Yamaha MT-15 Custom USD Fork Kit

The ‘Project 15’ conversion kit features a USD fork and a radial caliper from the second-gen KTM 390 Duke, among other changes

The MT-15 conversion kit was built at home. Certain modifications have been made to hold the headlight setup.  Some parts have been retained to keep costs in check.

The announcement of the Yamaha MT-15 for the Indian market came as a blessing for bike enthusiasts as it combined the performance of the R15 V3 in a relatively comfortable package. And though cost cutting was expected, the degree at which it was executed wasn’t. Yamaha put aside the premium golden painted USD forks that looked absolutely gorgeous on the Indonesian-spec MT, the lightweight aluminium swingarm, and the safety of dual-channel ABS. The result was an MT-15 with the bare minimum. Goes without saying, we were thoroughly disappointed! 

But as they say, ‘There's more than one way to skin a cat’. Fellow petrolhead vetrivel.0 from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, worked around this and came up with a solution to the problem -- a conversion kit! He simply swapped out the MT’s conventional telescopic fork with a second-gen 390 Duke’s USD fork. The entire front end also obviously needed to be reworked.

In order to do this, the upper and lower triple clamps from the 390 were carried over. Three brackets had to be fabricated to hold the headlight assembly. The orientation of the fork brings with it a radially mounted caliper which offers less torsional flex (lateral movement), thereby translating to better feel through the lever. 

The USD fork also required a different fender thanks to the switch in mounting points. An easy and cost-effective fix was to use the fender from the 1st-gen 390 Duke. It looks pretty good too! Although we would have loved to see the original fender from the Indonesian-spec MT-15 and perhaps a golden painted fork. Notably, the stock front wheel and rotor have been retained.

Nevertheless, the conversion kit by Vetrivel is pretty impressive by itself and there are certain advantages that come with this change. For starters, it improves the overall ride quality. The bike’s more stable and predictable in corners and at triple-digit speeds too. The suspension setup also feels more settled on rough roads compared to the stock configuration. 

On the flipside, the entire setup adds about 1.2kg to the bike’s kerb weight of 138kg. Even the turning radius has decreased, but only by a whisker. You’d probably also run into some difficulties while trying to source parts from KTM. But apart from this, it’s a pretty straightforward job. In fact, Vetrivel pulled off the complete swap by himself sitting at home. ‘Project 15’ as he calls it, cost him a total of Rs 10,000, a cost Yamaha could have easily accommodate in the price of the bike. Makes you wonder, what if?