Long-term KTM 1390 Super Duke R Evo review update two | exploring the electronics on track

In my last report I spent a day testing my KTM’s new five-stage wheelie control system at an airfield. We discovered that while it won’t turn you into a wheelie god, it’s a useful tool to make this fiery super-naked easier to ride. 

Read more

• Update one: Can wheelie control turn you into a stunting god?
• Update three: 3250-mile navigation test in Spain
• Update four: A pillion lap of the Nürburgring
• Update five: 15k mile update – The ultimate all-rounder?

Now to fiddle with the electronic suspension at Brands Hatch and Donington MSVT trackdays, using Pirelli’s super-sticky Diablo Super Corsa V4 SP trackday rubber. You can simply choose a racy mode to automatically stiffen everything up (in either semi-active or manual mode), or dive into the menu to adjust electronically, as you would with screwdrivers and spanners. 

The system lets you adjust compression damping (high and low speed for the shock), rebound damping and rear preload, all at the press of a button. Front preload is non-adjustable. 

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Neat dash graphics guide you around the system, which lets you set everything up in two ways. Track Mode describes the suspension settings in terms of bike behaviour, for example, if you need more or less braking support. Pro Mode breaks the settings down into the more traditional Rebound, Compression and Preload.

KTM test rider and MotoGP legend Jeremy McWilliams suggested some base settings to dial in and they sharpen the handling no end. Generally, you want the suspension firmer to help the tyres dig into the tarmac, but not so hard it won’t ride the bumps. 

Being able to adjust everything so easily compared to mechanical suspension units is a godsend. The KTM needs a very different set-up at a small, undulating Brands, compared to a faster, flowing and harder-braking Donington. 

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At Brands the KTM needs extra rear support to stop the bars from slapping along the start/finish straight whoops and less support to help it hook into the slower corners. The forks don’t use a lot of their travel and, without any front preload adjustment, dialling in less compression damping helps. For Donington the whole shebang is stiffer for the higher-speed corners and hard braking into the Esses, Melbourne Loop and Goddards. 

For the track, fully-adjustable, mechanical suspension would have a more natural feel, especially at the front and changing springs to suit your weight would improve things again. But if you spend most of your time on the road and do the occasional trackday, the semi-active system is a no-brainer.