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Author Topic: Horn mod  (Read 2875 times)

Blotman

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Horn mod
« on: January 14, 2015, 12:20:41 AM »

Even with the silence of my Zero S, I rarely find myself in a situation where my horn would ever trump my maneuverability to avoid danger. Last week, however, I decided to give some driver on the road a chance to show some courtesy and NOT merge into me. It was during one of those two-lane turn deals where the driver on the inside lane couldn't be bothered to stay on the inside lane through the turn. I gave a honk as he started to drift into my lane, but to no avail. Laying down the torque to pull ahead of him allowed me to avoid collision without much of a fuss. Still, I would prefer others to consider my safety.

Now, the stock horn on my 2013 Zero has a decent sound level, but I suppose it's "quaint" in comparison to other cars. I'm under the impression that this is the case with all motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters. Why is that?! Is it the battery? Well, I only need half my battery for my daily commute. That leaves plenty of juice left for a decent horn.

Behold! My 2013 Zero S is now sporting Hella Supertones!



There was no room behind the headlight for even one of these, so I left the stock horn right where it is. Hopefully, it's not robbing its big brothers of any decibels. But holy hell, good luck shrugging off these babies blaring at you from behind!
« Last Edit: January 14, 2015, 12:22:13 AM by Blotman »
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'13 Zero S ZF12.5, '15 Zero SR ZF12.5

KenMac

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Re: Horn mod
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2015, 12:23:55 AM »

I like it.  So how easy was it to perform the installation?
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'06 BMW R1200GS, '03 Honda VTR1000 Superhawk, '03 Suzuki DL1000 (traded for SR), 2015 Zero SR

Blotman

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Re: Horn mod
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2015, 12:58:27 AM »

I like it.  So how easy was it to perform the installation?

One limitation led to another. The connectors to the stock horn could be pulled off and attached to one of the Supertones just fine. The new horns come with a relay, but the stock relay appears to function with the new horn as well. That's a relief , because I have no idea where it is!

Now, I've mentioned that there's no room behind the head light, so I mounted it using the bolt to fasten the front brake line to the fork. There's a matching bolt thread on the other side for the other horn, but the bolt is not included. An M6 1.0 x 16mm bolt should do. I pointed the horns outward as far as I could to reduce the chances they'll hit the fender when the fork compresses.

The only other tricky part is the wiring. No big deal if you've done cutting and crimping before. The wires needed to be extended from the stock horn to the new horns. All horns use .25" spade connectors. I had enough wire and connectors, so I thought I might as well keep all of them on the bike.
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'13 Zero S ZF12.5, '15 Zero SR ZF12.5

oobflyer

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Re: Horn mod
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2015, 01:25:44 AM »

That's way cool - I wonder if people will respect your right-of-way now. My horn is plently loud enough - people just don't seem to care.
 >:(
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2021 Energica Ribelle, 2015 Zero SR, 2012 Zero ZF9, 2007 Vectrix VX-1 Li+, 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2018 Nissan Leaf, 2020 Nissan Leaf, 2018 Tesla Model 3, 2023 Tesla Model Y

Burton

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Re: Horn mod
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2015, 03:41:34 AM »

I have otwo low tone famm horns. I mounted mine on the tripple tree in the same holes I think. Mine point sideways though, not forward.

I rarely use my horns and would only use them when someone is coming over on me hence why I point them sideways.

It is very loud ;)
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trikester

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Re: Horn mod
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2015, 10:23:54 AM »

There was a thread on this forum a long time back (pre-2013) about people putting electric air horns on their Zeros. Very loud!  :o

Trikester
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CrashCash

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Re: Horn mod
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2015, 12:27:41 AM »

Yeah, I have the Stebel Nautilus air horn on all my bikes, except the Zero. I don't have a good spot on the Zero yet (my naked SV-650 was equally difficult) and the current stock horn is the loudest OEM horn I've heard.

I have a special toggle relay (Potter & Brumfield S89R) I use because I can't "horn" and clutch at the same time, but obviously that won't be a problem on the Zero.
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'07 FJR-1300 & '15 Zero SR

NoiseBoy

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Re: Horn mod
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2015, 02:35:16 AM »

I would recommend the Stebel TM80. Its like a single tone version of the nautilus. Nearly as loud but compact and runs from the stock relay on the 3 bikes I've used it with.
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