Dropping the headlight,clocks and fairing on a Ducati Monster

Dropping the headlight,clocks and fairing on a Monster

Fitting clip ons to a monster is a common mod and helps to improve the feel at the front of the bike, more importantly...they look really cool!! While not the hardest task in the world they'll tax your patience trying to fit all the hoses and cables back into a much tighter space. This sometimes leaves the clocks and headlight looking a bit awkward in relation to everything and lowering those brings a much sleeker and more purposeful look. I used an aftermarket top yolk but this process is the same with the standard one.

This isn't the easiest way to drop your headlight,but, but this way you can keep the nose fairing as an option and I think is more elegant as it looks almost stock even when inspected quite closely. I wanted the dropped look for the front after I fitted clip ons and think it makes the whole bike look meaner and more streamlined.
Here's a picture of the OE top yoke ready for removal, note the small nylon plugs at the bottom, you'll need those, they just pull off.They're held on with roll pins and you need to get those out if you intend to use the OE yoke,if you use an aftermarket one, like I did, just leave them there in the old yoke.

I started with a spare U-bracket that supports the headlight, just in case I messed it up.
I cut through the welds holding the bracket to the u frame and slid them down the frame a bit to where I though was an OK position (about an inch or so I think-I didn't measure it,but when looking at the photo the sensor frame holding the brackets makes a good estimate of how much lower the modified one is, as the steel frame is bolted to both side brackets and then slid down until it touches the top of the U bracket tube), I then had them re welded locally by a specialist alloy welder,didn't have to be too neat as its not seen, the U frame itself was then cut shorter by the width of the clocks at their mounting point,all the fittings then go straight back on normally.
In the first photo of the U-bracket you can see how much lower the fairing bracket on the right is from stock one on the left,ignore the steel sensor frame as it was being used to hold the brackets in position.

I had to use machine screws to secure the clocks as I couldn't find hex bolts or allen bolts long(7cm ) and narrow enough, these can be hidden anyway using black plastic screw caps, these then screw through the yolk,then a plumbers washer means you wont have to trim the clocks plastic to get it flush with the bottom side of the top yolk, a bit of plastic tubing around the protuding screw also helped secure the clocks.
Then I refitted the OE nylon plugs over the machine screw and secured them against the clocks with small nyloc nut (this isn't really needed other than to stop the plugs falling off while you position everything). You can keep the sensor frame if you want but you dont need it,just mount the air sensor somewhere convenient instead, I zip tied it to another wire.
The shortened U frame will slip over the bottom of the screw and when pushed up be secured by the original nylon plugs above it and be attached normally at the bottom.
I didnt photograph this bit but have included a drawing of how the lot fitted back together.

I put it all back together to make sure I had no problems and then a while later pulled it apart and powdercoated the whole assembly black.

The biggest problems are accommodating the hoses and wires as the space behind the light is very tight indeed, I found that the OE brake hoses are too long and the double banjo bolt on the brake fouls the repositioned bracket, there is no right or wrong way to do this, if it all goes back together with no snags or fouling then thats a bonus but be prepared for this bit to seriously try your patience while you find out what works and what doesn't. I had to use a different brake hose and banjo bolt set up but as I had replaced my OE calipers and discs this was no problem for me, I doubt whether the original line would fit the new set up with any elegance and would suggest a new one would be needed.

I might do a few small adjustment to free up some space but it all seems to work in the meantime.

Coring an Ducati monster S2R exhaust

Coring an S*R exhaust

I did this because I really liked the shape of the original exhausts and none of the aftermarket ones look as good in my opinion.
Its also turned out to be much cheaper,though obviously more work than a commercially available set of cans.If you fancy a go then I recommend getting a spare set like I did,that way if you mess up you can hide the lot and swear blind you meant to do that in the first place.
S2R and S4R cans are identical and interchangable.

Hope its of use to anyone who fancies doing the same.
The tools I used werent particularly special but the first thing you'll need is a dremel style mini drill possibly with a flexible extension,with a small enough cutting wheel to fit into the exhaust outlet,as this is the only way into the cans.I used a hacksaw to cut through the internals,I've since bought a cheap angle grinder/cutter and wished I'd bought it sooner as the metal is quite hard.

This is the first steps in getting access to a set of S*R exhaust cans
If you look inside the exhaust exit you'll be able to see a weld,I cut just inside this.

I spent a while trying to make sure the cut was all the way through with the cutter disc breaking regularly.Your almost working by feel as you cant see into the pipe while your cutting,I ended up making duplicate cuts because of this.

A bit of brute force was needed here,I realised I had actually cut through the steel and it only needed persuading to get it out,if you insert a bar or old screwdriver into the cut and lever it around,the cap will move.Just 'walk' it out.

You can see the stump I removed and into the body of the can,you can just about see the bracket securing the end cap to the internals.
Thats the bit I found hard to visualise from the outside.

Slightly clearer here

After the brackets are cut (and I nearly put the cutting wheel through the whole end cap..whoops!)
Note the dust underneath,there was a lot of this and I should have worn a dustmask
the end easily pulls off

A whack with a rubber mallet while holding the sleeve loosened things up a bit

Actually this took me by surprise,the sleeve is only cosmetic!!

I had to stop at this stage because I couldnt find any goggles and the sparks from the cutter were flying every where.When I restarted( a month later) I tried to drill out the end tube first,more to find out what was there than any great plan.You can see the result further down,not worth the effort,just cut it!

The two cans differ slightly insofar as the top one has nuts to secure the external heatshield with bolts,I chose to keep these and ended up cutting away most of the metal around them leaving a strip of steel from the base with the bolt holes on it.This doesnt hold any weight and what I left was quite flimsy but was simply to keep the bolt holes in position when I replaced the alloy sleeve.
You could also just cut them away and attach the bolts directly to the sleeve,if you do this I'd also seal them with silicon sealant.

This is the top can.A straight cut through the top of the internal box will open it up,I did this with a hacksaw but have since bought a cheap angle grinder/cutter which would have been much easier and quicker

This is what you'll see,that bolt is for securing the heatshield

Note you can see all the way through now,this is what most of the US conversions are like,I on the other hand, had a different plan.

This is the remains of the bottom cans baffles,its whats inside each of the exhaust cans.I originally tried to drill onto the end of the can but gave up and cut it at the edge,you can still see the lip attached to the end of the internal pipe.

Heres the whole bottom can, this was the exploratory one for me,I dont recommend cutting it up like this as its more work than you need,but I wanted to know how the can was constructed and took it a little at a time.
Cut just above the support boltholes and you'll be left with the base section on the left here,thats all you need to do for the bottom can.

Heres a view down the stump of the lower can resting on its baffle,notice the two bolts protruding internally, thats what mounts it to the support and the frame....you'll want to keep those on both cans.You'll notice the internal pipe is not central,this became a problem when I tried to secure the new pipe and I ended up cutting this further down until the new one fitted almost centrally on both pipes

Just placed the endcaps back on the sleeves here, you can see the cut metal inside this would be hidden by soot if it was run like this but I thought it was messy looking and after trying it like this on the bike I found it was also a bit too loud for me too.This is what most US conversions are.

I've missed a bit out here,I forgot to photograph it, so have drawn a diagram of the whole thing.
I drilled four holes through the endcaps and alloy sleeves to take securing rivets,these were quite small and are only to secure the outlet cap from blowing off,alloy rivets are fine and it'll mean I can get them out easily for when I get round to colouring the sleeves black like I first intended.
Basically I then got two lengths of perforated tubing and cut them to length,I then cut a few slots into the ends of the tubings to enable me to bend it out slightly to nest over the endcaps inside edge.

I wrapped as much exhaust packing material around it as I could while allowing me to slip the sleeve back into place,I used the mounting bolts to hold it all in place while I positioned the endcaps.The outlet caps needed a firm push and some minor fiddling to ensure the perforated tubing nested correctly,once the first pop rivet was in it was a bit easier to do the rest.I also put a little sealant around the endcaps helps keep it from blowing.
A few pop rivets later and I mounted it all back onto the bike.


It now sound like a Ducati should,if this would be the only modification then you may get away with running it without any need to alter the fuelling etc., but I've also replaced the catylitic convertor AND put in an open airbox with a DP filter so mine need adjusted as it will run lean otherwise.

Here they are a few years later , with no problems, you can see straight through the top can here,also sitting beside it is a piece of the perforated tube used to rebuild the insides.