DIY: 696/796/1100 battery cable and battery upgrade

[romancommander]

So I finally got fed up with my M1100 not starting and upgraded the battery and cables. I made my own cables for around $40 using components I bought at mcmaster.com. I borrowed a crimper from a buddy which made it nice. If making battery cables isn't for you, then motolectric.com makes some high quality badass kits that you just bolt on.

* Factory cables are 6 ga-ish.
* I installed 4ga cables which have almost 2x the area.
* Choose a cable with an abrasion resistant exterior.
* Choose a cable that is rated to handle the heat.
* Choose a cable with UV and weather resistant jacket.
* Copper cables good.
* The more copper strands the cable has, the more flexible it is. Flex is good.
* Adhesive lined heat shrink is what you want.
* Factory lugs have a .25" (1/4") hole

Parts from mcmaster.com:

Cable:
part # 6948K92
(red or black)

Lugs:
part #6926K51
part #6926K213
Part#7106K53

Adhesive lined heat shrink:
part #8195k24

Basically your bike has three cables.
1. Positive terminal to starter solenoid. (about 6" long)
2. Starter solenoid to starter. (about 39" long")
3. Negative battery cable. (about 17" long)

For a battery:
I chose the Ballistic Evo2 8 cell. It is a lithium-iron, 15AH and has a 3 year warranty. No need for a battery tender with lithium batteries. Weighs about 1.8 lb for a weight reduction of around 8 lb. Shorai would work as well, so would an AGM with 14+AH.

Tools needed:
1. Lug crimper
2. Cable cutter
3. Heat gun
4. Allen wrenches
5. 8mm & 10mm sockets and wrenches
6. Diagonal cutters
7. needle nose pliers
8. Zip ties

Steps:
1. Take off rear tank bolt first. If you can't get it off you are screwed so start there.
2. Take off seat.
3. Take off side panels.
4. Take out tool tray.
5. Unbolt tank and prop up.
6. Undo battery cables from battery.
7. Remove battery.
8. Remove cables.
9. Unbolt plastic cable cover on left side down by the case.
10. Install new battery
11. Install new cables
12. Reassemble and enjoy.

Things to note:

- If you use a smaller battery you will have to shim it in the battery box somehow. You will also have to modify your hold down. (I used the plastic foam that came with my battery as shim material.)

- Hardest wire to replace is the wire to the starter. Fishing it into place can be a PITA.

-I have done this mod on both the 696 and 1100. They are identical.

-If you buy lugs with a bigger center hole, use a flat washer to get a tight clamp.

-Reuse the terminal covers

Video before:

2009 Ducati monster 1100 hard start issue - YouTube

Video after:

2009 Ducati Monster 1100 with upgraded battery and cables - YouTube

[romancommander]

More pics:

The Ballistic battery read .5 volts higher out of the box than the factory AGM off the battery tender.

[Molky]

Great thread! Will be interesting to see the long term results. I find my 1100 is very inconsistent, sometimes (rarely) it'll go first time, other times it'll take up to 10 tries. I find for the second start in a day even if it has sat for several hours it doesn't have an issue. Not sure if you use your bike daily, but I'm really interested to see if you get the same results after letting it sit for a week or so. Very keen to try this mod.

[romancommander]

Originally Posted by Molky

Great thread! Will be interesting to see the long term results. I find my 1100 is very inconsistent, sometimes (rarely) it'll go first time, other times it'll take up to 10 tries. I find for the second start in a day even if it has sat for several hours it doesn't have an issue. Not sure if you use your bike daily, but I'm really interested to see if you get the same results after letting it sit for a week or so. Very keen to try this mod.

Just went out and it fired right up after sitting in the cold garage all night. That never happened before, but I'll keep you posted over the long term.

[DoWorkSon]

Hey, were you riding on E Roseville Parkway@ Galleria last night around 7PM?

I saw an 1100 just like in that video.

But back on topic,

Have you tuned/mapped your bike at all? I know/have heard that a better aftermarket battery and bigger cables will help, but I noticed after my tune that the bike fired up right away and idles smoothly right from the get go... Maybe that would be something to look at. However, after watching the video, the "clicking" before start up was definitely an electrical issue. Good Fix!

[romancommander]

Originally Posted by DoWorkSon

Hey, were you riding on E Roseville Parkway@ Galleria last night around 7PM?

I saw an 1100 just like in that video.

No I was back from my test ride by 5.

But back on topic,

Have you tuned/mapped your bike at all? I know/have heard that a better aftermarket battery and bigger cables will help, but I noticed after my tune that the bike fired up right away and idles smoothly right from the get go... Maybe that would be something to look at. However, after watching the video, the "clicking" before start up was definitely an electrical issue. Good Fix!

PCV and autotune module are definitely in my future but probably not until next summer. Looking forward to that and a new air filter.

[Molky]

Originally Posted by romancommander

Just went out and it fired right up after sitting in the cold garage all night. That never happened before, but I'll keep you posted over the long term.

Great to hear. One thing else I've noticed with mine is that sometimes starting takes so much power it'll starve the ECU of volts and reset both the trip meter and clock, ever noticed that?

[romancommander]

Originally Posted by Molky

Great to hear. One thing else I've noticed with mine is that sometimes starting takes so much power it'll starve the ECU of volts and reset both the trip meter and clock, ever noticed that?

No but probably because of my starting habits. I could see it happening stock if you cranked on it continuously for 10 secs or so, but my experience tells me that if it didn't catch within 2-3 secs, to stop cranking, turn it off, remove the key and start over.

Funny how the headlight is just key hot. Those bulbs use a significant amount of amperage, you'd think they would put it on a starter delay, to free up the extra power for starting. Especially since they have a timed off function without ignition, weird.

I have always been taught (and my research confirms this) that continuous cranking stresses the starter, the solenoid, the wire, and the battery. Forcing all that amperage through that small of a wire just builds heat, degrades the wire, and in the longer run amplifies the problem. Components such as the starter and solenoid have a very brief duty cycle. This was the driving force for me to upgrade.

[Molky]

Originally Posted by romancommander

No but probably because of my starting habits. I could see it happening stock if you cranked on it continuously for 10 secs or so, but my experience tells me that if it didn't catch within 2-3 secs, to stop cranking, turn it off, remove the key and start over.

Funny how the headlight is just key hot. Those bulbs use a significant amount of amperage, you'd think they would put it on a starter delay, to free up the extra power for starting. Especially since they have a timed off function without ignition, weird.

I have always been taught (and my research confirms this) that continuous cranking stresses the starter, the solenoid, the wire, and the battery. Forcing all that amperage through that small of a wire just builds heat, degrades the wire, and in the longer run amplifies the problem. Components such as the starter and solenoid have a very brief duty cycle. This was the driving force for me to upgrade.

I dont continuously crank it but it still seems to do it. I agree with the headlight drawing big current. If I wait a minute till it switches itself off, I get a better success rate at starting

[romancommander]

Originally Posted by Molky

I dont continuously crank it but it still seems to do it. I agree with the headlight drawing big current. If I wait a minute till it switches itself off, I get a better success rate at starting

Humm I wonder if you have a loose cable somewhere, or if your battery is dying.

Funny on the headlight, IIRC my old honda F4i wouldn't turn the headlight on until it had fired.