2026 update - Ducati Monster 796

 Just some latest photos- 

New starter wire

Also redid the sprocket cover

Motolectric wiring upgrade

Read in a few forums that the OEM wiring on the monsters is not the greatest so got the Motolectric HICAP circuit upgrade - essentially a set of three wires that run from the ground to the negative terminal on the battery. The starting motor to starting solenoid wire and one from the solenoid to the positive terminal. Install was fairly simple - all the OEM wire came off the bike so did not need to piggyback anything. Hardest parts were-

1. Threading the wires through the frame as they are thicker than OEM and there isn’t much room to get them through. Also some zip ties were behind the battery box so had to take that out as well

2. Attaching them to the solenoid and then putting the caps on top and putting the solenoid back in the bike was a pain. Since the wires are thicker, they don’t bend as well to get to battery terminals. 

Other than that, went ok. The bike which was not starting at all on the 4year old battery actually started up with a little effort. I’m hoping that when I replace the battery the start-up is a lot quicker. Video below of before/ after.

Kit was $130- install about a couple of hours given the amount of stuff you need to take off. At 31,700 miles  

Negative/ earth mounting point

Solenoid under the tank

Starter mounting point

Zip tie behind the battery box holding in the wire from solenoid to starter.

Throttle syncs

The monster started running much better following the vacuum hose replacement, but would still have some issues with idling, at least at first start up and then maybe running down to the first light.  Took it in to the dealer to have it looked and had the throttle bodies synced.  Was told that if the hoses were bad for a while the bike would learn bad habits. Cost little over $200 for an hour worth of exploring and fixing.  Rode it back and then tested it out a few days later and it is running great.  The battery seems to be on its way out.. starting to get the rsw 0005 error, so that is up next.  Will probably do it in spring in time for summer. Still at 31k miles.

Tiny hoses

 The monster has been having some idling issues (either ran too high or dropped down low and the bike would just die) and no one could figure out what was going on - I ended up switching the exhaust back to the original thinking that was the issue, but that did not help. 

Someone mentioned to check out the condition of the super tiny air hoses that come out of the throttle body to the MAP sensor - checked them out and while they looked totally fine, when I took some close up photos saw that they were cracked and almost breaking up. Replaced these with some thicker vacuum tubing, started up the bike and it seems to be running fine, normal idle, no fluctuations, etc. Let’s see how it goes. 

Bike has 31k miles  

Old tubes -

New tubes

Oil change @ 31k

It’s been a while since this blog has been updated. Monster has had a couple of friends joining it in the garage, so over the last year only put around a 1000 miles on it. It's ready for its next oil change, including brake and clutch fluid and replaceing some crush washers in the oil cooler. Otherwise still running great - plan to put a few more miles on it this season.

Lights

This has been an issue with Monsters and it finally decided to show up on the 796. The high/low beam lights went out. They would just not come on. The blubs were not out as the high beam switch was still working. Fuses were ok; switch was fine, connector was ok. Ended up being the relay. Cost to get it diagnosed and fixed. $150. ~$12 part.So far the lights are on and running.

Olympics

Amazing ride this month through the Olympic range. First one with the new exhaust with the modified db killers (bored out original 6 and an extra set 6 holes drilled in). 

Running with Arrows

I did my first long ride around the Oregon coast with the Arrows installed and while they sound amazing - they are way too loud even with noise cancelling headphones or ear plugs in.... so the plan is to put the DB killers back in... and see how it sounds/ runs. If nothing else, will try to modify the DB killers to find a good balance of sound.  

 

Battery installed

Installed a new battery Yuasa ($145), which is the OEM brand. This is my third battery since buying the bike. First time taking a stab at installing it. As others that own this model have said, it is a pain to install, although not horribly bad. 

Hopefully I got everything put back correctly. 😊

Arrows

 They are installed and they are LOUD!! 

Arrow darks

I finally got a new set of exhausts for the Monster. I had Arrow's on my S2R which I really liked, so went with the same brand... and after listening to the various YouTube videos, I liked the tone the best on them as well.  Had to order from Italy since no one in the US carries them anymore. That took about 5 weeks to get here - 2 weeks for the shipper to ship, 2 weeks in customs and then a week to actually get here. 

First thing, I wanted to remove the baffles/ DB killers which are required for all exhausts made for the road in the EU + now to comply with Euro5 laws, they have to actually weld these in, so people don't take them out. So, these came with small metal pieces that were tacked on to the baffle/ exhaust. Removing these was fairly simple, couple of taps with a screwdriver/ hammer and they came right off. Then came the c-clips.  Super tight, and required pliers specifically designed for taking them out.

Taking the baffles out was a pain.  They just did not want to come out.  Tried WD 40, pliers, vice grips but they would not move.  Ended up getting a slide hammer and hooking it to one of the holes in  the baffle and that did the trick. 

Now next step is actually getting them on the bike. 

Tabs that welded on. 

DB killers/ baffles. 

Exhaust with baffles

Without baffles

Exhaust

Spring 2022

Hitting 12 years  I think I’m going to get a new exhaust for it. I think it totally deserves something new. 😊 

30k

Feb 2022 and really about 29,300..... next major service completed. New belts, oil change.  Only one valve needed adjustment this cost about $1,000 with labor. 

But wait, that is not all, the bike slightly tipped over in the garage (still not sure how) so also needed a new side-stand and gear shift lever :( - adding about $500 or so. And soon will need a new battery and potentially a starter.  I could probably buy a new bike for the amount spent on maintenance but still keeping this one.