Air Horns & st-digest V2001 #350

["Ozzard-Low, Alex" <Alex.Ozzard-Low@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Several people have E-mailed me to ask about installation so I thought I'd
bore everyone else with the details, too...

The horns can either simply replace the stock unit w/same wires, or to make
it louder still, buy a relay and run the power direct from the battery,
using the old connectors to drive the relay.  No pix since I'm "enjoying"
the sunny climate of Algeria - where, by the way, it was 126°F two days ago,
and it's not even summer yet!

I mounted the compressor, which is quite small, under the central fairing,
and held it more or less between the instrument pods with several strong
electrical ties, and mounted the horn itself in the stock position, but
pointed sideways so it doesn't fill with water.  You could always mount it
in the fairing body and scare yourself sh*tless every time you hit the
button, which would avoid the water and bug problem.

The kit is really designed for Harleys, but doesn't take much creativity to
bolt up.  It is NOT a 100% straight forward bolt in replacement though, so
if you don't want to fool with it, a pair of electric horns from someone
like Griot's Garage ($70) would work very easily.  You can get the same
electric horns less expensively somewhere else - I buy stuff from Griots as
I've always been pleased with what I get - not much guesswork about whether
or not their stuff works.

The horn is supplied with a thin-wall clear vinyl hose, which is useless,
although they do include a braided stainless cover  - little point with that
crappy hose.  For those who are new to air horns, you need to be aware that
they don't respond as fast as electric horns for obvious reasons, and this
delay is exaggerated by using highly flexible hose.  The horn will always be
louder, and respond faster, if you use the shortest possible length of the
stiffest possible hose, for two reasons: 1) the compressor doesn't have a
fill a large volume before air escapes though the sound box (or whatever you
call it)to create the noise, and 2) the stiff hose means that the hose
cannot expand and reduce the available air pressure.  The ideal arrangement
is to connect the horn to the compressor, but usually is impractical.

Automotive fuel hose works OK, and is easy and cheap to get - I ended up
using a 7" length.

As for sound quality, it isn't so much that it is just loud (although it
is), it's more the fact that the tone itself is quite penetrating.

Hope this helps someone

Alex


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