Horn or actually lack thereof

[Michel1960]

Hello all, this is the best bike I ever owned but it comes with the worst EVER horn , I know that a few topics cover this but can someone tell me which replacement horn is best for a no-so-good-with -tools man ( thats me by the way)  , cost is not that important but rather ease of installation! thank you

[Coconut]

The ease of installation is more to do with your skills than the cost.

If cost is not important, and you are not that confident in carrying out the task yourself,
I would seriously consider asking your Dealer or an auto electrician to do it for you 

If you do decide to have a go yourself, then whichever replacement horn(s)
you choose, the installation will be much the same.

Sadly it's not as simple as just buying a bigger and louder horn as a "straight swap".

Louder horns usually draw more electrical current, and may need the addition of a Relay,
( think of it as a heavy duty electrical switch to cope with the extra electrical current ).
If you use a more powerful horn without a Relay, you run the risk of overloading
the original circuit, and / or burning out the Horn button switch 

You will probably need to remove the Fairing to access the existing horn,
and to fit it's replacement(s) - at first this may seem like a daunting task,
but is actually quite easy, if you follow a routine and take your time -
It's just ( quite ) a few screws that need to be undone ! !

Here's a link on : HOW TO: Remove the Fairing ....., which also goes on to explain How To fit Crash Bars
that you don't need to worry about at this stage !

Have a read through that article and if you are still up to taking it on,
then use the "SEARCH" Button, and search for "Horn Upgrade"
which will return plenty of Posts for reading !

This is probably one of the more useful : How I fitted Twin Fiamm horns

Cheers 

[AZBob]

I completely agree that the horn on the bike isn't only sub-par, it's completely inadequate, IMO.

As Coconut said, you will most likely need to wire in a relay, and since you're wiring directly to the battery for the relay, you'll also need to wire in a fuse of appropriate capacity.

I installed Hella Sharptone horns (both the high and low tone horns). One is installed in the original horn location (which, btw, is not as much room as it would seem), and the other is installed on the opposite side, hanging from an angle iron bracket that took two seconds to make, and screwed into the lower radiator support with a longer screw and some large washers to push it toward the rear of the bike so it doesn't hit the fairing. They both face forward, which was a requirement of mine because sound is directional.

I chose these because they draw "only" 7 amps (3.5 each) as opposed to the Supertones, which draw 11. I only wanted something that could be heard, not necessarily blew someone's hair back. From what I understand, the Supertones sound kind of weird, also. These are equivalent to a loud car horn.

I attached some pictures of the project, I don't know if they'll motivate you or turn you off completely.


Replacement of stock horn:


New horn on left side:


Close-up of angle iron bracket with washers to push horn toward rear


Wiring of new left-side horn up over overflow tank, where it then joins the main harness (and my other wires) and then goes under the dash to the right side) to join up with (the gas tank is off in this photo)...


...this mess (this looks like this for the pic). The thing with the red wires is the fuse holder, the other rectangle thing is the 20amp relay. The two purple wires going off the right side are the horn ground wires.


And here's everything tidied up in the battery compartment. Also visible is my 30 amp main fuse for my PDM60.

[azgman]

My 2007 R1200RT horn was about the same as the Trophy's; wimpy at best. The installation of dual horns was the answer in both cases. I like the Fiamm Freeway Blasters.

[RPDATA]

Any details on your dual horn install? It's time I change mine as well. Wife just giggles every time she hears it which really means it's useless on the road.

[azgman]

I neglected to take pictures like AZbob did, but I mounted the Fiamms one on top of the other (they both face forward) in the same area as the OEM horn. I ran the OEM horn wires to trigger a relay. Fused wires direct to the battery supply power to the relay. (as AZbob did)

I'll post pictures when I have the bike apart for the 20k service.

[Michel1960]

thank you all for your help, Coconut , your  How to is great but I do believe I should have it done, too many things can go wrong!

[Coconut]

I think that would be a wise move 

All too often someone will attempt something that they are not familiar with or competent at,
and will then end up spending far more £££'s or $$$'s to fix the things they broke along the way !

Cheers