Ducati Monster Forum

Finished. I destroyed about 4 lexan lenses in the process. First one was too thick and it boiled before it bent. 2nd one i cut too small, the 3rd i completely forgot about it and i put bubbles in it, otherwise it looks AWESOME, but is useless if you wanted a clear lens. the 3rd one was good, but it didnt have enough of a curve in it. I MIGHT go back and do it again, but i am too lazy because i know the lexan will eventually get completely scratched up, so when it does i will make it. I tried several procedures to get the best curve and i settled with cutting an oversize lens and laying it ontop of the metal chrome ring and throwing the whole gig in the oven and just cutting the lens out later.

I did have a little accident, the glue i was using to hold the lens in place kinda exploded onto my ONLy good lens. [bang] but with a rag and some acetone i got most of it off. I will end up making another lens, its actually really easy. the size is .0903" Lexan, and your not going to break it. I litterly stood all 150lbs on one of my bad lens jumping up an down. this stuff is durable. and it flexes very well

Projector was a Morimoto H1 purchased from the Retrofit source. TRS. Also used their TRS in house brand bulbs. I have a complete set if you are interested. Anyway, here is the video.

 The first few clicks you hear are the flash to pass. The 2nd is the high beam, and then the final is me holding the flash, and flicking the high beam button, just to show that there is no kaboom or any of that sort. The wiring harness was probably the most annoying thing to figure out. I bought a ballast on ducati.ms, but it ended up being bad so I am working on getting a new one. the ballast that i am currently using is the size of a miniature house and it is awfully hard to hide, however it works great. Enjoy

HID projector (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKjMmUfLpf4#normal)

Tutorial:
kuixihe.com/HID

very nice job on the retro. [bacon]  not many attempt this on bikes from what i can tell due to the size limitations, myself being one of them.  kudos to you!

I've started reading some of the many treads here on HID only to come to the conclusion that I really don't have a clue. Clearly the HID look is awesome, the benefits of a brighter road interest me greatly due to the fact that I ride down very dark roads. I don't think that just changing the bulb is going to give me what I'm looking for. I also don't want to be a distraction to oncoming drivers. Some cheapo kits run $50 on sleezbay. Not sure about any of it. I want to retain my stock housing and get better lighting. Is there a plug and play setup that isn't going to cost me $250.

possibly but probably not.  The HID kits on ebay are just the ballast and bulb.  Sticking this in your headlight will work meaning you will have light but it won't be focused correctly.  The light will go every which way because the housing you put it in was meant for a halogen bulb.  It also has a fresnel lens that focuses the halogen accordingly. 

What HeMan did is what everyone SHOULD do.  That is to put the HID kit into a projector meant for a HID.  This is why his headlight cut off is so clean.  It was designed to work together.  What he did with the lexan was to replace the fresnel lens and use a clear lens that doesnt not focus the light as the projector is already doing this. 

The cheapest way is to find a used car HID headlight and salvage the projector and retrofit this into your headlight.  It may be more work but you should be able to obtain a proper set of HID's for less than $250 if you work for it.

Hopefully this helps.

here is the break down i spent


$175 for 2 projectors + 2 bulbs
$20 for a ballast
$20 in lexan, but you could do it for $4 if you knew what you were doing. So lets just say $10 for 2 lenses
connectors $10

total cost $215 that is DOUBLE kit. so you actually only spend $100 bucks doing this if you were to mod it yourself.

as far as I know there are only 3 people who have done this mod to the Ducati monster. Theo, Me and some other dude on ducatimonster.org. it is not as intimidating as you think. i couldnt find anyone that could sell me the harness that i wanted so i made my own. I had a spare $5 harness of ebay, chopped of the connectors, and installed a relay + a diode and was done.

So did you vacu-form the lexan or did you just stick it in the oven over your mold and let it droop?

 [clap] [clap]  Nice job!

The only trick is knowing when to stop because if you go past a certain temp, for my piece it was around 305 degrees it becomes jello. but at 290-300 it sags to a nice dome within 2 minutes. I threw a baking thermometer in there that goes up to 550 to check cause you cant rely on the ovens thermostat.

here is the lens with a nice concave shape to it macro fail!
(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1806&g2_serialNumber=1)

but here are the bubbles caused by too high of a temp
(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1809&g2_serialNumber=1)

without shroud
(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1815&g2_serialNumber=1)

here it is with a chrome shroud. dig the bling?  it looks corny to me, but it helps with the glare from the housing. you pretty much need it. it does match the chrome ring.
(http://kuixihe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1818&g2_serialNumber=1)

These are the lights and really close to the look I want..  cellis bike
(http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/BOMb/002/05b.jpg)

didnt he get those from some place in germany? those arent 999 headlights are they

I believe they are actually headlights from a Ferrari or something according to him...

The new lights he has on there are off of a Lamborghini.  Those lights and the brackets can be found on some Danish site that sells a lot of street fighter stuff.

Just looked for it, I guess it's saved on my other computer. 

He-Man - so my buddy is almost done installing the kit I bought from you.  Here are pics so far.

https://plus.google.com/photos/106642991442257770068/albums/5659428590988705777 (https://plus.google.com/photos/106642991442257770068/albums/5659428590988705777)


It sticks out a bit on the back.  Did you have any issues during rain ?  Looks like the flat lexan won't fit, so he is going to try the rounded one.  The existing ballast I had crapped out, so had to buy another one.

(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6179/6209195691_8e9c3f1ce1.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6209195691/)
IMAG0303 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6209195691/#) by ab_duc620M2004 (http://www.flickr.com/people/35374145@N02/), on Flickr

(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6091/6209711108_948db08f8f.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6209711108/)
IMAG0299 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6209711108/#) by ab_duc620M2004 (http://www.flickr.com/people/35374145@N02/), on Flickr

looking good so far. How did the lexan not fit? if its too big you can always trim the edges. It fit my ring (which is a 06 bike so maybe the ring size changed up a bit? It almost might need some finnesing to get in, i kept it tight as i could. I used acrylic caulk to seal mine ( dont use silicone since its VERY messy, acryllic will do just fine)

and yea it sticks out a bit in the back, but every component is waterproof (bulb included) so ive had no problems and ive ridden over 1,000 straight miles in rain (2 days from new york to Florida during a hurricane, no issues)

but it looks good, ive got many many miles on mine without any issues so its been running top notch! hes going ot love it compared to a regular halogen!

Now theres only 3 people with retrofits in a stock bucket.  :P

ya'll should learn from this!

I found them on ebay for ~$40 each....I would seriously doubt they are actually off a lambo, although I don't doubt someone might sell them as if they were.

Nice work, He Man, & thx f sharing!  [thumbsup]

Awesome! I'm still waiting for my 'ready made' one to arrive from the US (Yeah I cheated  [laugh])

wow this thing is soo bright.  i can see both lanes on my side clearly.  and that is in low beam. 

my luck, as if my pending speeding charge is not enough, i will be pulled over by stinkin'  [leo] for having HID light  >:(

i put my triumph speed triple light and this side by side, no comparision.

will do more night ride tests and report back. 

loving the look too.  kind of bare and yes naked too.  very naked.   ;)

 [thumbsup]

if you ride in pitch black darkness (where there are no street lights....like 90% of US highways) its insanely bright. still not as bright as a car since they have more than 1 light, but its way more comforting to be able to see where you are going. I just wish teh high beam was a bit deeper.

Is the bulb size of H1 the smallest that will fit?

edit*

Here is as good read: http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/content.php?112-HID-Newb-Crash-Course&s=62f0e3fa65b37682c939b3885145021b (http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/content.php?112-HID-Newb-Crash-Course&s=62f0e3fa65b37682c939b3885145021b)

I think this would work as a complete kit assuming you want to keep your current headlamp. Is there 4" depth in the headlamp? http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=927 (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=927)

That and you would just need a relay to help preserve bulb life. Well I lied, will also need a new clear lens...So about 250 total.

OP did you get the superbike stage III kit or something else? I was thinking of picking that one up however I don't believe that has the bi-xenon...

Just wanted to post an update about the HID light I have that is custom made from this POST :-)

After my bike launched off a trailer and got damaged ( http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=53077.0 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=53077.0) )

I can tell you that the LEXAN survived.  No break.  Just some scratches.  I am actually going to re-use it with the scratches and see how it goes.

You can see the before pictures (a couple of posts below this from me )

Here is the damage
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6739841081_3b7e213477_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6739841081/)
2011-10-18 - 10-46-17 - Ducati Monster Trailer Launch Accident - 17 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6739841081/#) by ab_duc620M2004 (http://www.flickr.com/people/35374145@N02/), on Flickr


Here is a picture of it after the damage

url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6739839093/](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6739839093_055683e939_b.jpg)[/url]
2012-01-21 - 15-25-51 - Ducati Monster - Trailer Accident - Fix Pipe - 5 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6739839093/#) by ab_duc620M2004 (http://www.flickr.com/people/35374145@N02/), on Flickr

Can't believe I'm just now seeing this thread. Probably has something to do with the fact that my bike is 6 years old now but even my high beam is weaker than most cars' low beam. I can't see shit at night!

i was in the same boat.  But thanks to He-Mans thread here, this upgrade was the solution for my night riding.  Like you, I could not see anything with the stock lights.  

Same here...my high-beam didn't even work...but I fixed that...just need to take the thing a-part and bend the little bronze piece so that the switch can come in contact with the power (ala high beam works)

Hey can you do a tutorial on how to make the curve lexan?  I'm using a flat lexan...works perfect but looks kinda odd.

One question...have you think of tin the lexan? (not too dark, maybe 40%) my bike is 750 Dark...I'm trying to keep the "Dark" theme you know haha  ;D

been debating on doing this to the monster as i have retrofitted my 1991 toyota supra turbo, only thing stopping me is the lexan. Where do i get it, how do i form it, is there a piece i can buy already formed?

You can get the clear lexan from ace hardware.
I don't know how to form it exactly, but He-man put it in the oven I think.
Or you can buy it from He-man or ab  ;D
Or you can just use flat lexan like I do  ;D
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6545732285_e0793dabd6.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6602331303_c417f96e38.jpg)

I bought the lexan from He-Man.  

if he's not reading, how much did it cost?

Sorry i don't really remember since i bought a bunch of items from him.  You may want to PM him. 

i dont think i have any time to make any lenses right now. im in school pretty much everyday for more than 12 hours. :-\ if i do find the time i will try to make a batch since i have a jig i use to make em.

I feel ya man...School come first...good luck on your school work man.

Get back to us when you have some time.  [beer]

Personally,  I like the flat lens look better.. although it might be worse for wind resistance

Just ordered my harness projector and bulb, hoping to have my headlight retrofitted by the end of the week! And i think im ging with a flat lense

Flat is okay...can't really tell wind dynamic though.

Just got a piece of lexan/Plexiglas from Ace hardware for $1.75.... big enough for two lenses.

Trying to make a curve lens this weekend.

Will the morimoto ballast fit in those 4" lens?

I don't think so....the ballast pretty big

You talking about dual headlights right?

Yeah. Shame. Wanted twice the lumens  ;D

actually it will. you just need to be super creative. i toyed with the idea, but i hate how duals look to begin with.

you think plexiglass could be used as well? the ace by my house only has plexiglass no lexan

you will need a much thicker piece. Plexiglass will shatter if u hit it hard enough.

I cant tell the difference between the plexiglass and lexan but my piece i got from Ace works well.  I laid her down one time; my headlight hit the curve, dented the housing ring, but the plexi/lexan didnt break.  Flat piece

So while in the debate on what type of front lens to run, my neighbor (professional framer) came over and was interested in seeing what i was doing, so i told him we talked, and he brought me a piece of acrylic glass. He said they use it instead of glass due to it being lighter and about 7 times stronger impact wise then regular glass. This is what acrylic fish tanks are made out of. Off to work i went

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/1022ac7e.jpg)
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/71ca68d7.jpg)

stuff actually looks pretty good, and my mistake using a sharpie, led me to have to beat the heck out of it with a rag and some wd40 to get the sharpie off, i was pressing down pretty hard, even getting a little bend in it at one point and she handled it just fine.

lexan is more of a plastic polycarbonate type material (they make rc car bodies out of lexan) and plexiglas is just that half plastic half glass. Easiest way to tell the difference is plexiglass cuts just like glass, and is sharp just like glass, lexan wont cut your fingers up on the edge. [thumbsup]

Cool...then I have lexan then hehe...good work

I'm thinking about selling my retrofit projector, but don't know if I should.

welp new update lol, My dad whose mechanical skill is much more attention to detail type oriented, was critiquing my front lens yesterday while i was at work. Called me up and told me to come talk to him when i got home. He basically said if that factory was going to do something like that, what would they use? Plastic or glass. Well my awnser was glass. So a awesome upholstery and glass company that sponsors our race car was my first stop this morning where for free, he cut me out a piece of safety glass for the front lens.

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/6ca7c58b.jpg)

looks much much cleaner then the lexan, due to it actually being glass. So just throwing it out their if somebody else was thinking about doing this mod, that you can run glass.

oh sweet can you make some of that for us? I would love to use safety glass!

dang david, gotta send me one...haha

Haha yeah with  the above. I'll be willing to pay for the cost and shipping for the safety glass

first dibs to those that already have this custom light.  would luv to get my hands on that.   

depends on who can make it cheaper. i quoted it out here and it was like $70 a lens since it had to be hand made. let see who can get a good quote on them and do a group purchase.

Well if you guys would like safety glass lenses I can get them he shouldnt charge me more then around 10 a lens or so, tell you what if i can get some made, ill ship them out to you guys for what he charges me, would love to see more monsters with a clean more efficient headlight system. and hell every person ive personally spoke to on this forum is a stand up guy, time to do my part.  [thumbsup]
my progress for today
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/a75fba4c.jpg)
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/edefa433.jpg)

looking good. 

yes, it would be great if you can find out.  not to sound greedy, but i would not mind having two for my 2004 620cc monster (keep a spare in case of damage)

Nice work!!!

Yeah let us know if you can get some for us.

btw...which shroud is that? I should have gotten that one....  :-\

Yeah that shroud looks good. I am not a fan of all those chrome shrouds. Unfortunately it's necessary to keep your light from glaring.

man this is awesome. im really glad you found a cheap source for lenses. are they flat or concaved?

Shroud is the e55r and I used tamiya model acrylic to paint it black. My bike has no chrome whatsoever just gray and black so I can't have a chrome shield. I also added a led strip inside I'll post finished photos when I get home. And the lens is flat I'm sure her can use a old windshield and concave it.

Oh you painted it, cuz I didn't see black shroud...

Man if you can get me one of those lens would be awesome...

on my 620M, the flat lexan would not fit for some reason but the concave one fit.  hope that can be made somehow.

well gentleman i think this makes me number four with this setup? anyways shes all done and im loving it!
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/9578d571.jpg)
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/3f6ccd99.jpg)

 [thumbsup]. Looks gr8.

 [thumbsup] excellent job...looks better than mine

yea well last night after getting it all together my cutoff line was horrid, so i had to move the gauges around to move them up and be able to get the light up. Just crazy how much different it is.

And I ended up running the projector a different way so you don't have to extend the brackets seanster. If you want to see how I did it let me know I'll send you the info.

That's good to hear...thanks but the extension worked out well for me because I mounted my ballast and relay there...

Could you send me that info please? I want to make sure I do it right.

theres no right way, everybody does things differently

[thumbsup]

Haha touche. But I want to make sure I can get that whole ballast in without having to extend my brackets. Another guy here extended his and it looked fugly until he designed a sweet looking windscreen that made the lines flow.

i'd watch who you criticize on the forum, that guy with the so called (fugly) looking bike posted right above you, and he happens to be one of the cooler people ive met on the forum, so not to be a dick, but dont disrespect somebody elses time and hard work. I put my ballast and relay on top of the airbox for the time being. Im going to figure out new trick place to mount them when i have some time to get into it.

and mods if theres an issue with what i posted above, let me know and i will change it.

I don't really give a darm about what other said anyways...as long as I got it work with help from the forum of course.

I'm guessing you don't know what pod filters are and what's no air box mean...

For the record, I didn't design the so call Sweet windscreen...I got it some someone here on the forum.

Opinions and criticizing are 2 separate things. I don't see why you 2 all of a sudden have your panties stuck in a bunch. Show me where I was disrespectful and I will apologize [roll]. I merely stated an opinion  that the naked look with an extended bracket did not look right (fugly). And the windscreen that masked it made it look a ton better.

same here.  ballast is on top of air box.  The small ballast I had shorted so I bought another one that is bit big in size.  i am fine with it being there.

you guys got any electrical issues?   When you ignition on your bike, check engine due to spike from the hid-light triggering the computer ... ?  If I quikly put ignition on 2nd time again, the warning light goes off.

I saw a guy on the forum created some kind of tray to mount things above the pods...thinking of doing that...

I have no electrical issues though...but I went through a lot of fuse since i'm bad at working with electricity haha

well i bought all my stuff from the retrofit source and last night either the ballast or the bulb crapped out on me. Sucks i can't test either one because it being a bike means i only have one and can't switch ballasts and bulbs. Called them up and they sent me a replacement bulb and ballast, and a extra bulb and ballast for a spare for 50 bucks.

Sorry I came off so quickly to you, all I ask is respect other peoples hard work, not saying you did or didn't, but calling something fugly just isn't right in my book (especially after knowing the time and effort he put into his design after I talked to him.) Sorry about my rude response.

 [thumbsup]
well said...and i do appologized too

both of your bikes are fugly! ;D

Spoken like a true diplomat [laugh]

I meant no disrespect to either of you. Glad we cleared that up.


 [laugh] [clap]

The whole episode was kind of funny and the apologizing part was right out of a comedy skit   [popcorn]

i wonder if fglyduc is taken in the california dmv system if not I'm getting it!

Anymore with night shots of the output?

So me being who i am and never leaving anything alone after it works  [bang] i decided to open up the case and do a little detail work
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/IMG_3460.jpg)
ended up painting everything! inside the housing black, and decided to paint a 1 inch black detail ring around the glass. I like it cleans it up a tad bit more and god is the output to nice

Awesome.  I like.. 

Ok, i am really having a hard time finding what exactly to buy here to replace my damaged bulbs (trailer accident  [bang] ).

Went to auto zone and the h1 bulb didn't have any wiring.  Then the guys pulled a ds2 bulb only which was like $99 ouch.  Wasn;'t expecting that.

Can anyone point me to where I can get a replacement and specs?  looking for morimoto...

I looked in this website from google search but not sure if it comes with the wires which i need.  Which product should i be selecting from the website below? (please help)

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=4117 (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=4117)

Whats the difference with the H1 vs D2S?

What do you guys have EXACTLY?

(as you can see i also need the wiring)

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7182/6921902787_1be7ac1c95.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6921902787/)
HID (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6921902787/#) by ab_duc620M2004 (http://www.flickr.com/people/35374145@N02/), on Flickr


(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7203/6775786320_85373a6033.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6775786320/)
HID (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6775786320/#) by ab_duc620M2004 (http://www.flickr.com/people/35374145@N02/), on Flickr

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7041/6921899455_f0cac22e9c.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6921899455/)
HID bulb (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6921899455/#) by ab_duc620M2004 (http://www.flickr.com/people/35374145@N02/), on Flickr


(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6739841081_3b7e213477_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6739841081/)
2011-10-18 - 10-46-17 - Ducati Monster Trailer Launch Accident - 17 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35374145@N02/6739841081/#) by ab_duc620M2004 (http://www.flickr.com/people/35374145@N02/), on Flickr

Didnt I send you the link to the proper bulbs? or was that some else?

ALL HID BULBS USE THE SAME WIRE unless stated otherwise (which i have not yet seen unless its some OEM stuff)

with that said, its just a matter of the socket that it fits into. the housing you have is designed for H1 bulbs.

So buy an H1 HID bulb. not a H1 Halogen or Xenon or whatever. it has to be H1 HID.

just to be clear there are incandecent bulbs that are filled with xenon gas. HID bulbs just so happen to filled with xenon gas too, but they operate differently (one requires high voltage to start the arc, the other is a filament).

if you have a retrofit kit from theretrofitsource i have 2 extra bulbs

Thanks He-Man.  I have ordered it and will keep my fingers crossed for fit.

(my first ever ebay purchase believe it or not people).  I tend to get all my bike needs from DMF.   [thumbsup]

well my guy that does the glass has been out of town for a good while and is finally back so I'm ring to go down there and get as many made as possible. Who would like them copy and paste a list and ill see what i can do.

Can you count me in for one?

Thanks D.

Seanster 1

and i know this is utterly and completely off topic, but i need to add passenger pegs to my lucas solo rear sets, thing is i have no stock bike to go off of and get measurements with stock rear sets, so if anyone is willing to take some measurements for me it'd be appreciated.

you should probably start another thread for that.

Seanster 1
He Man 3 (depending on costs)
xsephirot 1


What measurement are you looking for? The width of the pegs?

^^as above said

I have the stock rearset...just let me know which measurement you need.

well i need to know where the stock passenger peg sits in accidence to the ground and the frame, basically I'm just trying to get the right height for the passenger. And for the people who have been active in the subject there will be no fee i will get them and ship them to you for free. but if i ever need something i know who to go to!

People have been asking about output photos so here you go
light in the housing before i left from work last night
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/8120a40d.jpg)
Picture of the output
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/3851e488.jpg)
OH! and don't forget my LED clutch cover  [Dolph]
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/spawnboy74/c3bf285e.jpg)

SupraGuy - is the 2nd pic on high beam ?   My low beam reflections projected looks like half a circle beam.  (if that makes sense)

thats low beam, you can see the cut off. the high beam is rounded

To be completely honest I see no reason for my high  beam anymore lol although it does make things better I can easily ride the bike with my tinted shield at night with just the low beam. If you'd like a high beam photo I'll take one but it just fills up more of the top of the beam.

when your riding on the highway in pitch black the highbeam is awesome to have.

I really want to install a 2nd HID projector because 1 isnt enough!!!

Okay i wrote up a tutorial.

http://kuixihe.com/node/33 (http://kuixihe.com/node/33)

beautiful work sir, i do have things to add on a second way of doing the mod without flattening the rear. Not like it matters much either way good work buddy. [clap]

Thank you.   [thumbsup]

Thanks for the tutorial! Could you go over the threading of the projector in to the housing? From what I'm reading I just make the hole barely big enough and use the file to fit the housing through. And then does the gasket go around the projector or only on the backside of the projector? I think I am overthinking this...

Thanks He-Man

I'm gonna redo mine to get rid of the fairing...cuz someone said my bike is fugly...haha...I like the naked look though so...all good.  [thumbsup]

hey now I also said it looked awesome with that fairing. Maybe I owe you an apology and a  [drink]

haha if you want...you can have the fairing for cheap...I'm selling it.  I spray-painted it though, but it's CF fairing...you can easily use sand papers and wet sand it to CF again and apply a clear coat.  It will sand off, but withstand to the element for me because I primed and then painted.

that is exactly what im saying.  unless you have the cone shaped step up bit to open it up gradually, using a file to clean it up is the next best solution and its preferred.

Would you go dual headlight setup? Can the bike even handle that much wattage?

think you'd have have one be high and one be low due to wattage issues, its not that much but the bike may struggle

how about this? Cellis' S2R1K ....i know it has been mentioned here but...it's amazing everytime I looked at it.

(http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/BOMb/002/05b.jpg)

Trust me I've been looking everywhere to find those! I keep hearing that they were originally Lamborghini headlights.

The best or most similar I could locate are headlights off a ghezzi brian furia. List price of 307 euros (source: http://www.duccutters.com/johnson/GhezziBrian2008.pdf (http://www.duccutters.com/johnson/GhezziBrian2008.pdf))

For reference: (http://www.duccutters.com/GhezziBrian/Furia/Furia02.jpg)

I did get in contact with Celli a few months back but he sent me a link to some italian or german site that no longer offers it...

I was thinking in terms of dual headlight stock housing  :P

You guys should check out the Panigale LED lights - a small driver/heat sink with a LED pointing down - the light directed/spread by a "horn"/reflector. My dealer said it's not available as individual parts though, but a very cool design...

One question...my left hand switch only has two modes (e.g. high or low beam)

In day time I usually ride with my high beam on, but I don't like that very much.  What can I do to have a third option of turning the light off completely?  I have heard of European switches but that's too expensive for my liking?  Opinion?  Thanks!

Hey he man

Can you do a write up on how to make a curvature lens?  Thanks!

cut, stick it in the oven. let the center drop. done.


its not worth it. Ive not really gotten the trick down myself, and ever lens that i did make that was curve has been scratched up from all the rocks that get sent at it.

im really looking foward to that glass lens if SupraGuy74 can really make it happen.

still on it just making sure everyone who wants one gets one

can i ask what type of glass it is?

i just went to the glass guy by me and he said you cant cut safety glass in a round shape without some high tech method. or something like that, so im eagerly waiting to see the glass your guy can make!

Regular glass will break in fantastic fashion if given the importunity to.

Welp the glass i have is normal glass, and not to mention i had a probably half a egg size rock hit dead center at around 50MPH and the glass took it. He mentioned something in the neighborhood of what you stated about there being a process to cut it correctly but he can do it.  Safety glass if i presume is what windshields are made out of allowing it to break but not shatter.  So well shall see when i go down there next week.

I did some research, and remembering my old high school physics day ( man i feel old. shit im going to die soon. oh well).

Safety glass cant be cut safely because its actually 2 sheets of class with a laminate to hold it together when it shatters. so your breaking to pieces of glass at once. Easily done if its just square sections, but not so easy for round sections, youd break a lot of pieces before getting it done right.

I think they are precut and glued from the factor for cars, im not sure.

But i can get a regular piece cut pretty cheaply around here. However, i think if you get it to be thick enough, it wont be so bad. im just afraid of on the onslaught of it does break. but then i realize that you can just laminate it from the outside with some 3M clear film so if it does break, it would be caught.

the next thing is getting the curve.  i remember you could bend glass with an open flame, so i may ask for a few pieces of scrap and go at it and see how the glass bends if i heat it up.

id go with something atleast 3/8" thick. 1/4 seems to thin.

I made one... hehe I like the look other than the flat lens those...will see how good it is myself.

So I have been following this forum for a little bit (newbie member here) and am doing this retrofit on my 695 Monster.  I very recently received my kit, a FX-R projector from http://www.theretrofitsource.com/ (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/) (those guys really rock!).  Btw, mention that you are doing a Motorcycle retrofit if you are getting a kit, they halve the price on the site.  I made the mistake of just doing a VVME H4 HID bulb, ballast, relay, etc. in the old housing and while bright, the light dispersion is awful.  So projector is the way to go and TRS's stuff, specifically the lenses, can be better than stock.

Anyways, as far as glass is concerned, anybody try onedayglass.com (http://onedayglass.com)?  What do you guys think about using tempered glass cut into a circle?  [evil]

I've ordered from them in the past for another project, they are pretty good and one of the few places that do considerably custom tempered glass.

congrats on your first post hehe  [thumbsup]

I like my lexan flat or curve doesn't matter and it works for me thus far.

Waiting to replace it with safety glass though *wink wink* haha [Dolph]

With thanks to a random thread on the harley forums i've found the latest gen LED fitting from truck-lite.. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/190652151731?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_1370wt_1163 (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/190652151731?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_1370wt_1163)

A couple of real world reviews suggest it's better than the JW speaker 8700 led fitting, and 1/4 the price by the time it gets to australia.. Going to order this baby and give it a go :)

 [thumbsup]  [popcorn]

Their previous Phase 5 and 6 were thoroughly beaten by JWS - let's hope this Phase 7 is better.

When I'm home from work I'll post the review I found

Looking forward to the review. From my experience LED lights are more spotlight focused that lighting up a broader area. I like bright and broad.

Ohhhh...I am very interested in this one... let us know it goes.   [thumbsup]

1st review which puts the JW clearly ahead: http://www.lrsanitary.com/0/leds_update.pdf (http://www.lrsanitary.com/0/leds_update.pdf)
2nd review where the guys give the phase 7 TH the win: http://bogiesreviews.webs.com/Review%20-%20Phase%207%20LED%20Headlights%20&%20Passing%20Lamps.pdf (http://bogiesreviews.webs.com/Review%20-%20Phase%207%20LED%20Headlights%20&%20Passing%20Lamps.pdf)


I personally still prefer the JW but just got the quote back from Oveido safety lights for the side mount light (complete assy to bolt up to the headlight bracket) and at $620+freight to sydney i'm prepared to give the $250 TL a run :)

The P7 is clearly an improvement [thumbsup]

Kyle: do you expect this to be plug & play? (mounting in the bucket)

Should be! Will be sure to post plenty of photos!

Looks awesome mate!

Ordered the truck lite phase 7 headlight today, should have it in a week or two. Looking forward to fitting it ip

Pics are coming up blank with a ? In middle..

Oops, that's odd. I wonder if the site I used has a view limit.  I will fix later tonight.

its probbaly the website that hes hosting from, but they do look pretty sweet

Great write up thanks a lot guys.

did you get those lenses made supra guy? If you can still add me on the list would be awesome!  [thumbsup]



if not no worries  [thumbsup]

UPDATE: Some people were having problems viewing the pictures.  I think hosting them on my generic Google Sites page did not work out to good.  So, I've uploaded the pictures to Flickr, link to album below.  Individual pictures are still not cooperating, so you'll have to click through to flickr.

original text:
I just finished my HID retrofit and here are the pics!  This took me a while because I went with a larger projector + I decided I did not like the flat glass look and wanted to keep the rounded clear cover.  So I had a 4 1/4in piece of glass cut that I attached to the center of the old lens that I cut out.

Long story short, lots of Dremeling, lots and lots of sanding, painting and cutting and here are the final product pics.  Also, don't skimp on good outdoor all weather silicone!  I may have a custom black aluminum ring cut to go where the black plastic ring currently is.  I need to have something there to cover the seam of the glass joining the plastic and I'm not a fan of the plastic I used:

Link to full set: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzp7crp (http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzp7crp)

Dude...it looks awesome...I really dig that lens you made.  May have to try that.  You used dremel to cut the glass?  how?

You extended your bracket...do you feel the rattle when you ride?  For that reason that's why I ditched the extended section and went with He-man method.


awesome overall!!!  [thumbsup]

@seanster,

- I cut out the old clear plastic headlight cover/shield with a dremel to make a 4 1/4 inch round opening to insert glass.  I then went to a glass shop and had them cut a circle for me out of glass.  I then fitted the glass circle into the hole I had dremeled in the plastic and secured it with a few drops of crazy glue and good quality all weather silicone.  I did leave a smallish gap for the silicone to fill, so that if the plastic and glass expand/contract at different rates, it will not pop out.

- I will have to look again to see what He-Man did.  Somehow, the whole headlight has to come forward, because with my solution the housing has to be extended by 1 to 1 1/2 inches + the (really high quality) connector for the bulb from http://www.theretrofitsource.com/ (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/) adds about an inch too.  I would definitely discuss it with the guys at retrofitresource, they have all the specs for their kits listed on the site.  I had originally ordered a kit from a Chinese supplier, which was just the electronics & bulb, not a real projector, and the retrofitresource materials are by leaps and bounds better quality.  They even have kits (which I used) that are basically the projector, bulb, connection harness, etc. minus the ballast, relay, and other things in case you want to use an existing wiring/ballast kit.
Also, I think they have the mini projectors that may fit into our headlights without the need for dremeling the back, but I wanted the big one!  [cheeky]

- As for the bracket extenders, I've ridden around twice now since I finished the modifications, and the rattle/vibration in the headlight really isn't noticeable.  You have to concentrate when stopped and look at the light beam on the car in front of you to see it vibrating just a bit.  Definitely not a problem.   What I was more concerned with was making sure the bracket that is being held on by 1 point only on each side would not slip from the weight of the headlight (much much heavier than before) while driving down the road and have the light point down vs ahead (bad)  :o  It seems to be holding for now.  I used stainless steel machine bolts, a stainless tension washer and stainless lock nuts to make sure it would not move at all.  If it does slide, I may either add a second hole to the original bracket to have 2 points that attach the bracket extender to the old bracket, or I might use two bracket extenders on each side in a "V" shape.

$250usd plus post and you'll have a led headlight that slots right into the oem bucket with no fuss and work just as well ;)

I want to see a pic of it. I'm guess there should be 6 or 7 LED diodes which may make the headlight look weird when you are parked (yes i'm that shallow). I like how with the HID its only one thing in the center that is visible. Still awkward but looks better than many diodes. I can't wait til BMW's laser headlight technology comes out. That would be clean cut.

lot of pics man!!!  ;D

Nice work, sxt173!

Google 'truck lite phase 7'.
When mine comes I'll post pleeeernty of pics and videos for you guys.
Truck lite use a reflector with hi power LEDs facing backwards.
The jw speaker headlight uses a couple of high power LEDs facing forward through a projector not too dissimilar to a hid projector..

i like the design of the projector in the stock lens, very very cool great work man

 [thumbsup]

I take my previous comment back. Looked it up. It looks pretty sweet! I also like how the LEDs face backwards.

As I'd also like the option to turn my headlights off (mainly so I don't have to power them while I'm trying to start the bike, pulling juice), I had a peek inside the switchgear the other day, to see if they'd just pinned the switch, as on my first bike (a '78 Suzuki GS750. The headlight switch could became magically operational after taking the switchgear apart and grinding off a pin using a concrete wall).

But, no such luck. If you knew what you were doing, you could probably install a switch and wire it to the correct places inside the U.S.-spec switchgear, but that's about it, other than disconnecting wiring. I think there's a Euro-spec headlight switch on Gotham Cycles right now for $129, which is a lot of money for a switch, but less than the new unit on Motowheels...

Replaced my HID bulb, but the ballast crapped out I think. Turn ignition on and light comes ob for a nano second  then completely off.  This is 3rd ballast :-(. Any recommendation on ballast?

Morimoto 5five ballast, run them in my car, can't beat them

kyle have you figured out what trim you will put around the headlight? I was reading some reviews and it seems like the truck lite sticks out a tiny bit more. The HD forum guys are using some french chrome trim I believe.

what about this?

http://www.ca-cycleworks.com/k-s-offroad-hand-switch-w-light-shut-off (http://www.ca-cycleworks.com/k-s-offroad-hand-switch-w-light-shut-off)

OR

Harness:  http://easternbeaver.com/Main/Bike_Specific/VStrom/body_vstrom.html#lobeamcut (http://easternbeaver.com/Main/Bike_Specific/VStrom/body_vstrom.html#lobeamcut)
with this toggle switch to install on the right hand side since there is a little empty space not use.
Toggle Switch (to the bottom): http://easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Switches/dpstrockswitches.html (http://easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Switches/dpstrockswitches.html)

i have a xentec ebay ballast, going strong for over 2 years now.

Thx He-Man.  I see there is lots of xentec ballast on eBay.  Not exactly sure which one to pick but will go for it.

not as yet, it only turned up 2 days ago.. Sender apparently thought that 'new south wales' which is a state of Australia was actually in great Britain! Lol..

Anyway, it's here, it's make the beast with two backsing bright!!!! And it's 7" diameter, Ducati bucket is 8".. So off to buy a generic 7" bucket! No problems there!! Ideally I'd love to make a custom carbon one.

I thought a duc's headlight was a generic 7"?? Not possible to keep the headlight steady and still in the stock bucket?

not exactly 7" i believe...it's some odd number 7 1/4 or 7 3/4 but definitely not 8"

There's a good 1/2 inch difference at least!

Should probably update this.

I got a piece of glass cut to fit. clarity is off the charts. though for many who do this, it will not fit. the glass is up on the projector itself. if you are just a hair off the glass would crack on install.


I also bought a new wire off ebay. it feeds directly off the H4 harness from the bike instead of the battery. It technically should be enough power, the circuitry however is RETARDED. when you go to high beam, the solenoid is powered. when you go back to low beam, the circuit dies and restarts.

unforuntely i sniped the harness i built, but i forgot i drew (in MS paint) how i made it so i can just rebuild it.

(http://kuixihe.com/gallery3/var/resizes/Tutorials/HID%20Projector/P1040255.JPG?m=1347331039)

Lighted pics soon?   Looks good..

After much electrical problems and now immobilizer not allowing me to start bike, I am considering sadly to take the HID light off and go back to stock.  I am working on getting the ECU reflashed at the moment.

what do you mean? on the first page there are pics and video of the unit on.

is there something specific you want to see?

whats the HID light have to do with the ECU issue? theres no reason to remove it unless theres a problem with it.

I am still diagnosing the issue.  At this point I am assuming its immobilizer.  But I am trying to rule out other variables and as such thinking of removing HID (just a guess) everytime I start bike and turn ignition on, it wont come on them I try 2nd time it works.  Something to do with the light taking lots power and computer killing it.  That's my UNeducated guess.

Oh yea forgot about Tht..  lol..

Holy bajesus that looks amazing.  That is exactly what I had in mind, either that, or some sort of shroud inside the bucket so you cant see the mounting bolts...

Of course I will be retrofitting not only a projector, but also an entire headlight as I have a new gen monster...

This project is down on the list though, perhaps next winter.