on. The weird flutter of the Duke engine is non-existent and the motorcycle gives off a strong and robust bass sound. Personally, I like the sound as well as the volume. I don’t intend to remove the DB killer, not even to hear the sound without one.

 

Power

The main reason I replaced the stock exhaust of my Duke 390 with the Spark raised exhaust was to aid in water crossings on trail rides (see “Project KTM 390 Adventure – Raised Exhaust“). But having done so, I was interested in knowing how much more power the free flow exhaust would add to the motorcycle. So today morning I did a short speed test on the Sawantwadi bypass, a road that I believe is relatively safe for speed tests due to the scarce traffic and cattle in the morning hours. I managed to clock 152 kmph.

Yes, I know Duke 390’s are known to touch 170+ kmph. But I’m six feet tall, weight almost a 100 kgs and until I installed the Spark exhaust I hadn’t been able to cross more than 135 kmph on this same road. Also its important to note that I haven’t changed the air filter or messed with the ECU. In terms of the engine, this is a stock Duke 390 with the exhaust swapped out for a Spark exhaust. So any gain in power can be attributed solely to the Spark exhaust.

 

Passenger Consideration

Being a raised exhaust it flows over the right passenger foot peg. The passenger can sit like they used to. But if they don’t always remember that there is a burning hot pipe just centimeters away from their right ankle there is a good chance that they may get burnt. There is a small protective shield on the exhaust near the passenger foot peg. But after prolonged riding, that gets almost as hot as the exhaust pipe itself. My use of the Duke is mainly for trail riding where I ride alone. So I’m ok with this. However, if you regularly have a passenger then you may want to consider opting for the Spark exhaust that flows under the passenger foot peg.

 

Price and Purchase

I bought this exhaust online from the Bachoo Motors store for Rs. 30,000. They had it in stock and delivered it to me within a couple of days.

 

Conclusion

So far I’m quite pleased with the exhaust and sooner or later I intend to take the Duke out on a trail and confidently wade into deeper water than I previously have.