Ducati Monster Forum

Greetings to all….I post this as an introduction for the LED headlight manufactured by JWS.
I have a 09 M1100S and wasn’t very happy with the factory headlight, and then after having a land-cruiser pull out in front of me I found myself needing a new one. I liked the look of the earlier monster headlights and fairings but was still looking for a better light, after talking to John at JWS they created a LED kit that will fit into the 2000-2008 monsters. Because the bike is still being resurrected I haven’t yet tried the light, but can tell you I am very happy with the service received from John and the team. His email address for anyone interested is walkerj@jwspeaker.com. Once I get the bike properly rebuilt I will post on its performance. Some pictures below.
All the best to you all.
(http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa453/eblaja/Untitled.jpg)
(http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa453/eblaja/3.jpg)
(http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa453/eblaja/2.jpg)
(http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa453/eblaja/6.jpg)
(http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa453/eblaja/5.jpg)
(http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa453/eblaja/4.jpg)

Apologies gents, appears the pictures or links I posted didnt work.
Can someone please tell me how to ge this done and I will try again.
Many thanks

You need to use photobucket, flicker or another image host.

what exhausts are those?

Hi Raux, they are the HPE exhaust, Ti mufflers, inconell primaries...obviously you were able to access the pics?

I cannot see any pics but interested in taking a little look ...

I can see the pictures now [thumbsup]

So, this a kit that fits in the stock bucket? Plug and play into factory harness? No ballast?
Do you have any links to pictures/video showing the beam pattern?

Very interesting 8)

Hi Stopintime,
the kit comes with the bucket and new mounting brackets. As my understanding, as the LED use less power than conventional and they can be connected straight into the factory harness. Definitely no ballast, the kit doesn't come with a harness, but only requires 3 spade terminals. The light has a high and low beam, and 2 spreaders that apparently give the light a broader beam. Sorry am not able to power the light at present, but I am sure John has given me a beam map in the past...will have a look for it and post it if I can find it.Feel free to contact him if you are interested, very professional, good service.

I googled it and found a few examples, but would like to hear/see what you think when you get it shining.

Not a cheap kit?

Keep us posted, very interesting. 

Can you comment on their brightness relative to an H4 bulb?

I think it was the manufacturer who said so (trustworthy?), but the claim is that they are even brighter than HID.
The pictures show a very sharp aim. So sharp in fact, that they use the two left & right lights to fill out the nearest area.

What I don't like about LED lights is that the light looks brittle, if you know what I mean. Coming from a narrow source, not a full bucket reflector, it doesn't seem to fill out as well as filament bulbs in reflectors. Bright, yes, but also showing a lot of shades/contrast on the illuminated objects. This might not be an important issue with two lights (cars), but with a single light source (bikes) it just might be less satisfying. We'll see....


I can see why you need new mounting brackets, changing the whole set up, but do you know if those brackets are the same as on previous Monsters? What are the total width of the bucket, at the mounting points? (I think stock is 210 mm)

Hi Stopintime,
any monster will need the brackets with the kit as the light bucket is slightly smaller than the factory light. Or I guess you could just use spacers.
You are correct being the later monster I needed all the mount brackets anyway, and then just used the brackets that came in the kit. I agree with the comments on the narrowness of LED lights, the biggest concern I have is the visibility of the bike to oncoming traffic. The factory light really wasn't that good, hopefully the LED will be better. John from JWS did place an emphasis on the "spreader LEDS" either side of the Hi Lo projectors.
As soon as I power it up I will share, may not be for a few weeks though.

I take it that this is the Model 8700?

Q?

How much was the kit?

Do you have to call in the order since there is no "store" on the website?

Look forward to seeing the light in operation... Can you get a picture of the bike outside shining down the road to show illumination from the riders point of view and from on coming traffic point of view?

Finally figured out the company was JW Speaker.

http://www.jwspeaker.com/catalog/forward_lighting/model_8700.html (http://www.jwspeaker.com/catalog/forward_lighting/model_8700.html)

looks pretty slick.  I'll wait to hear price and reports of the lighting.

FWIW trucklite also makes a 7" LED headlight, but no idea how it compares to the JW Speaker unit  http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=64057&langId=-1 (http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=64057&langId=-1)
Both should connect directly to the stock headlight plug since H4 and 7" sealed beam plugs are the same, but both would need a new shell since the Monster shell is 8" or so and these two are 7" (very common on trucks, old cars, British bikes, etc)

Cool, I would like to make a dual headlight set up like the Triumph/Buell XB with the trucklite.  [moto]

was curious and did some Googling....learned that Harley sells the JW Speaker unit as an accessory and they have a demo video at http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/gma_product.jsp?WebLogicSession=MlRPlgK8iuJZFMIqb2N21Gm2GFsG9HQPGK0JjQf712HXLKYSnqTJ%21-308922545%21hiwpbmsp02.ihd.hd%217005%218005&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524448775792&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302491563&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302491563&bmUID=1290097040120&bmLocale=en_US (http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/gma_product.jsp?WebLogicSession=MlRPlgK8iuJZFMIqb2N21Gm2GFsG9HQPGK0JjQf712HXLKYSnqTJ%21-308922545%21hiwpbmsp02.ihd.hd%217005%218005&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524448775792&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302491563&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302491563&bmUID=1290097040120&bmLocale=en_US)

and several buyers say the demo is realistic comparing stock vs. LED....the LED is impressive if so.  The Trucklite unit seemed to get mixed reviews when I researched it a few months back and FWIW is negative ground only (was considering it for a British bike)...it is cheaper though...

^^^^

I think that's all I need [thumbsup]


(except for the part where HD owners will come up to me, point and
tell everyone I bought a HD accessory [puke] )
 ;D

"....HD LED Lamps..."   [clap]

If HD wants $400.00 for it, it'll be about half that from a generic vendor....

if it is the JWS 8700, i wonder how these specs compare to the OEM headlamp.

Product Specifications:
Output:   Raw: 1050 Lumens; Effective: 570 Lumens (12V & 24V High)
                Raw: 1050 Lumens; Effective: 500 Lumens (12V & 24V Low)
                Raw: 1350 Lumens; Effective: 760 Lumens (12-24V High)
                Raw: 1350 Lumens; Effective: 650 Lumens (12-24V Low)

Current Draw:  2.5 Amps @ 12V; 1.3 Amps @ 24V

it is indeed the JWS 8700.  The specs I've seen for a standard 55/60W H4 bulb (monster OEM) are 910/1580 lumens...the LED light draws waay less power though, low beam is only 30W, probably not a significant difference on a Monster but a 25W savings is a BIG deal on a vintage bike but am holding off on an LED conversion for mine as it looks like there will be better and cheaper lights fairly soon  http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2010/01/22/47855/led-headlights-beam-beyond-premium-cars.htm (http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2010/01/22/47855/led-headlights-beam-beyond-premium-cars.htm)  Since the Monster uses a  zener diode for regulation IIRC there would be no improvement in mileage w/ LED lights

so would this kit help out the older monsters more? as the older headlights basically suck.

Neat, thanks for Harley linky....it gave me some ideas, just have to look into bracket fabrication, hmmmm..aluminum or carbon!! [thumbsup] Folks if anyone is a good fabricator, we can bounce around ideas for the newer monsters(696/796/1100), make the bike look the way it should have looked from Ducati. I thought of even a dual headlight set up using the 6130 HI and LO, real streetfighter like!!! Great winter project.

Did the kit come with the headlight bucket?

If so, it looks like a straightforward install for pre 696 body Monsters (<2008)

interesting...

because of the lower current draw, would this overcharge the battery?

Nope. Your bike's voltage regulator is there to expressly deal with this sort of problem. If anything it'll lead to a healthier, always topped off battery.

contacted the Speaker Corp. Without any special brackets, it runs about $567.

Do I want it? Yes.

Do I want it bad enough to pay nearly $600?  Probably.

Do I have $600 that I spend without the wife noticing? Definitely not.


So I must patiently wait until something else shiny catches my attention... hooray adhd

My opinion (read: don't take it personally) is that the housing is visually too damn complicated, the light output is likely no better or worse than OEM, and that when the lights burn out it will cost far too much to replace the LEDs.

Pass.

light output should blow away oem 94-08 monster headlights with standard h4 bulb.

i put an HID kit in mine for awhile and blinded everyone on the road (not focused light as it should be), but at last I could see at night!

Unless the charging system on the Ducs is very different from my old yamaha it'll also result in a hotter regulator that is suddenly very busy converting all that spare juice to heat :p Fried eggs anyone?

get an old school monster and that regulator is hanging out like a dick in the wind just under the steering stem

And then it begins to spit out black smoke with the distinct smell of an electrical fire, so you pull over and pull out your dick and start peeing on it to cool it off.   :-\


I wanted to try and fit this badboy in my bike.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hi-Low-Beam-Projector-74MM-H1-Bulb-/220722984830?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item33641d777e (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hi-Low-Beam-Projector-74MM-H1-Bulb-/220722984830?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item33641d777e)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hi-Low-Beam-Projector-56MM-H1-Bulb-/220724021374?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item33642d487e (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hi-Low-Beam-Projector-56MM-H1-Bulb-/220724021374?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item33642d487e)

2 sizes, either one would need modification of the bucket, which shouldnt be that big of a deal.

HID kit agreed, but LED tain't HID. I could be dead wrong and LED technology might have improved substantially last time I used an LED headlight, but I'll be in the wait and see camp until then.

Oh, and improved light output can't fix fugly :D

Agreed :)  Don't get me wrong, if I have $600 lying around I'd pick it up in a heart beat, but the black backing around the leds is distracting.  If they'd just blinged it out like stock/standard headlight reflector it wouldn't have been so bad.  

A buddy of mine has one of the little 2 AA LED mag lites (not the conversion kit, the factory led flashlight) and I was REALLY impressed with thing.  This little bastard was bright enough to blow my 3D cell out of the water, so I have no doubt that newer LED technologies are improving to the point where they'd be DOT efficient.  

He man, I know you're trying to build a projector into your stock bucket, but these may be just the ticket if you're willing to shell out the cash.  I thought about building a front end (similar to Celli's bike) with projectors but didn't feel like spending the money at the time.  

http://www.motorcyclehidlights.com/motorcycle-accessories-motorcycle-headlight-housing-c-765_769/motorcycle-hid-add-on-projector-lights-p-377 (http://www.motorcyclehidlights.com/motorcycle-accessories-motorcycle-headlight-housing-c-765_769/motorcycle-hid-add-on-projector-lights-p-377)

I'm thinking about building something with this as well.  It's only the lens and the bulb so I'd have to find a 7" bucket (shouldn't be too hard) but it should work pretty well when I decide to go HID as opposed to having to deal with the stock lens and the artifacting.  

http://www.motorcyclehidlights.com/motorcycle-accessories-motorcycle-headlight-housing-c-765_769/7-inch-crystal-motorcycle-headlight-p-316 (http://www.motorcyclehidlights.com/motorcycle-accessories-motorcycle-headlight-housing-c-765_769/7-inch-crystal-motorcycle-headlight-p-316)

Tiny threadjack.  What's the little bulb in the headlight assembly.  Parking light?

yup

i bought a 1'x1' 1/4" thick of lexan. I was going to take Theos idea and make a lens out of it, but the lens would have a larger radius of curvature. Im thinking i could get another 1/2" out of the front of the lens (you cant use the stock lens since its a fraunhofer lens designed specifically for an H4 bulb.

Don`t even think about this conversion, a m,
you have the coolest setup I`ve seen on older Monsters!

Just do a direct 12V feed via relays to front, you`d be amazed what 2 lost Volt will do... ;)

I have that second monster which needs a little something now! ;)

at work (US Army) we have been using the trucklite units since 07 and they are bright and durable as hell. i thought they were HIDs when i first saw them (they make my eyes twitch like HIDs). i have been wanting to put in the stock housing on my bike because they looked to be the same size, I saw the rep at the trade show but he was not one of the generous vendors this year.  now based off of this post i guess it will be a bit more of a project than i thought. the JWS housing looks better to me so it looks like that will be my new direction.

my notes on the trucklies if any one is thinking of going that route

1. the lens sticks out about a half an inch from where the stock bucket ring holds it this makes it flat on the front instead of rounded like halogen bulb
2. good news, it is a standard 3 wire plug i don't know for sure that the plug on the monster will work but that seems like a pretty easy fix if not
3 they are super light weight, but the lens is plastic which may make them less durable for regular road use. we don't drive on the highway so i don't know how well they would last.
4. IMHO they look really cool in person if i remember i will take a picture and post it later this week     

Says the man with a funny mustache and dual headlights. 

























 ;D

Give me your SC, I promise to keep it with a classic single.

And when you're in the pron industry, a good 'stache is a resume builder.

I'll sell it to ya.  ;)


 ;D

I've got $50 and a bag of magic beans. Let's talk.

Magic beans??!!  Hell make the beast with two backsing yea!!

Did anything ever come of this?  Waiting to see beam pattern and opinions of light output. 

From the research I've done, this is a very real concern with the stock Monster R/R - especially the ones that are mounted under the seat.

I think its primarily those that are the concern - the ones with direct air path mounted by the horn at the front of the bike  - I haven't read about as many of those failures (anecdotal: mine is chugging along a-ok after some 10+ years of use)

But a bit of a moot point now that there are easily had upgrade-alternatives from Rick's Motorsport Electrics.  I'm going to order one of those bad boys up in the near future for the project fixer-upper monster, and down the road do the one on my M900 as well.

Interesting - thanks for the pointer.  Do you know - is this an SCR type (like the stocker), FET type (like the good ones Honda uses), or some kind of hybrid (like the Electrosport)?

EDIT: The website says: "Designed with Mosfet technology"... Hmmm...

Its MOSFET, so its the reliable, cool-running "upgrade" circuity now present on the latest Ducatis, like the MTS1200.  There's a whole thread about the stock R/R and MOSFET alternatives from the japanese bikes on the .MS website. Very interesting, but rather than retrofit another OEM's R/R into the bike, I'd much prefer a plug-n-play option by an outfit that's broadening the resources of the moto community.

I agree with JV. I am looking to upgrade my headlight, and would be only interested in a plug and play system. The whole thought of chopping up the bucket and butchering up the wiring is really not what I want to do.

hey now.   i'm all about butchering stuff.   

Hi there!
one of my customers bought JWS LED headlight and bring it to me "let's bolt it on!" but I don't think it will good idea because it smaller than stock headlight and stock front cowl looks strange with so small LED headlight... where can we buy a little bit bigger JWS LED headlight?

thanx, Armen.

This oughtta be here in a few days...after reading this thread, I'm a little worried about how inexpensive mine was. I guess we shall see.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400429003282?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/400429003282?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649)

Lads apologies for not giving more feedback on this.. below are some pictures of the bike after it was finished, my first post didn't work and Darkwing fixed it for me  [thumbsup]... I have been using the JWS LED for more than 2 years now and not had any trouble with it at all. Actually forgot it was a mod.
I don't have any pictures of the performance at night and will try and get some... but I can say the low beam is very good... wide spread and a clean light... visibility during the day is improved which was one of the things I was trying for. High beam isn't a lot of difference from low, and where low is very good personally I think high beam is lacking a little... I live near Dubai and the speeds on the roads here are quite fast... and at night I think the high beam for country roads can never be too much.
A mate of mine had an 1100 Evo and on our night rides he used to ride alongside me to take advantage of the light.. again this was on low beam though.
The light is slightly smaller in diameter and John from JWS came up wit a bucket and modified brackets that came with the light to fit it all into the S4 headlight U bracket which I had modified to fit the M1100.
From memory the kit cost close to 500 $
If I could get a stronger high beam option from JWS I would take it.

http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=205.msg1096425#msg1096425 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=205.msg1096425#msg1096425)

Could you take and post more pics of the bracket and some direct side shots of the light. I cant see anything from the angles provided. Looks great though.

Interested in seeing how you adapted the u bracket as well.

Good job BTW.

Sure thing... give me a couple of days.

Cheers

Thread was started in 2010. I don't think a couple of days will matter. :)

I have a question.  Did you fit the LED into the stock bucket? 

As EEL mentioned, side pics are appreciated.