Ducati Monster Forum

hi,

i'm in mod mode now :) so, i want to change the turning signals on my monster from the stock ones to something smaller. are there any good but affordable aftermarket turning signals out there? i found these on monsterparts.com. what are your opinions?

http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/266011/Electrical/266011.html (http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/266011/Electrical/266011.html)

also, what is involved in installing a LED system? i found these on ebay and they are 12V. do i need to install any additional parts like a converter?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Motorcycle-4x14-LED-Turn-Signal-Indicator-lights-12volt_W0QQitemZ160352959472QQihZ006QQcategoryZ32628QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Motorcycle-4x14-LED-Turn-Signal-Indicator-lights-12volt_W0QQitemZ160352959472QQihZ006QQcategoryZ32628QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

thanks!

Not sure if this helps, but once you have found your LEDs - if you to that route - this might be of assistance...
Turn Signal Resistors (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=3823.0)

I just recently installed the Rizoma Zero11 Led Indicators on my S2R 800, very happy with how they turned out.
Here's a link to the Topic, which has pictures of them installed.
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=27275.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=27275.0)

I just put the Kellerman's on. I'm a perfectionist to say the least so it took me about 6 hours. Everything was wired perfect then put in heat shrink tubing. Turned out real clean. I did hit quite a speed bump with the resistors though. I first tried them without (someone told me it would work fine) for the record it definitely did not. It was doing all sorts of weird things like the left side would blink at a normal rate then speed up and blink real quick, the right side would blink at a normal rate but the opposite side would still blink real dim (no matter which side was activated). Anyway I did a bit of research and got some resistors from radio shack (10 Watt 8ohm) and wired (and heat shrunk :) them in) and that cleared everything up. Note: I only had to put on per side, so naturally I put them in the tail. For the record this is on an 05 S2r 800. I'll put up pictures tomorrow. BTW the Kellerman's look AWESOME, I used to have rizoma's and these blow them out of the water. SUPER Bright too. Good luck in your choices, buit if you can afford the coin go with the Kellerman's.

Kellerman's


(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa91/chiflado/Scuro8.jpg)

So, a resistor would be used to drop the voltage, correct?

Correct me if I'm wrong. If the LEDs run on 12v and the bike also runs 12v, wouldn't it work fine?

Well here's the deal. The system is 12 volts sure. But if you look at the stock bulbs they are 10 watt. The led signals run on a MUCH lower wattage something in the 1-2.5w range (depending on the make). so what that does is drive the rest of the system haywire. No it will not work correctly. People told me the Kellerman's would work fine; they did anything but that. The resistor provides just that, some resistance in the system to bring it back to a normal level. Let me try to put this more clearly. Incandescent bulbs have a lot more resistance because of the filament. LED's have a lot less. This makes the signal/relay box do all sorts of weird things (none of which make sense). Like I said the left side would blink at a normal rate then speed up AND the right side would blink at the same time real dim. If I hit the right side it would blink at a normal "rate" but the left side would light up dim as well. Nothing made any sense. You introduce some resistance to the system and everything works normal again. If you want help with resistors I would be happy to help and go into more detail. If you add more Ohm's then I did you can get them to blink slower. All depends on what you're going for. I spent hours on this so I might as well share my knowledge. Hit me up if you have questions and I'll post pics tomorrow.

This was helpful and a easy read:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turn-signal.htm (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turn-signal.htm)

I think that ideally if you wanted a custom blink rate you could use a potentiometer (variable resistor) to acheive that rate, measure the resistance, buy the appropriate resistors (paying attention to power rating) and splice/integrate them into the harness. Thankfully, for those of us who are lazy, there are tons of aftermarket devices that fix this for under $20 shipped. Happy blinking!

I like the Rizoma Avio 21 turn signals.  They look great and are easy to install.  Also, I haven't had any issues going sans resistors--the blink rate is normal with no other side effects.  I got mine at Monster parts for $80.00/pair.
http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/FR021/Electrical/FR021.html (http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/FR021/Electrical/FR021.html) 

+1

these are the leds i'm looking at on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160352959472&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3076wt_940 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160352959472&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3076wt_940)

so, i made this little diagram of my thought and how i should install the leds. can anyone tell me if i'm correct?

(http://raphaelhaefeli.com/ducati/wiring.jpg)



thanks!

that should work just fine.

I bought those same turn signals off ebay and I'm very happy with them. They are nice and bright, and I like that extra little amber side view indicator.

awesome! i was a little concerned with the quality and the brightness.

did you have any problems installing them? is the stem long enough to clear the front windshield?

ah yes, the windshield.

if you are using the OEM fairing, there will be a clearance issue because the stalks are much shorter.
I don't use my front fairing, but what I did was drill new holes forward and lower than the current position. that cleared the fairing.

thanks for the tip  [beer]

I bought a set of these
http://www.motowheels.com/italian/myProducts.cfm?parentcategoryid=605%7CLighting%2C%20Turn%20Signals%2C%20%26%20Mirrors&productID=5632&showDetail=1&categoryID=606 (http://www.motowheels.com/italian/myProducts.cfm?parentcategoryid=605%7CLighting%2C%20Turn%20Signals%2C%20%26%20Mirrors&productID=5632&showDetail=1&categoryID=606)|Turn%20Signals&vendoridtodisplay=0&filterFor=&collection=605%7CLighting%2C%20Turn%20Signals%2C%20%26%20Mirrors

I am very happy with the way they look on my bike, and they are nice and bright.
From what I've read online, Oberon makes some nice parts, and they are quite a bit cheaper than Rizomas.

ephophex, i didn't understand it...

let's say, black for negative and red for positive: i would need one resistor for each colored wire?

like:
red----resistor---- red---LED

and

black----resistor----black----LED

Repeat that 4 times, one for each LED? or would i just do them in the rear LEDs?

i'm so confused  ??? [bang]

also, would i need a load equalizer or the resistors would do the job?

Sorry, I wasn't very clear.  Each LED will have two wires, say one red, one black.  For each LED, you will need to have one resistor.   The resistor itself will have two wires; so connect one wire from the resistor to the red, and the other wire from that same resistor to the black.  If you'll have a look at the document referenced in the link above (it's a PDF), it will help you visualize it.

I can only speak for myself; but on my '00 M750, I needed one resistor for each LED (total of 4), and did not need any sort of load equalizer.  Good luck!

Probably depends on the bike.  I used one resistor for each rear signal.  Some bikes don't need any resistors.

Ok so here's my run down to answer all your questions you asked in the PM.

Hello,


Thanks for the tips on the turning signals!

I want to go ahead and get me some and install them. is there a way you could give me some steps on how to do it? i'm pretty good mechanically but don't know much about electrical. i would like for it to blink to on a regular to a bit faster rate.

this is the item i'm looking at on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160352959472&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3076wt_940 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160352959472&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3076wt_940)

how would i install it? just cut the wires, install the turning signals, connect the wires back and in the back end of the bike connect a resistor on each wire? i made a little illustration of what i'm thinking about. let me know what you think.

http://raphaelhaefeli.com/ducati/wiring.jpg (http://raphaelhaefeli.com/ducati/wiring.jpg)

thanks for the help and sorry for my questions. i really appreciate your help

Ok as far as installing them this is what I did. I removed the original turn signals and cut the wires as close to the "stalk" as possible to have as much wire as possible and unplug them from the harness. You should be left with the wires and bullet connectors with the rubber shielding pieces on them (you slide this over the connector when you plug them in).

Next figure out how long you need the wires, you'll want them long enough to maneuver but as short as possible so there is less wiring hanging around. For the fronts you will definitively want to remove the headlight it will make your life a lot easier. Also mark the headlight position so you don't have to screw with re-aiming it later. I marked mine with electrical tape (easy to remove and no marks left behind). The blinkers will bolt into one of the existing holes that are now exposed because of the removed stock blinkers. Now you got to hook the blinker wires up to the wires you removed from the harness. Obviously negative to negative and positive to positive. I STRONGLY suggest testing the system with all 4 of the new blinkers plugged in before finalizing anything. This is done easiest by bolting on the fronts and the rear and twisting the wires together and test it. Who knows it might work fine with out needing resistors.

Once you got it tested to make sure everything works (just make sure it works i.e. lefts blink when you switch left, right for right.). Even if the blinking is not at the correct rate at lest you know it works. This is where things get a bit tricky. I had bought 8 resistors from Radio Shack: 4 x 10w 10ohm ones, and 4 x 20w 8ohm ones (I ended only using 2 of the 10w ones). As far as what resistors you need here's what I did: I looked at the stock bulbs in the turn signals and they were 10watt so the way I figure it as long as your resistors are 10watt then you'll be fine. However the higher the wattage on the resistors the cooler they'll stay. Judging by my experience the higher the ohms the slower they will blink. The 10ohm gave me a pretty desirable blink rate, slightly faster then stock but not to quick. I went with the 10watt over the 20watt because the 20watt ones were so damn big even though the 10watt ones heat up a bit more. Just make sure you don't leave your blinker on forever and you should be fine. Now I hooked up all the signals temporarily and started testing the resistors. This is where you were wrong in your diagram, you want to connect the resistor between the positive and negative wires on each side. I know this seems weird but this is how you are adding RESISTANCE  to the system. So this is why you want to test the resistors now why al the wires are exposed and it's easy. It's much easier to have a friend help you at this point.

So to recap have the fronts and rears hooked up (twist the wires together but make sure you keep them from touching) now take your resistors and hold one between the positive and negative on one side and have a friend do the same on the other side (this is easiest done in the tail because there is more room). Now test again. if it works good, Great! If not...... then try adding them to the front too.

Now that hopefully the resistor situation is sorted out I'm going to retouch on installing them.

If no resistors are needed:
If your system works without resistors then it's going to be very simple. You just use butt connectors and crimp the blinker wires  to the ones you unplugged from the harness and you're good to go.

If you just need one per side (like me)
You're probably going to put them in the tail and you'll hook the fronts up like above, and for the rears this is what I did. I took the resistors and soldered on a 6" piece of wire to each end of each resistor (then heat shrunk it all hehe) This next part is going to sound WAY more complicated then it is: I then twisted the signal wires to the new resistor wires: positive to positive, negative to negative (basically just bridging the positive and negative with the resistor) then crimp a bullet connector to hold them together on each side. Plug the appropriate bullet connector into the appropriate female plug on the harness (+ to +, - to -) and that should be it. Zip tie/tape do whatever you want to make it look at clean as possible and that should do it. I cut a small section of rubber hose and then cut that in that in 1/2 again lengthwise and used that as a spacer between the resistor and the frame.

If you need resistors front and rear
Do the above and well, basically do the same for the front. Haha

Well this is about as much as I got for you (sorry I ran on for so long, I just wanted to include as many details as possible). If you need any other help or have any other questions please ask. Here's a lot of pictures:
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2491/3813993686_840057c1d1.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3195/3813183187_8c3725749b.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3282/3813993888_5e5d66bc82.jpg)
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2558/3814003222_dfae758d28.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3561/3813994660_c70e499fb4.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3449/3813995030_90f601d969.jpg)
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(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2513/3814004256_7e1fe7eb06.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3536/3813193401_cf7d374eb1.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3447/3813193299_075c189470.jpg)
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2556/3813193179_a870b2f526.jpg)
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(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2633/3814003530_a6413c7ab6.jpg)
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2447/3813192613_baef6dde30.jpg)