[eurban]

Greetings,

I am planning on using a headlight from the new Ducati Monster on my own particular

naked conversion of my 2nd Gen Yamaha FZ1. I have yet to find a workshop manual (wiring diagram) for the new Monster and it appears it may not be available yet. I don't even know the colors of the wires that go to each of the 6 pins on the connector port on the back of the headlight but I am hoping to get someone on the Ducati forums to take a picture for wiring colors. I do think that I have found the matching Molex connector that will fit so at least that is good news.
Anyways I an wondering if anyone has any experience with sleuthing out the connections without the benefit of a wiring diagram and without potentially doing damage to the headlight? It's an LED unit. Would checking resistance / continuity amongst the terminals be any help?
There are six pins on the connector and the headlight has low beam, high beam, and the halo light ring and then maybe another? I would presume that those account for 3 of the terminals with at least one of the remaining being ground. That's 4 out of the 6 so the rest would would need to be figured out.
Anyone well versed in solving these kinds of mysteries?
BTW, I don't actually have the headlight in hand yet. I got a good deal on one from a fellow in Italy and decided to jump off the bridge without bungee cord.
Here's a picture of the back of the headlight and one of the headlight in action on the new monster.
Thanks!
Eric

 

[shinyribs]

You'd be crazy to trust me but, judging by the printing on the backside, it seems everything runs off regular battery voltage. I reckon you could just old school it with a jumper wire and see what lights up.

What might happen if you run voltage through backwards? No clue, but that could be bad I reckon. If you could at least identify the ground pin you'd be set from there.

 

[eurban]

You'd be crazy to trust me but, judging by the printing on the backside, it seems everything runs off regular battery voltage. I reckon you could just old school it with a jumper wire and see what lights up.

What might happen if you run voltage through backwards? No clue, but that could be bad I reckon. If you could at least identify the ground pin you'd be set from there.

I sure hope all the lights run on standard 12v!
I am concerned about just hooking up voltage to it and seeing what would happen.
Perhaps checking for resistance / continuity would allow me to find the ground (I suppose there could be more than one ground)? I would guess that there would be no continuity between the positive pins for each light feature and that there would be some continuity between each positive pin and the ground.
I did find a download of the owners manual and I far as I can tell there is just the high beam, low beam and halo running light. That said on the back of the headlight it lists 4 different wattage ratings which suggests 4 light features? Too add to the complexity, the headlight system on the Monster senses daylight and during bright conditions it will only run the halo running light. It will then switch the low beam on as well when it gets darker. This default setting can be changed in dash control panel so I think it is handling the switching rather than something in the headlight. I suppose the daylight sensor could be in the headlight which might explain the extra pins (3 for the positive for each light feature and one ground makes 4 but there are six pins)
Any more wisdom would be welcome. If not I will make an effort to update once I have the light and hopefully have it all figured out. . . .

 

[Bjoern]

Hi Eric,

maybe I can help you answering the question which pin is for which light.
I just bought the same headlight for a custom bike project and marked the pins in your picture as you can see below.

GROUND (-) down right
LOW BEAM up right
HIGH BEAM up middle
HALO up left (brighter light for daytime light)
POSITION down left (less bright for parking light)

I'm not 100% sure about the pin down middle, but I think it's for a automatic switch (light sensor) between the daylight HALO and LOW BEAM in beginning dusk or rain or cloudy sky...
But normally you won't need that function for a custom bike, I guess;-)

If your know exactly which connector is needed for the headlight, I would be glad if you could share this information.

Greetings from Germany
Bjoern

 

[eurban]

Hi Eric,

maybe I can help you answering the question which pin is for which light.
I just bought the same headlight for a custom bike project and marked the pins in your picture as you can see below.

GROUND (-) down right
LOW BEAM up right
HIGH BEAM up middle
HALO up left (brighter light for daytime light)
POSITION down left (less bright for parking light)

I'm not 100% sure about the pin down middle, but I think it's for a automatic switch (light sensor) between the daylight HALO and LOW BEAM in beginning dusk or rain or cloudy sky...
But normally you won't need that function for a custom bike, I guess;-)

If your know exactly which connector is needed for the headlight, I would be glad if you could share this information.

View attachment 151940

Greetings from Germany
Bjoern

WOW! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! I had just about given up on this project. I went onto a electronics forum and did a whole mess of resistance tests and was advised by the experts there that the headlight is likely a complicated CANBUS unit. I was too Chickensh** to actually connect up power and see what happens . . .Anyways I just checked your wiring diagram and I have HighBeam, Halo Bright, Halo less bright but NO LOWBEAM. I tried putting out the lights in the room but still no low beam. Bjoern, have you actually confirmed on your own light that with the ground pin connected to battery ground and upper right pin connected to battery Positive that the low beam should light up? I am wondering if the middle bottom pin needs ground or something for the low beam to function? The default setting on the monster is that only the Halo lights up during the day. When it gets dark, a daylight sensor (maybe in the headlight but likely elsewhere) tells the low beam to come on. You can however configure it in the dashboard to always have the low beam on (except when high beam is on of course). Thoughts and THANKS AGAIN!
Eric
The connector is basically a molex Mx150 six pin. The one I ordered from cycle terminals fits correctly EXCEPT it doesn't click and lock in place. I'll make do with that if I have to. Here's link to a fitting from the supplier Mouser:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Molex/33472-0601?qs=cNrm5IHOwHF3yyKlobZHZQ%3D%3D&mgh=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAyPyQBhB6EiwAFUuakoQyj1YjXBSuCR50M3XdC55FAfTMYg02BRhS3c338bjgW0ptHA6fyBoCmScQAvD_BwE

And here's a link to the fitting that I actually bought from Cycleterminals (which fits but doesn't click into place) look for the 6 terminal female: Molex-MX150

 

[Bjoern]

Hi Eric,

I connected my own headlight directly on a usual 12v battery and got the results as described.
Maybe I reversed low beam and high beam because I've checked the connections in not installed condition - and it's not easy to see which is the brighter light at sunny daytime;-)
But the most important result for me was to find out the ground at first.

My suggestion - I will recheck all connections after temporary installing the headlight an take a picture of any condition - but I can do that earliest at upcoming weekend.
And maybe I can find out the meaning of the pin in the middle and how it works.
If the headlight got the necessary daylight sensor within its housing, maybe we can use it as well;-)

I'm sure that the headlight is NOT a complicated canbus unit. The Monster 937 (any many other modern bikes) definitively use canbus technology, but normally these units are placed in the dashboards.

I just bought the MX150 connectors an will test it the next days too.
I guess you're right with your supposition that the Molex Connectors may fit. I've almost went crazy because there are hundreds of different manufacturers and types of connectors...
Thank you very much for that.
The parts in the link looks the same I've purchased on a german webshop - but not with that red nose on the housing which you can see on the mouser website...
Hopefully the connector clicks and locks in place - I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again and have a great day
Bjoern

 

[eurban]

Hi Eric,

I connected my own headlight directly on a usual 12v battery and got the results as described.
Maybe I reversed low beam and high beam because I've checked the connections in not installed condition - and it's not easy to see which is the brighter light at sunny daytime;-)
But the most important result for me was to find out the ground at first.

My suggestion - I will recheck all connections after temporary installing the headlight an take a picture of any condition - but I can do that earliest at upcoming weekend.
And maybe I can find out the meaning of the pin in the middle and how it works.
If the headlight got the necessary daylight sensor within its housing, maybe we can use it as well;-)

I'm sure that the headlight is NOT a complicated canbus unit. The Monster 937 (any many other modern bikes) definitively use canbus technology, but normally these units are placed in the dashboards.

I just bought the MX150 connectors an will test it the next days too.
I guess you're right with your supposition that the Molex Connectors may fit. I've almost went crazy because there are hundreds of different manufacturers and types of connectors...
Thank you very much for that.
The parts in the link looks the same I've purchased on a german webshop - but not with that red nose on the housing which you can see on the mouser website...
Hopefully the connector clicks and locks in place - I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again and have a great day
Bjoern

Thanks Bjoern,
I am definitely not getting any light with the upper right pin to POS and the lower right to NEG so if I am understanding you correctly, it looks like my headlight is defective. When you have the time can you please confirm that you actually have high or low from the upper right pin (with positive battery) and negative to the lower right? I just want to be absolutely sure that my headlight isn't (or is) working properly. I purchased it from an Italian fellow on Ebay for much less than list price so perhaps it was a defective unit? That will be a major dissappointment if true.

I bought my Molex connector from Cycleterminals.com and it is an all black unit without the "red nose" on the back. I haven't closely investigated why it doesn't click on yet but it does push all the way down. Mouser does seem to have a number off different 6 pin Molex 150's females so perhaps there are some subtle variations. Please let me know how your's fits when you get it. Thanks!
Eric

 

[Bjoern]

Hey Eric,

as promised I checked all contacts again.
The results are the same as described in my first reply.
I've taken some pictures - please excuse the poor photo quality of my old smartphone.

I made some provisionally cables and connected them with a usual 12v battery.

BLACK - ground / minus
YELLOW - low beam
WHITE - high beam
RED - brighter halo
ORANGE - less bright halo / park position

Here the pictures of each condition

LOW BEAM

HIGH BEAM

bright HALO / Daytime running lights

position light / less bright HALO

and here the combiniation of daytime halo and low beam

Unfortunately I could not activate the pin down in the middle.
I've talked to my brother today and he told me, that the daylight sensor might be placed in the dashboard, because the modern dashboards automatically adjust the brightness of the display. It seems to be logical, that the sensor simultaneously controls the light mode. But that's just a supposition.

So I think everything should work the same way with your headlight, if it is not damaged.
But:
Just a hint - you might know that - but it's important, that your battery has enough power which means the full 12v voltage or at least about 11.5 volts. Older batteries often descending their voltages to about 10-9 volts or even lower. I've tried to connect the pins with an old battery with only around 9v and just low beam an high beam had a very weak light. The halo did not light up.
Maybe that could be a reason.
Normally you cannot destroy a LED by reversing the polarity. But you can easily kill a LED with too high voltage.

By the way - the MX 150 connector fits perfectly.
I've ordered the connector housing including 1 ft long cables including the completely crimped connector pins.
The cable can be easily placed into the housing into the correct slots.
I will use a further connection - for example an AMP Superseal oder AMP Econoseal - to connect the headlight finally to the wiring harness.

The connector housing fits perfectly, if you put down the white inlay completely. The connectors are delivered with these white inlays 'half way' down the bottom - so I think, that's the reason why the connector does not lock in the proper position.

Hopefully I could help you answering some questions;-)
Have a nice weekend.
Cheers Bjoern

 

[eurban]

Bjoern,
Thanks again. Your detailed testing report is much appreciated! I will double check my headlight but I am almost certain that low beam is not working. I will discuss with the supplier and see what can be done.
What is your method for mounting up the headlight? I see that you have the Motogadget dash installed as well. That should be a nice machine when you are done. What is the bike you are using as the basis for your project?
I have gone ahead and purchased the Monster mounting bracket, the black trim ring that goes around the edge of the headlight, and a bunch of other little bits. That stuff was about $100 US so not too terrible. The bracket situates well on my 06 FZ1 including clearing the ignition switch. The headlight also blends well with the FZ1 gauge + the gauge cowl from the FZ1 N model. I have the gauges custom mounted much closer to the rider and not too unlike the positioning on the Monster.

I am still working on the brackets to tie the headlight bracket to the triple trees. I will post up some pictures once I have it worked out. In the meantime here is a couple pictures of the Monster mounting bracket.
Cheers!
Eric

 

[Bjoern]

Hey Eric,

sorry to hear that the headlight maybe does not work properly.
Let's hope you can solve the problem with the seller...

We want to use the original mounting bracket - unfortunately I forgot to order that part with the headlight. I will do that the next days.
All these small things around the light as the trim ring we purchased too. You're right, these small parts aren't that expensive as the headlight is.

At first we wanted to use a full LED headlight from Honda CRF 450 L.
But that light did not fit to the style of the rest of the bike. It looks a little bit like 'cheap' customized, what that headlight of course is not. The monster headlight is more compatible with the bike design.

The basic bike is a 1st generation Suzuki SV 650 S.
These bikes have been sold in Europe in masses and for that reason the most spare parts are still available and the bikes are cheap;-) And the bikes are solid and real lightweights (about 168 kg).

We want to reduce the weight further.
For that reason we installed forged magnesium rims, a light exhaust system from Akrapovic and more.
We love to use the motogadget stuff - thanks for noticing;-). It's easy to install that stuff and they are tiny and light as well.

best regards
Bjoern

 

[eurban]

I like the sound of your project. . .Budget bike with high end pieces added to it. You will have something personal and unique when you are done. . .

I have struggled with my 06 FZ1S conversion to a naked model. I bought the bike after the market crash in 2008 for $3500 which was a steal for a few year old bike so at least the starting point is relatively cheap.
For breathing new life into it, the new monster caught my attention. I am not a fan of the "shield" style headlight that the European N models have and want to do it my own way. I have played around for hours working with an aftermarket LED headlight designed to fit the Harley VROD. It was an easily attainable oval shaped headlight with a similar (to the monster) angled front to the headlight. It really came down to getting it to look good with the stock instruments. I was never really happy with it and I did consider going with a Motoscope pro set of gauges to clean up the lines. Overall it is a more compact unit and looks out of sorts when placed below the stock gauges.
When I found a reasonably priced Monster 937 headlight I swerved the project in that direction but between the earlier difficulties of figuring out the wiring and now a damaged unit I am still crawling along. It does look like my Italian friend will be able to provide a pre-tested headlight so I think it will all work out. The monster headlight looks quite acceptable when combined with the FZ1n gauge + gauge cowl, almost like they belong together. It should really take the project to a higher level.
I have also just converted my S model FZ1 to an N model rear which required many different brackets and new seats. It lost a good amount of weight in the process but it wasn't a cheap conversion.
I already have R1 forks on the bike and a nice Penske rear shock. The performance mods to the engine are rather straight forward with a lightweight full Yoshi exhaust, mildly modified air box and an ECU flash from Ivan's performance. I will be lucky if I get it down to 190kilos but it will make nearly 150 horsepower at the rear wheel which should be a pretty potent combo for a naked bike. Ivan's flash is really refined with very smooth power delivery.
Anyways, I'll post up some pictures when I have enough time to get the Monster bracket + headlight mounted up. Thanks!
Eric

 

[eurban]

I have the headlight / gauge bracketry formed up now. It will need some cleaning up and some paint work but the "rough in" work is now done and I think I can finally clean up all the aluminum shavings from my basement! I designed it so the gauge mount bracket covers over the upper bolts to the OEM Ducati headlight bracket. The gauges + gauge cowl somewhat emulate the positioning on the Monster. I spent a lot of time trying to make the gauges go away but I ended up with the "in your face" style from the Monster. Bjoern's Motogadget gauge setup should be much easier to streamline.
I will probably work out some sort of fillers out of 1.5" x 1/8" aluminum bar to close the gap between the headlight and the forks. This will also help to hide the cables /wires and maybe give me a spot for the front signals. With the FZ's front mounted ignition switch I couldn't get the headlight as close to the forks as Ducati has it. It also would have been a nightmare to wire and cable with no room.
After that I need to get the handlebar sorted and work out the wiring. I have a Renthal 1 1/8" fat bar coming with a bend I think I will like but I haven't ruled out keeping the 1 3/8" Easton EXP setup that I have been running.
BTW, I have a replacement headlight (My current one definitely has no low beam) that should get here sometime.
Here are some pics of the "progress". Not much room in the basement for a proper photoshoot . . .

 

[Bjoern]

Hi Eric,
oh, cool. The headlight looks great and fits perfectly to the lines / design of your FZ1. And so does the OEM gauge.
When your custom made aluminium parts are painted black (I guess?), the whole front is very consistent.

I just ordered the forgotten mounting bracket for the headlight. Hopefully it arrives here within the upcoming week.
Unfortunately I was down with covid the last days, so I could not continue working on our project.

I'm happy to hear, that you (hopefully) get another full working headlight.

Wish you a nice and sunny weekend
Read you again soon;-)
Bjoern

 

[eurban]

Thanks Bjoern,
Hopefully Covid is now behind you. I too am waiting on a few parts for the headlight mount. I have the guide and spring (plus a few bits) on order. These are the parts (9,10,17 in diagram) that adjust the tilt of the headlight at the bottom but from the picture I don't understand how they will attach to the headlight itself. I guess I will see when I get them. . .
I will paint all my bracketry a satin black when I am done with all the real work. I will also order up stainless bolts for everthing for a consistent appearance. After looking at it (way too much) I do think that I need to slim down the bottom of the gauge mount and will probably cut a contour in it that follows the curve of the top of the headlight but still covers the upper bolts for the headlight bracket. I seem to be never done with the little details.
For the headlight wiring I have decided to swap out my bikes right hand handlebar switch (kill switch + starter button) for a similar looking switch that also has an additional on off switch. I will use this on off switch to turn the low beam on and off. That way during the day I can run with just the DRL halo and then turn on the low beam when it gets dark (just like the Monster)

The highbeam will be available always to be used for signaling and as needed or for night driving. I don't plan on wiring up the halo low feature for the park position since the way my ignition switch works, it would have to be always on, "hiding" under the halo bright, only to be revealed when the ignition is in park. Maybe that's not really an issue?
My new headlight is here BTW. I tested it and it works exactly as described in Bjoern's diagram.
Here's an image of the Ducati parts diagram for anyone who is interested.
Cheers!
Eric

 

[eurban]

Ha, Ha, Ha, my bad luck continues. Received an EMGO 4668735 right hand handle switch that has an engine run switch, on/off switch (for headlight in my case) and a starter switch. I have attached the wiring diagram found online (none provided with the switch) and aftert testing,

it correctly shows how the switch is wired. Anyone else see a problem with the run/no run switch and the head light switch wiring? Perhaps the engineers don't know what "on" and "off" mean? I'll have to do something else. . . .

 

[eurban]

Slow progress but the fabrication is pretty much done and the wiring is more or less sorted. Rizoma indicators are installed on the filler brackets on either side of the headlight . . .I will need to pull off all the bracketry and paint and get all the proper style / length screws. I also have the new handlebar sorted with a simple on off auxillary switch to turn the low beam on and off. Here are some updated pics with the the bike more or less together. Radiator is still off so that is a fairly significant presence that is still missing on the front of bike. . . .

 

[BoardsofCanada]

Slow progress but the fabrication is pretty much done and the wiring is more or less sorted. Rizoma indicators are installed on the filler brackets on either side of the headlight . . .I will need to pull off all the bracketry and paint and get all the proper style / length screws. I also have the new handlebar sorted with a simple on off auxillary switch to turn the low beam on and off. Here are some updated pics with the the bike more or less together. Radiator is still off so that is a fairly significant presence that is still missing on the front of bike. . . . View attachment 152628 View attachment 152629 View attachment 152630 View attachment 152631

I like the colour! Interesting headlight. Are you planning on doing any major modifications to its appearance? Initially I was going to make up billet brackets and mount bates-style headlights on each fork leg..bit dated as an idea, but never done on an FZ1. In the end I chose to cover the existing one with a protector/number board. I'll pop a decal on there..

Rubber door stops on the radiator - poor man's crash bungs!

 

[eurban]

I like the colour! Interesting headlight. Are you planning on doing any major modifications to its appearance? Initially I was going to make up billet brackets and mount bates-style headlights on each fork leg..bit dated as an idea, but never done on an FZ1. In the end I chose to cover the existing one with a protector/number board. I'll pop a decal on there..

Rubber door stops on the radiator - poor man's crash bungs!

I think in my case that installing the Ducati headlight IS the major modification to appearance. Not really a streetfighter build but more to my tastes which was to find something that is a more modern take on the traditional round headlight. Overall the plan for the moment is to go with the N model rear section which for my S model bike meant replacing all the bolt on bracketry to the rear subframe and replacing the seats. If I knew then what I know now about cost etc, I probably would have come up with something non factory. Your retro style tail end has got me thinking again however but I think I will keep it as is till I get bored again. I do have a black bellypan on order from Ermax.
On a different note, the Yoshi muffler is a good performing piece that has a good tone but it is rather boring in appearance. The Yosh headers are not set up to take regular slip ons that fit the FZ but just about anything could be made to work with a bit of effort. We will see where I go from there.
I haven't found the time to paint up the headlight bracketry but that should happen soon and then I can put it all together. Proper pics to come . . .