Hello fellow duke riders!

Hi All

I'm Ben

I currently ride a 1996 600cc Suzuki bandit - which i've had for almost 6 years and have done my utmost to make it as 'duke-like' as i can in terms of giving it an aggressive riding style... (I've been toying with the idea of buying a SuperDuke for the last couple of years, I fell in love with them based on looks alone)



However, on Tuesday I bit the bullet and bought a duke.. prepare for photograph overload....

It's an 05, with 8500 miles on the clock, one (78 year old who sadly passed away recently) owner from new.. as you can see, it's a VERY clean bike.

I take delivery on Saturday, and I can't wait!

Looking forward to adding my own touches to the bike, and getting involved in this community..

Is there anything the community would recommend that I do immediately to the bike?

Welcome and congrats! She is a beauty and very clean. Good luck trying to sleep between now and Saturday.

Thanks - and you're right - I didn't sleep very well on Tuesday or Wednesday - and I already have a long wishlist of mods to do, my bank is going to be suffering for the next year or so, I can tell already!

Welcome mate.

First items on your list will be a set of Arka's. Std exhaust is unbelievably heavy, replacing and remapping makes a good difference. After that the rest is a matter of personal priorities but there is plenty you can do.

If you like track days there is still time to sign up to the July track meet over three days at Cadwell.

Good luck and have fun

Welcome, you have one of the original first gen. Bikes which is very low mileage and looks immaculate. Many would say you have the best version in the right colour.

What a great find. I'd have liked to know the previous owner, 78 on a Superduke. That's something else.

You really need to get a better, lighter exhaust and do the air box mods to get the best out of the engine. But it depends on how you feel. In some ways now, an early '05 in mint original standard condition is very rare and maybe worth thinking about keeping that way, it is still a great ride as it is. Not what I would do but think about it before you turn it into one of the many modded bikes.

Read through the many threads on here for all the standard mods. You can still go off and easily spend another two or three grand on upgrading your bike, and they will be worth it.

My choice would be, in order of preference...

Good tyres if they aren't already.

1. Exhaust (Akra, Yoshi, Mivvs)
2. Airbox ( Motohooligan, Rotwieller)
3. Remove SAS and secondary butterflies
4. Get a PC3 or TunePC and get a custom remap to suit above mods.
5. Slipper clutch

Everything else is personal and cosmetic.

Welcome
That is very clean - a nice example, it certainly looks well looked-after. What's that on the front of the lower cowl/battery cover?
Whereabouts in Manchester are you? I might see you around

Nice find!
I recommend you go out and enjoy!

There is an circular orange thing on the front of the belly pan that is an anomaly. I saw that too. Be interested in what it is, I can't think what it could be.

Try looking for second hand exhausts, they come up a lot in the 'for sale' section here or on ebay. I wouldn't pay new prices for something like that.

Wow was that bike just mounted for display?? Never seen one looking that clean and as one of the originals it really is one of a kind!

Are those swingarm bolt hole covers on the front and rear axle bolts acting as sliders? Personally I would replace as not to my taste and I don't think they'd do shit if you did put it down the road. CoyoteMoto are about the cheapest around and really good too! http://www.coyotemoto.com/by_model.asp?bikeid=73

As others have said I would ditch the standard cans. Look on ebay as you may pick up a bargain set of Akros. I'd ditch the airbox as well, you may find a 2nd hand Rottwieller but they aren't too expensive new. http://www.zenoverland.com/ktm_950-adve ... m-990.html There are a few fueling maps that would work well with that setup on this site, you'd just need a TuneECU cable and a PC/Mac running Windows laptop and you are away!

Also come join the carnage at Cadwell on the 6,7,8th of July for Crashest! viewtopic.php?f=19&t=22626

Yeah I think the orange bits on the end of the spindles are purely cosmetic.. I will be putting bobbins on but will try and keep the orange disks on the end of the bobbins..

Already got some frame crash bobbins coming from coyotemoto.com and will probably get the rest from there too.

Glad you all like the bike.. I am certainly impressed with the care that has been taken with her!