Horn recommendations

[Knapdog]

A neighbour mentioned to me today that whenever I passed him and beeped the horn it seemed totally incongruous to the bike.
Well his actual words were not repeatable.
He's right.
Monster of a bike with a "Noddy" horn. ( Did you have Noddy in the USA?  ).

So, I don't want anything loud but something sensible, deep, fitting for the bike and easy to fit.

[hubcapsc]

Figure out where to mount a good car horn with a sound you like.
Hook it up to the battery and make it so that your horn button
triggers a relay to make your horn go off. The "meep-meep" horn
doesn't draw much current.

A fellow named BigBF used to sell a bracket with four
car horns on it that mounted in the void near the
clutch slave cylinder...



-Mike

[psckam]

i installed two early gold wing horns on my bike. # 38100300023,  chrome and loud.

[steveB (VRCC UK)]

Since you are in the UK, go stark staring mad and buy the compact air horn from Halfords at £25. Mines mounted on the L/H engine hanger out of direct road spray. Even comes with a relay.

[0leman]

When i got our Valk, she had two small car horns mounted on the bracket with the OEM horn. All three go off when I press the button.  They do make a bit of noise.  Have had several folks move back over when they decided to go over the line into my lane.  Also have had deer stop and turn around.  Have had to clean the contacts a couple times due to them being open to the elements. 

[Gondul]

I have a pair of car horns under the swing arm pointed out to the sides and a pair of Hellas up front.

[gordonv]

I've mounted a set of GL1800 horns on my IS. Was inexpensive used on ebay.

Also bought these louder sets online.



waiting to mount.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I mounted a couple car horns down under the frame on my Standard. They are loud. But, I must admit I hardly ever use them. Whenever the need arises I react by avoidance, whichever form that takes. By the time I’ve stopped or got out of the way, it’s not needed anymore. Maybe I should practice the horn on some snowbirds here.

[mello dude]

Hey guys... got any photos of your install? Looking for ideas...

[98valk]

car horns, higher frequency louder at close range.
These are the original mini-van horns I installed. over time they failed, and now in their place are the very loud chrome harbor freight horns which sadly have been discontinued.
next set will be a horn set from a Ford pickup, which are very very loud.






I also have these installed under the swing arm. lower frequency sound travels a farther distance.
 Still working since '00 install.
https://www.westmarine.com/marinco-stainless-steel-compact-electric-double-horn-379646.html

[Rio Wil]

I just make sure the oring is lubed and get my chest
up against the right side frame and grab the wheel 180 deg. apart and give it a big bear hug....slides right in....

[The emperor has no clothes]

I just make sure the oring is lubed and get my chest
up against the right side frame and grab the wheel 180 deg. apart and give it a big bear hug....slides right in....

You lube, and bear hug the horn ?    (Sorry)

[Knapdog]

I've seen two gl1800 horns.
If I purchase them and replace my standard horn with one of them, could I just fix the second horn somewhere and simply join the two horns together with another two wires?

[Gondul]

I've seen two gl1800 horns.
If I purchase them and replace my standard horn with one of them, could I just fix the second horn somewhere and simply join the two horns together with another two wires?

Could you?
Sure...

However, if you're pulling more power than what it is rated for you will eventually fry something.

[hubcapsc]

I tried briefly to look up the current draw on a gl1800 horn.

They're loud, and the horn circuit runs some other stuff. I'd hook it
up with a relay, hook it up so the horn button makes the relay hot
and then the horns light up right from the battery...

I never thought of getting a loud horn and leaving the meep-meep
horn on there... they might sound cool together...

-Mike

I've seen two gl1800 horns.
If I purchase them and replace my standard horn with one of them, could I just fix the second horn somewhere and simply join the two horns together with another two wires?

Could you?
Sure...

However, if you're pulling more power than what it is rated for you will eventually fry something.

[Jess from VA]

I have only ever needed a horn to pass my state safety inspection.

I did honk at a pedestrian that stepped off the sidewalk right in front of me once.  I think he peed his pants.  Though it wasn't the horn, it was the almost getting run over by a big motorcycle.

Mostly, instead of fumbling for the horn button, I'm maneuvering out of harm's way.

I don't believe bad drivers get rehabilitated by having horns honked at them. 

A .357 magnum would rehabilitate them, but the authorities frown on this practice. 

[Knapdog]

This is where things get complicated.
I know very little about vehicle electrics. I hardly know what a relay is, does, or what it looks like.
If I was given one I wouldn't know where to put it or what parts I should join up to what.
To be honest I'm only thinking of changing the horn,  not to warn pedestrians or traffic of my presence, but to stop my pals taking the Mickey out of the Valk having such a feeble horn for its size  .
I can live with it but at least I've discovered that there's a bit more to it than I thought.

[hubcapsc]

It would be a challenge to be more clueless than me.

I've always used this as a guide and stuff always seems to
work fine...



-Mike

[Knapdog]

It would be a challenge to be more clueless than me.

I've always used this as a guide and stuff always seems to
work fine...



-Mike

I'm sure for 99% of readers this would explain all, but it's beyond me. My degree is in History.

[The emperor has no clothes]

It would be a challenge to be more clueless than me.

I've always used this as a guide and stuff always seems to
work fine...



-Mike

I'm sure for 99% of readers this would explain all, but it's beyond me. My degree is in History.

If you purchase a relay, some wire, and horns, I bet you have friends who know enough about electrics to install for you. 

[RonW]

The horn button isn't hefty enough to conduct the amps that's required to sound the horn. A relay acts as an intermediary that 'relays' the horn button's electricity to a circuit that has thicker gauge wires. The thicker gauge wire powers the horn. There are thousands of diagrams on the internet on how to configure relays for horns, auxilliary lights, so forth. The pins or prongs on the relay are numbered like below. Match the numbers to whatever diagram you're using.





You could pluck off the cap on a relay to get an idea how a relay works inside the mystery black box. There are also relays with clear plastic covers.




It might be easier to understand how a relay works if explained mechanically instead of electronically. Below is a primitive electro-magnet. Relays use electro-magnets instead of permanent magnets because electro-magnets can be turned off and on. The electro-magnet's off & on states can then be rigged to turn a switch off and on much like flicking a wall switch off or on to get the intended effect for example.




The two main players in a relay are the electro-magnet and the spring. The electro-magnet circuit controls the spring circuit. Below, in it's default state, the relay is sending electricity from Pin 30 (upper left corner) to Pin 87A. Pin 87A isn't connected to anything. Meanwhile, the pin for the horn, Pin 87, is dormant.




When the electro-magnet is energized by pressing the horn button (A), the electro-magnet pulls the spring's lever down (B) sending or relaying electricity to the horn via Pin 87. Note: the two circuits are electrically isolated (insulated) from each other even though the parts make contact at the very top of the electro-magnet. The familiar click sound the relay makes is the two parts contacting each other.





Boilerplate points:

• Whoops   87 & 87A  86 & 85 (above) are two ends of the same wire. However, it doesn't mean you can connect either pin to positive or either pin to negative as there might be a diode used as a spike suppressor. A diode allows current to flow only in the intended direction. If incorrectly connected you won't hear the relay click. The diode won't be damaged. A legend stamped on the relay will depict whether a diode or resistor is used as a spike suppressor if any.

• Pin 87A is always the inverse of Pin 87. When 87A is OFF, 87 is ON. In the diagrams above 87A is left unconnected but suppose you want Circuit X to be on only when Circuit Y is off. Circuit X gets wired to 87 while Circuit Y gets wired to 87A, it's inverse. The 87 & 87A pins configures such a circuit for you.
  

• Below, Pin 30 (A), the +12 supply for the horn etc., is perpendicular to its side of the relay while the rest of the pins are parallel to their sides.
  

• Pin 87A (B) is hot and since it's usually not connected to anything, Pin 87A should be capped. Or, you could use a 4pin relay that doesn't have a 87A.
  

[Knapdog]

Ron, what you've done there to help me get my head around this is very much appreciated. Thank you for the time spent in doing so.

[RonW]

Pleasure's all mines, Knapdog. It affords me the oportunity to review (or reminisce?) on what I didn't know until I did know, if that makes any sense at all.

[98valk]

Pleasure's all mines, Knapdog. It affords me the oportunity to review (or reminisce?) on what I didn't know until I did know, if that makes any sense at all.

great stuff Ronw.

[RonW]

Thanks 98valk. Btw, you'd think they'd have electronic relays readily available by now that replace the Bosch style relays. Like they have electronic flasher relays that replace mechanical flashers. The few electronic relays I've found are too bulky and expensive. Plus something about a risk of them heating up.

[98valk]

Thanks 98valk. Btw, you'd think they'd have electronic relays readily available by now that replace the Bosch style relays. Like they have electronic flasher relays that replace mechanical flashers. The few electronic relays I've found are too bulky and expensive. Plus something about a risk of them heating up.

I learned details about relays mainly from rattlebars site, everything you posted about them is very clear for anybody to understand.   
I prefer the mechanical relays, esp since they are know to last at least 100k cycles.
electronic ones who knows how long with all the china parts in them, esp., now with almost zero QA being done at the factories.

I bookmarked this thread.

[gordonv]

GL1800 horns on my IS.



I did run it through a relay bringing power from the battery, and the OEM horn wire to trigger the relay.

I did learn you needed to Y the power to the 2 horns, not through one to the other.

[98valk]

GL1800 horns on my IS.



I did run it through a relay bringing power from the battery, and the OEM horn wire to trigger the relay.

I did learn you needed to Y the power to the 2 horns, not through one to the other.

during full fork compression, high chance the fender will hit the horns. mine did and why I have then installed behind the lower crash bar. I used the bolts for the lower radiator hose support bracket.

[mello dude]

Since this is a horn and relay discussion... adding a h&r thread from awhile back...
https://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,112698.0.html

Did all that work and ended up ditching the horn I had... looking to do something that doesnt look hideous.......

[RonW]

Since this is a horn and relay discussion... a thread from awhile back...

https://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,112698.0.html


That was among the most detailed step-by-step threads in the annals of the Valk forum.

It's also an example that even though you might know the wiring schematic like the back of your hand, you're less than half way there. Routing the actual wires is another animal altogether.

Dunno about anybody else's experienc, but you'll reach a point where it'll occur to you that if you had routed the wires this way it woulda been better than the way you have it. However, to re-route, it'll take an hour. But what the heck, I'll re-route it anyways. It's the priciple of it.

Then after you've done all that re-routing, things aren't any better than how you had it except that hour took two hours.

My only suggestion for people who plan to route wires is to use a dummy wire for a practice run. True, who the heck is going through all that trouble.

[mello dude]

I did learn you needed to Y the power to the 2 horns, not through one to the other.

A bit of a rehash....so wire 2 horns in parallel, not in series?

[0leman]

I did learn you needed to Y the power to the 2 horns, not through one to the other.

A bit of a rehash....so wire 2 horns in parallel, not in series?

The two horns on my Valk are wired parallel.   Recently had to do an annual cleaning on them so wiring is fresh in my mind.

[pancho]

Definitely wire them in parallel if using only two. If two are wired in series, there will only be six volts applied to each and they will not make much sound.