The only change between the ‘350cc’ 390 Duke and the 399cc engine powered one (now sold as the 390 Duke R) is the black colour of the frame on the 350 as opposed to orange earlier. There’s no other way to tell this one apart, as even the engine looks exactly the same. The design and decals, rider aids like launch control, traction control, quickshifter and instrument cluster display are all the same too. The engine runs a shorter stroke (down to 56.15mm from 64mm), while bore is the same at 89mm. So you get 41.5PS produced at 8,600rpm and 33.5Nm produced at 7,000rpm now, a sizeable drop of 4.5PS and 5.5Nm!

Power delivery feels more linear now, and while many will appreciate the new calmer demeanour, some (me included!) will miss the 390 Duke’s strong surge above 5,000rpm. You thus need to work the engine harder to enjoy the ‘390 Duke’ experience, and while the bike feels friendlier, I felt the bike is not as edgy or intimidating as it used to be, which was one of the reasons I was gobsmacked by the current generation 390 Duke. All is not lost though as the bike handles as well and loves being thrown into corners or slicing through traffic. You can turn still rear ABS off to lock the rear wheel and Track mode still lets you pull stoppies and of course, you can still pull good wheelies too.

But things have been toned down in the interest of making the 390 Duke more affordable. And yes, it has received a massive price cut of ₹62,000 (as compared to the 390 Duke R), and the bike retails at ₹ 2.77 lakh ex-showroom. This is a very good price, and come to think of it, the trade off in performance also makes the 390 Duke a better upgrade for riders moving up from smaller, less powerful motorcycles. May be, this one should have been renamed as the 350 Duke though, because the 390 Duke has always been known to be a true hooligan!

Words Abhay Verma

Photography Saidatta Naik

The post 2026 KTM 390 Duke First Ride Review first appeared on Turbocharged.