Air Horn recommendation please

[8Track]

Hi there,

I really want to replace my standard pip-squeak horn with something that will make people sit up and take notice. I've heard the Stebel horn and it sounds kinda high pitched to me. I'd like something that sound more like a truck or ship's horn. Any ideas what I should be looking at?

Thanks,

Mark

[hubcapsc]

Big BF sells a kit he calls "quad horns"... four loud "car" horns with
all the wires, brackets, and complete instructions you need. They
install in the void at the front of the swingarm and are
compatible with most lift adapters. They even work on I85
in Atlanta 

-Mike

[jimmytee]

Big BF sells a kit he calls "quad horns"... four loud "car" horns with
all the wires, brackets, and complete instructions you need. They
install in the void at the front of the swingarm and are
compatible with most lift adapters. They even work on I85
in Atlanta 

-Mike

I hear ya... but I think he wants that throatier truck horn sound. With that comes some size I'd imagine. I've been wanting some decent sounding air horns myself that sound and look good.

[pancho]

Hey 8track,, you can buy air horn kits on eBay from $20 to $250 with dual trumpets. Sets can be found with metal trumpets for $35/$45 or so. I mounted the compressor under the right side cover and the horns under the bike. There is plenty of room for that install, you can't see them, and at over 125 DB, you sure can hear them.

[Bighead]

Trumpet you want?
http://www.rivcoproducts.com/products/product.php?productid=12&cat=223&page=1
I just installed a wolo bad boy under the right radiator pod on my IS and it is plenty loud. The day after I took a ride with another valk rider and that afternoon I was putting one on his IS

[Mtn Valk]

You may want to consider Howard's Horns. I believe they are located in South Carolina. The bulk of their business comes from Harley dealers. (http://howardshorns.com). I'll have to say that their customer service was and may still be lacking somewhat.
I ordered the Dynamic duo horns. They are very similar to the Rivco air horns, but the workmanship of the Howard's Horns were by far better quality in my opinion. If you install exactly as to the directions you will be very happy with them. I hide the compressor under my seat. Every now & then they will have a scratch & dent sale. I purchased a scratch & dent & it was almost impossible to find any flaw. Remember to ask them for additional stainless hose as you will need it for the Valk. I've had mine on for about 1 1/2 years and have had no issues. They have about 4 screws on th back side of the horns that you can remove to clean out any trash that may get in there. You cannot do any maintenance on the Rivco's.
Of course you certainly couldn't go wrong with Big BF's quad horns as mentioned earlier.

[DarkSideR]

I like my Wolo Bad Boy http://www.amazon.com/Wolo-Model-519-Chrome-Design/dp/B000PWZR4C

I like it because it is a one piece unit. Mounts nicely under where the fuel shut-off is located. The horn puts out a good solid blast that can be clearly heard at highway speeds.

You will need to wire in a relay because it is 12V (more sound = more power).  

Here is a pic of my bike with the Wolo installed. So clean you barely notice it's there. Look below the fuel shut-off is.


Hope this helps.

[N0tac0p]

http://superiorhorns.com/viking-horns/loud-silver-compact-air-horn.html

this is the one i got, two tone loud.  mounted with a 4" flat stock 45 degrees up and away from the tire off of the engine guard bolt.

[Marinakorp]

HArley markets on that is DEEP and LOUD... most likely a re-branded Stebel... with bigger components. It is FREAKISHLY loud.... and DEEP.

Although... my "regular" Stebel is LOUD... and does get attention...

[R J]

I have BigBF's Quad horns.    They will wake up the dead and those old blue haired ladies that can't see over the steering wheel.

I nailed a blue hair in Daytona a couple of years ago.   She jerked back into her lane and at the next stop light, she told me I made her pee her undies.   I laughed and we went on down the street.

[8Track]

Thanks everyone for their recommendations.

I particularly like the way the Wolo Badboy mounts neatly under the fuel tap. I know its not a deep sounding horn, but it is plenty loud, a good price, and I liek the way it integrates into the bike. That area under the fuel tap always looked a bit empty, so filling it up with the horn makes sense to me.

Cheers,

Mark

[MarkT]

One more time...

If you want deep sounding - this is a fire truck horn.  Also used on semi trucks.  A number of guys have used my install writeup for this.  You should see some of those bikes at Inzane. It isn't trivial or cheap.  It's also the loudest and deepest tone horn you'll ever hear on a bike.  Does have add'l functions - like the air system is plumbed into my air suspension.  And I can fill tires with the compressor.  It comes with an aux air hose.  It's a Grover horn powered by a Hadley air sustem.  Grover also makes train horns - which I have and was about to install when I found this one.

My horn was featured in Motorcycle Cruiser, Nov 2003.

Tech writeup at http://www.horseapple.com/Valkyrie/Tech_Tips/Train-Horn/train-horn.html

[Thunnar]

Big BF sells a kit he calls "quad horns"... four loud "car" horns with
all the wires, brackets, and complete instructions you need. They
install in the void at the front of the swingarm and are
compatible with most lift adapters. They even work on I85
in Atlanta 

-Mike

I hear ya... but I think he wants that throatier truck horn sound. With that comes some size I'd imagine. I've been wanting some decent sounding air horns myself that sound and look good.

The BigBF horns sound just like a semi truck to me. When I accidentally hit my horn at an intersection, everybody looked at the truck driver  there and not me. 

[salty1]

Stebel, WOLO, etc.

[DarkSideR]

One more time...

If you want deep sounding - this is a fire truck horn.  Also used on semi trucks.  A number of guys have used my install writeup for this.  You should see some of those bikes at Inzane. It isn't trivial or cheap.  It's also the loudest and deepest tone horn you'll ever hear on a bike.  Does have add'l functions - like the air system is plumbed into my air suspension.  And I can fill tires with the compressor.  It comes with an aux air hose.  It's a Grover horn powered by a Hadley air sustem.  Grover also makes train horns - which I have and was about to install when I found this one.

My horn was featured in Motorcycle Cruiser, Nov 2003.

Tech writeup at http://www.horseapple.com/Valkyrie/Tech_Tips/Train-Horn/train-horn.html

Mark your horn isn't just deep sounding. The first time I heard it I was in MisFit's garage and my ears started to bleed.

[salty1]

Mark's horn looks like it would cause one to leave "skid marks" in their shorts!        

[R J]

Mark's horn looks like it would cause one to leave "skid marks" in their shorts!        

Is that not the purpose to leave skid marks in the parties short/panties not paying attention?

I know the air horns I have on the Chevy Trike will wake up blue haired old ladies in Florida.

She told me at the next traffic light I made her pee her panties.

So I figured they were successful.



They is a settin on the roof pointed  down a little bit.   A pair of nice trumpets.

If it hadn't of been for the sun roof they would have been longer.   I actually think these are louder than the longer ones they had at the Truck store.

[8Track]

Hi All,

It took me a while but I ended up buying a Stebel Nautilus. Can someone please share how they mounted it next to the fuel tap?

Many thanks,

Mark

[Bighead]

Mark I didn't mount mine there but am going to put one on my standard there and after looking all you should need is a piece of stainless flat stock then bent in to where you want it to hang and drill some hole and use one of the mounting bolts on the engine hangers.

[BobB]

Hi All,

It took me a while but I ended up buying a Stebel Nautilus. Can someone please share how they mounted it next to the fuel tap?

Many thanks,

Mark

I also did not mount my WOLO in that location, but all it would take is a short metal strap with two holes attached to the lower coil mounting bolt.  I tend to use aluminum strapping material available at any large building stores.  It is available in three foot lengths and various widths and thicknesses.  It also easily polishes up to look good. 

I mounted my WOLO where the OEM horn was mounted on the Tourer, but the bracket took a lot of trial and error engineering to get it done.

[Cliff]

I had a set of big BF horns for a few years.. loved them.. one of them died on me,,, looking around found these to replace them,,,, love them even more!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CADILLAC-DEVILLE-TRAIN-4-NOTE-HORN-SET-A-C-D-F-120-DB-LOUD-IMPRESSIVE-/281662017599

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Hi All,

It took me a while but I ended up buying a Stebel Nautilus. Can someone please share how they mounted it next to the fuel tap?

Many thanks,

Mark

I also did not mount my WOLO in that location, but all it would take is a short metal strap with two holes attached to the lower coil mounting bolt.  I tend to use aluminum strapping material available at any large building stores.  It is available in three foot lengths and various widths and thicknesses.  It also easily polishes up to look good. 

I mounted my WOLO where the OEM horn was mounted on the Tourer, but the bracket took a lot of trial and error engineering to get it done.

Bob, how about some pics. Have mine by the petcock and don't like it there. Thanks

[vanagon40]

Hi All,

It took me a while but I ended up buying a Stebel Nautilus. Can someone please share how they mounted it next to the fuel tap?

Many thanks,

Mark

I used a piece of steel bar stock, maybe 2" to 3" long, 3/4" wide, and
maybe 1/8" thick (these are approximate dimensions).  A hole drilled
in each end, painted black.

There was an existing hole in the frame where the horn is mounted,
that was drilled slightly larger and tapped.

The photo is a little blurry due to being enlarged.

[BobB]

Dave,

The horn takes a lot of abuse at this location and as you may see, the chrome plating does not hold up to well.  This is the second WOLO Chrome that I have had there in eight years.  Removed the first due to this but just installed it in a cage...

[Andy Cote]

If you want a deeper tone than the Wolo Big Boy, try the Wolo Big Bad Max.

I don't have a pic but I used a P-Clamp on the engine guard and a short length of angle bar.

[desertrefugee]

One more vote for the Wolo Bad Boy.  Installed mine a couple of weeks ago.  I also thought that the void by the fuel petcock control needed filling.  My running lights are now taking up space on the crash bars and interfered with the stock horn location.  As noted above, I also used 1 inch by 1/8 inch aluminum bar stock - easily available at Home Depot, etc.   Aluminum is also easy to work with and polishes up nicely.   (Turns out it's all but invisible once mounted anyway).   Needed just a couple of slight bends and bolted to the rear top motor mount bolt.   Solid as a rock.

Deep is not as important as loud and authoritative.   This horn does that nicely.  I'd buy another.





Ran the relay, along with the one for my running lights off the same fused circuit.

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Thanks Bob. Was hoping you had an option on that side other then the scoop position Still debating where to move mine eventually 

[PharmBoy]

I went with Clif and installed the four Cadillac horns on my I/S, one each under the pods and two under the swing arm.  They are God-Awful loud and sound like a train horn.  I was lucky enough to find four new ones.  The boxes they came in were old, stained, and somewhat frayed around the edges, but the horns were shinny new.  Hooked them all to the same 30 amp relay and they sound great...Jim

[Cliff]

 

I went with Clif and installed the four Cadillac horns on my I/S, one each under the pods and two under the swing arm.  They are God-Awful loud and sound like a train horn.  I was lucky enough to find four new ones.  The boxes they came in were old, stained, and somewhat frayed around the edges, but the horns were shinny new.  Hooked them all to the same 30 amp relay and they sound great...Jim

[BF]

Hi All,

It took me a while but I ended up buying a Stebel Nautilus. Can someone please share how they mounted it next to the fuel tap?

Many thanks,

Mark

Hi Mark.  I mounted Stebel there by the petcock.  It's not at all hard to do and is in fact a very easy install.  

What I used was a short piece of flat stock aluminum 1" by 1/8".  It's easy to work with and makes a great mount.  

I don't know if you have a Home Depot or Lowe's there in Australia or not, but here in the States, they sell it in three foot sections for cheap at places like that.  

You just measure to the length that you'll need, drill a mounting hole at each end and mount it.  

I put a slight little z-bend in mine to off set it back under the tank just a bit.  

I mounted mine here.....

[8Track]

Hi All,

Thanks so much for all the photos, descriptions and ideas. Looks like a project for Sunday!

I'll post up some pics of my installation when done.

[wingrider02]

Thanks for the thread!  Finally decided on horns for my 01...ordered a Wolo Big boy for one pod, and a Big bad Max for the other...should sound better than the stock one, and better quality than the cheap ones currently in my pods.