Ducati Monster Forum

I just need some type of confirmation that I'm not the only one, but is our Monster headlights completely crap or what? Even with respectable bulbs inside, a mono headlight just sucks. its too big to focus light anywhere real. I ride at night often and i always flicker to the highbeam to see that my headlight is actually on. I actually depend on cars to light up the road for me.

Which is why i just bought an HID projector. This one is going to be interesting....

I thought the stock bulb was crap also, so i switched to a PIAA exteme something or other.  I'm much happier now.  A couple guys did the HID thing on here and I am pretty sure there is a write-up someplace.
Keep us posted...

BTW, aren't you going on a trip REAL soon?

on my old street monster, I put in a Sylvania Silver Star and then spent a little time putting some rubber dampener washers made from some spare blown out bicycle inner tube and aimed my headlight properly and put those rubbers in the headlight mounting bolts and it was immensly better.

I only know Taft/theo who did  a true Projector conversion, which is what im going after. and yea trip is in 30 days. Leaving April 15th, i dont think this would take more than 2-3 hours to install to be honest. Will post up some pics later.

i had the Piaa extreme but at $25 bucks a bulb that die every 3-4 months.... sorry. too $$ for my taste.

did you get the motorcycle specific bulb?  not sure if piaa has them, but i use these:

http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-H4ST-BP-SilverStar-Performance/dp/B000AM8BN6 (http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-H4ST-BP-SilverStar-Performance/dp/B000AM8BN6)

the st tag at the end means it's been designed for bikes... meant to take a lot more vibration than the normal bulb, which is what supposedly kills the non bike bulbs so quickly.

ran it for over a year on m old SV and never had a prob with it... traded in the bike for the 796 and it was still going strong when i had it.  i have one for the monster right now, but been too lazy to put it in.

that might of been why. but its too late now anyway.  ;D HID HERE I COME!!!

what projector housing are you using? 

I agree the stock lighting is pretty bad.  I've thought maybe they were aimed wrong but aiming was dead on.

I'm curious how much halogens in projector housing would improve the lighting.  I personally like the look of halogens on the monster

I would go with the 55 Watt version on the new monsters(recommended), don't know about the old ones. Also, about the ST designation on the end, I don't believe it is specifically for bikes. SU is ultra and ST Sliver star. Anyone else can chime in on this one.

Morimoto Mini H1. I am getting them on Saturday and I will throw in some Halogens and snap a pic. Full write up when im done. I dont have a ballast yet ( thats coming next week) so im holding off on the install until then.

I've had my PIAA for over 2 years now...

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/Silverstar/ProductLine/ (http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/Silverstar/ProductLine/)

H4 SilverStar Headlight
High Performance Halogen Headlight - Dual filament for both high beam and low beam - For Motorcycle Use - part number: H4ST

hmmm... after reading the link a bit more, i think it means that only the H4 silverstar is for bike use... because going through the rest of the list shows that a lot of the other ones arent listed for it even with the st designation.

and i think the amazon link lists the bulb incorrectly, it's 55 watts for low, 60 watts for high, so it is a 55 watt bulb in the end

The Sylvania link says the SU is brighter, funny I had accidentally bought it for my brights, so lucky me, because the highs are not on as often as the lows. Reason I say this is that the brighter lights are supposedly shorter life!

projectors came in  [evil]

+1  I have had mine since October 2007 and it is still going strong.

it really might be the vibration from riding in the city commuting and constant flickering of my high beams on/off.

My current sylvania $5 bulbs have been on my bike for about a year now. But i stopped riding daily for about 3 months. and only occasionally now.

Mock Up
(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1752&g2_serialNumber=1)



Low Beam cutoff
(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1758&g2_serialNumber=1)


Low beam cutoff on tire
(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1755&g2_serialNumber=1)

Low Beam
(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1764&g2_serialNumber=1)

High Beam
(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1761&g2_serialNumber=1)

Can't you take some pictures against a wall so we can se the cut of with hi and lo beam?

you cant see the cut off there? or do you just want to see it against a wall for the sake of seeing it against the wall?


i ripped apart the wiring harness since i realized i wired it like a tard so ill snap a pic when im done which will be thursday cause i have some other work that needs to be done until then.

THe cut-off is pretty obvious if you look at the pics.

Any try HIR headlight bulbs

http://hirheadlights.com/ (http://hirheadlights.com/)

Alright all wired up hid away. BUT i just destroyed a piece of lexan trying to make a lens. Any tips or tricks? Im using 1/4" i think it might be too thick. It goes from formable at 380degrees to rock solid in about 10 seconds. I am putting the stock lens inside the oven and puting the plastic lens ontop. I think the 1/4" is too thick to sag under its own weight. the lens blsitered.


if no one has any good ideas i am going to drop down to .093 inch. home depot has them for $11.00 12x24. however im thinking thats way too thin.and i have a bowl that is exactly the shape of the lens. i will try to re do it and hopefully it will drop with gravity like everyone says it does... last ditch effort will be to simply have a flat lens until i have time to make a proper one.

make the beast with two backs it, i dont think anyone here actually knows teh answer to that question anyway. :P

from what i gather, safety lenses made of polycarb have a minimum thickness of 2mm. And from videos on youtube

2mm can take a 800fps .177cal air rifle. with a nice welt but does not allow it to go through.
with a military high mass (looks like a solid cone of steel) test at 650fps at 2.8mm it doesnt even welt.

so i think .093inch or rouhly 2.4mm, i think it should be fine and be tons easier to mold. nuff said. Going to home depot tomorrow morning.

http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=22137.msg393024#msg393024 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=22137.msg393024#msg393024)

doesnt really help much since there isnt much info on it.

I don't know how you did it, but maybe it should have been in the oven from the start - slowly warming up.....

i had it in the oven for about an hour and it was kinda sagging. the oven temp was about 380-400 degrees. at one point i got pissed off and just threw it on BROIL. then it bubbled and got stuck. lol

so my new plan is to put it on a metal ring and let it sag. 0.093 inch should be fine.

my alternative is to go to a glass shop. there is  several of them a block from me that manufacture windows. Im pretty sure i can get one cut and rounded for less than $50 bucks.

Why do you need a lens in the first place?
(isn't the projector already covered)

Could you make a metal cover and just a smaller lens in the middle?

the projector lens just focuses teh light. the housing itself is exposed to nature if you look back in the pics. I cant used teh stock glass because it has cuts in it that are designed to give a cutoff for its specific use ( h4 bulb with that shape reflector)

I picked up .093inch Lexan at home depot and will try again tomorrow.

Try PMing Theo and asking him for tips.  He is a very nice guy ya know.  (although his tail chop pic scares me)

that pic was scary indeed. sawzalls are no joke!

heres some more pics
 
(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1796&g2_serialNumber=1)

(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1799&g2_serialNumber=1)

that's about how i'm going to have to mount the audi xenon and light housing i got. cut out the rear of the stock bucket and create a new extended housing to cover the up extra extended goods. keep up the good work. don't kill anybody with the new light.