Ducati Monster Forum

696 headlight to single 7" round headlight... I ordered mine from xpostreetfighter.com

It wasnt an easy mod. For one thing, you have to make new brackets for the gauge to mount on, since the gauge is attached to the stock headlight bracket. I used two strips of aluminum which were cut, bent, and had holes drilled so the gauge could mount up. I also used rubber washers for vibration dampening.

Second, I had to cut the brackets that came with the headlight. The way the brackets come, they are way way way too long. The headlight sticks out about 5 inches and just looks odd...

I then had all the parts powdercoated black.

Here are some pics... also with my custom oil cooler(100$ vs the $400 one from DP)


(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/2-Skinny/275.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/2-Skinny/276.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/2-Skinny/277.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/2-Skinny/278.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/2-Skinny/279.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/2-Skinny/285.jpg)

wow looks like a real Monster ..great mod

Looks good  [thumbsup]

personally I would have preferred a slightly larger diameter headlight, If it was my bike.
please don't think I'm having a swipe at your bike, it's just personal preference that's all.

But fine work all round.  :)

Nicely done.  Details on the oil cooler???

Basically an oil cooler from an older M750 I got off ebay...

I will make a new thread in the tech accessories/mods section with the write-up that I made for a different board ... Check it out!

nice work indeed, +1 on looking like a real monster now! Not so space aged and more aggressive!  [thumbsup]
Can i suggest removing the front screen and seeing how it looks?

much, much better  ;D

Did you mean to see how things were mounted or how it looks without the screen?

Great work!

+1 on the larger light though.

good idea to get an oil cooler. i'd like to get the dp one!

does anyone make an 8" round headlight?

looks very attractive

Nice work!  Not my cup of tea though.  I am pretty partial to the stock one.  Again, the work is top notch though [bow_down]

awesome! did the same on mine, but mounted my dash lower. btw i put the larger quat-d's on mine, how do you like yours?

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=18644.30 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=18644.30)

Yep - that particular flavor can be seen on 2000 and older 900s and 750, it's just boxier than more recent ones.

hey that looks alright.  can i suggest that you replace the big hex bolts with some nice looking stainless allen heads?  any hardware store should have them.

That is actually a great idea- we'll have to do that next chance at wrench-time we get.

off topic, but i see you have your 696 listed on ebay again...

Very nice!! I just stumbled onto this thread. I posted on another thread in the "general forum" that I wanted to see this mod done on the new 696/1100 Monsters. I have a S2R1000 and have finally gotten around to accepting the new 696/1100 look. Not crazy about the alien headlight but the bikes have grown on me after seeing them in real life. Sorry Ducati, I won't be buying one but I really do like the standard headlight mod. Very nicely done! [thumbsup] I'm with the folks who want the larger headlight but still your set up looks killer. [clap]

Here are some of the bike without the windscreen on... Definitely looks better IMO, but not practical for riding on freeway.... This winter adding on some new bars which will clean up the front end a ton... Also, new decals, CORSE rearsets. and Ohlins steering damper have been added...(Sorry for pic quality, they are from my Iphone)

(http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv250/bsurjan/006.jpg)

(http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv250/bsurjan/007.jpg)

(http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv250/bsurjan/003.jpg)

(http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv250/bsurjan/003.jpg)

One with windscreen

(http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv250/bsurjan/DSC00023.jpg)

They're here, they're here! they finally made the heel guard for the corse reasrsets
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_HgL_tKNiLrI/SsLmZEhgpxI/AAAAAAAAA8I/EVbRuE6kaF4/s512/heelguard1.JPG)

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_HgL_tKNiLrI/SsLmZb78kII/AAAAAAAAA8M/J95KZ4hjF9k/s512/heelguard2.JPG)

Try it for a week. You'll get used to it and realize how much a pansy you were for using the windscreen.  ;D Just kidding on the pansy windscreen part.  :P

I'm really looking forward to the write up on the oil cooler.

Lol. yeah, I know it's not THAT bad, but the windscreen does help....


Here ya go....
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=25434.msg444557;topicseen#msg444557 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=25434.msg444557;topicseen#msg444557)

Where did you get them??

I just ordered them *these are pics that Nick from Motowheels sent me*
Email nick@motowheels.com... they aren't posted up on the website yet but he sent me an invoice for them.

40 bucks shipped

Sweet... Ill have to ride out there and pick some up... Luckily motowheels is about 15 minutes from my house

Looks good.  Just curious, what is the diameter of the original Monster's round headlight?

7" IIRC.

Without the windscreen, its full of win.

big [thumbsup] to you. the headlight mod would be the first substantial change I would make to a new Monster.

good work. I just picked up a 2011 M696 and was looking to install a dual headlight. I'm also new to this forum and am starting to realize there is some hate for the new monsters? Not sure why, I love mine and I love the stock headlight. It was between the Monster and the Street Triple (loved its headlights), so now I want to bring the main thing I liked about the Street Triple to the Monster.

This thread was made a while ago and I am curious if a kit exists now to do this mod.

people don't like change.   whether its a new monster design, new superbike design, new frame design, new coke flavor, etc.

its wierd that, cause when the new version of anything electronic comes out the sheep cant get enough of it, yet a new Ducati and the sheep whine and moan!?!

Your analogy is no good.  Electronics are quickly outdated and there is little to no emotional attachment to an iPod.  People do have emotional attachments to Ducatis and some of them are classics which are never outdated.

Ok so I think I get it. Some people, instead of being content that everyone here is joined together by a commonality, need to justify that their Monster is better than others. Need to justify that they wouldn't even want the new one if it was available to them.

not really, when you make an entirely different bike that has vaguely similar lines to the previous generation people will split. Ive ridden pretty much every model of monster Ducati has made and I would say that the newest one is the most different ride to all of them. Then theres the fact that minus the profile of the tank and the basic lines of the trellis the bikes look completely different.

the fact that people DONT like the bike I think makes them less of a "sheep" in that they arent basing their choices on name alone.

well this is going way off track...

I stopped reading at "entirely different bike".

the point i was meaning was that it isnt change ppl dont like. i think its more ppl being traditionalists with their bikes when it comes to the ducati name, especially with monsters it seems. id guess most of the new models go to ppl that are new to ducatis, but itll change if it isnt starting to already.

tank, seat, suspension, motor, frame, swingarm, lighting, gauges, ergonomics... all massivly different than all previous generations. thats all I meant.

I should also re-iterate that im saying DIFFERENT not BETTER. old vs new isnt cut and dry on whats better,  but the new model is so different that falling in love with the old model and not liking the new one isnt linked to insecurity and the need to justify anything.


and in an effort to get this back on track, I dig the round light on the new style. the reason the fairing looks bad is that huge gap between the gauges/fairing and the headlight.  try a bigger light (old monster lights are 7.5") or try lowering the gauges and raising the light a small amount. awesome work!

nope on those three. 
- same general seat scheme - biposto with a removable cowl to cover passenger section;
- same general ergonomics - seat, rearsets, & 1-piece handlebar w/ central riser configuration are traditional for standards (""nakeds""),
- the 2v belt driven desmodromic motor is still incredibly unchanged since the dawn of the belt era and ye olde ducati 750. 

Here's a fapworthy specimen, which is far louder than any of the modern production bikes I've heard, regardless of exhaust manufacturer

(http://www.bikeexif.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/ducati_montjuich.jpg)

To view 696/796/1100 as being different solely because of the packaging would be to find no common ground from the earlier models either - The 94-01 models differ from each other and differ from the 01-02 S4, which differs from the 02-07 DSS models, again different from the S2R800s, differing from the S2R1000, and different from S4R, which is different from S4RS and different from S4Rt.  Ordering parts for any model requires particularity.

From the beginning, there was lots of differences even. the 900 was the first motor, which was dry clutch, big crank, air cooled. the first 750 monsters were pantah engines with wet clutch, small crank, and the slave cylinder is on the RH side of the motor rather than the left. The 800 motor is a hybrid advance of both the earlier 750 and 900, and the 1000 is yet another revision. The revisions to the newest generation, motorwise, are only mere revisions.   The monster has air cooled, air-oil cooled, water cooled, air-oil + water cooled, 2 valve heads, 4 valve heads, testastretta 4v heads, oddity frenchy 3-valve heads, various oil cooler shapes, wet clutches, dry clutches, LH hydraulic slave cylinders, RH hydraulic slave cylinders, clip-on style handlebars (S4), 22mm handlebars with risers, tapered handlebars with risers, different triple clamps, different headstock steering angles, different triple clamp offsets, different forks, different calipers (no fewer than 5 different front calipers), different rotors, different seats, different wheels, different fueling setups, and just about every other component has changed as well.

packaging? sure - that's new.  Tank, who's shape is relatively similar to previous models, now has panels so its quick and easy to swap things around, huge reduction in repair costs if you have an 'off', etc.  Not the first time the tank has changed though - it started out as steel, has gone to plastic, and has changed contour at the rider's knee cutouts and fitment with the seat.

But the swingarm has changed repeatedly (851-888 style aluminum, 851-888 style steel with new style axle adjusters, ST based DSS with larger rear axle, s2r/s4r tubular SSS, desmosedici-style DSS, and 748-998/Hyper SSS), as has the frame (851-888 style with modified cross-members and welded on sub-frame, ST-based with modified rear frame area, to desmosedici style 2-piece frame design).     Budget components on the entry level model in the Monster lineup - that being the cheapest of the cheap in Ducati terms... its been that way from the beginning of the Monster line.

While I like the traditional round headlight the best - why I originally subscribed to this thread (since I do not yet own a model from the 696-796-1100 generation) - Ducati relegated that iconic look to the SportClassic while modernizing the Monster so it wouldn't be 'dated' in the eyes of consumers when compared to the offerings from KTM, Aprilia, BMW, etc.   

Change was bound to happen. Waiting to react to a model/line sales slump as buyers move to other brands would have been a terrible strategy. And when you look at the history of the Monster - its 851/888 roots with hinging tank, older era borrowed suspension designs (be it 851/888 style or 916/748/ST style), etc - it was falling far behind the advancements of the modern superbikes. That's counter to the Ducati racing and production philosophy - race advancements trickle-down to the production bikes. A superbike gave the Monster life. Radial brake caliper mounting was employed by Ducati during the 996-998 era and was equipped on production models shortly thereafter. Two-piece calipers were normal on production and race machines, and Ducati was fitting monobloc Brembo designs to their superbikes. Now that technology is on the production machines as well.  This is part of the appeal of Ducati and one of that separates these motorcycles from other manufacturers. (Note, for example: the new BMW superbike, in top-shelf form, debuted using the same brake equipment that Ducati had begun using as many as 5 years earlier on the '05+ 999 and had since retired those to the lower-spec models in favor of the better monoblocs).

The 696 and later 1100 and 796 feature road-going applications of later technological advancements from MotoGP and WSBK, as well as implementations of the common features found on all the higher end models.  (examples: more stable non-hinging tanks, radial calipers, digital dashes, more abrupt tank curve towards rider, desmo based 2-piece frame design, desmo based dss swingarm, etc)


This particular thread is useful because it shows an example of a headlight-conversion for those Monsters.   But the rest of the thread complaining about the changes are a bit out of place (and arguably petty).  We can find plenty of other threads here alone where such discussions won't interfere with the "here's how I did the conversion" discussions.

as valid as all that is, take any joe off the street and show him a 93 m900 monster, an s4rs, an s2r1000, and an m1100 and ask him which one is the most different from the rest.

 thats all im saying.

now whether that difference is a pro or a con or a good or bad company/design decision is up for anyones debate (perhaps in a different thread).



-seat has completley different lines from previous generations and the cowl looks and mounts completley different all previous gen monsters accepted the same cowl. biposto with a cowl does not = monster, many many other brands and bikes have done this.
- upright and naked does not =monster. seat height, bar reach, seat angle are all noticeably different from all previous gen.
- as a design yeah, its a 2v desmo motor. but where it makes power, the way it sounds and responds is different as is the exhaust routing.


again these are not meant to be a pro or con thing or as an attempt to say the new model "isnt a monster". but to deny that the new monster is a ground up redesign to take the bike in a different direction is absurd, that was the whole idea with this design!

you could use the same situation for the Porsche 911. How many original owners would look at the new one as the true 911?

the only manufacturer to date who is trying to present a current model that looks substantially similar to their older era bikes is Triumph with the Bonneville (I don't use Harley, as they really have not upgraded theirs much at all).  The Bonneville is only fun to ride, and only midly fun at that, in the Thruxton trim.  It is not the hot seller that a Monster is because its a technological turd.   The Speedtriple gets updated regularly, even a street triple added to the lineup.


guess you haven't ridden a carbd 900 and the short-stroke s4rs back to back to compare. those are worlds apart, the 696 is right in the fuelie M695-800-900ie world.   Perhaps the best way to subdivide the motor would be long versus short manifolds, then 2-vs-4 valves, then head-porting revisions. The 900-carb is long manifold and carburetted, the 900ie is short-manifold and fuel injected. The 800/1000 heads were revised short manifold. Or its necessary to be so picky as to subdivide by bore, stroke, valve size, and cam grind. 

Or, [cheeky], you could break it down to the science - and its a piston engine rather than a rotary [see JPS Norton (http://www.jpsnorton.com/racebikes.asp)],  so it's the same. The way it makes power is fuel comes in and is compressed, then the spark sets off combustion and the expanding gasses push the piston, thereby rotating the crank.  Its even the same way the Japanese do it.  the 'in' crowd gave it a fancy name "internal combustion."  The 'power' is theoretical power output is calculated using some basic thermodynamics from undergraduate level mechanical engineering or physics textbooks. (A more interesting read is John B. Heywood's Fundamentals of Internal Combustion Engines (http://www.amazon.com/Internal-Combustion-Engine-Fundamentals-Heywood/dp/007028637X), ISBN 007028637X)

The 911 evolution model is what I wish Ducati had used when redesigning the Monster.  With the 911 technical updates are made, but the classic look is constant.  The one time they went a little crazy with the "fried egg" headlights they realized it was a mistake and brought the next version back closer to the orginial. 

This conversation is really just a mellowed version of the conversations that occured back in 2008 or 2009 when the new Monster was unveiled.  I wish they didn't make some of the changes but they did. Doesn't mean I dislike the new bike.  I'm just waiting for someone to come out with a viable fix for that headlight.  That is what this revived thread is about.   

which is exactly what my point was initially.  the new monster is not the same as the old monster and some people will prefer the old one on actual merits rather than just  a "need to justify that their Monster is better than others. Need to justify that they wouldn't even want the new one if it was available to them."  

The old vs the new have huge differences (especially with this new imagening) and "new" is not synonymous with "better" thats up for us as motorcyclists and enthusiasts to decide for ourselves.

(Also, kawasaki W800, vespa PX, suzuki TU250X, Norton, Honda CB1100, MotoGuzzi... just sayin ;))


absolutely in line with them, but absolutely feels noticeably different than all three right? they all feel different from each other, just because we all ride ducati monster's of various years we need to like all monsters of all years?


look, im not trying to say that ALL the monsters until this new one are the same, all im saying is that the new one is a drastic departure from previous models and that there are so many differences that much of the criticism's and praise people have for them are valid.

Way late now, but there are a number of 8" round lights available  - look at off road/desert stuff then pick the "dual sport" version of the off road light (an off road light won't have a vertical divider and will blind oncoming traffic quite badly).  There's even a small company that puts a 7" street-legal divided light in a 8" baja designs off road race light cage.  

I really like the round light, just looks right to my eyes.  The new light is way to small and looks unbalanced. I'm not a long time ducati person or a traditionalist so no emotional attachment involved.

If you want, a baja race light is designed to clamp to the upper legs of the fork tubes, I don't see why it wouldn't fit right onto the monster. I'm not sure whether the quick-change race cage would look awesome or awkward on the ducati - its sort of trellis-like and might work well. 

Here's a 8" baja designs cage with a 7" trail tech street light on my XR
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wOpXbCDFDzE/TIUm_PDNMDI/AAAAAAAALm0/2uGKRa9FrRw/s912/P9040128.JPG)


The top has a quick-adjuster for changing height too
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XWuKqvY5VbE/TIUkVwsoCII/AAAAAAAALhw/cI9KL49oqTA/s912/P9030051.JPG)

DoWorkSon, would you be interested in duplicating those mountain brackets you made for your instrument cluster for cash?

They are really easy to make with a mallet/hammer, a drill and maybe a hacksaw or dremel...

Here's how it was mounted:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/2-Skinny/276.jpg)

alright thanks for the quick response. honestly I am just trying to reduce the amount of possible headaches for myself throughout this project but if it is as easy as you say I might give it a try. Did you purchase the hardware or are those the same bolts that mounted it to the original headlight?

Stock hardware + some beefy firm rubber washers.