My dual PIAA horn installation (photos)

Rex D.

Rex D.

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:shoot:I decided to change the little beep-beep horn to a pair of man-sized horns (not trying to offend the other sex!). I ordered these PIAA Sports Horns part #85110. They claim 115 DB. My concern was how to securely mount these as they are attached in the same general area as the original horn and need to move with the forks. They needed to have good clearance between the horns and the non-moving front fairing. I thought there would be a problem with having to fab. a bracket to mount them. That, as it turned out was not a problem as the original steel brackets work great, all that's required is to bend a roughly 1/4" joggle in the steel mounting brackets. This is needed to clear the front brake line, and the other one is bent to match. The horns are mounted contacting each other and a glob of RTV between them to make the whole assembly solid. I have about 3/4" of clearance between the horns and the front fairing during normal riding and about 1/2" at the extreme range of turning the forks (when parked). I used aircraft tefzel wire ( I build airplanes) for the harness and covered wire with heat shrink tube from the horns to just under the tank to blend in with the other, stock wiring. The wires follow another stock wire bundle from the forks to the tank. I used an "off the shelf" generic relay and a 15 amp fuse, these are located under the seat. The stock horn wiring won't support the amps of the new horns which is why you need a relay. I put the fuse under the seat in case there's a run-away horn and needs to be silenced.
I now have a real horn that means business!
I hope these photos turn out okay, this is my first attempt. I have text on the photos but it may just be the wrong method of posting. Any suggestions?
 
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You tube has some videos on the 400hz-500hz horns. Seems though most people only mount one horn, that has a funny sound though. Both horns fit just fine on the FZ1. I thought I was in for a real job but the stock brackets work great with just a little bend. Check out the you tube "PIAA sports horn 400hz 500hz". I'm somewhat techno. challenged as far as posting a video. The difference between stock and these new horns is just huge! Folks will get the message and little old men and women will have their hearing aids blown out of their ears!
 
No romr, it was about a 3 hour job max. The main issue I saw was how to mount the horns, but after looking over the situation I realized they would bolt right up (I originally thought there would be some serious fabrication of a mounting bracket). I already had all the parts and materials on hand, the horns were special order of course. I had some time to burn after a surgery so it seemed like a good idea. I've shown a few folks the horns "in action" and they are really impressed! I don't know if anyone sells a pre-fab harness, if they did it would make this job much easier.
 
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loosenut said:
Is it possible for them to contact your front fender should they go full travel.
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Yes and no. If they are put on without bending the stock brackets then they will hit the fender. I had to bend mine and Michele's horn brackets. On Michele's, since hers is lowered so much, I also had to remove the deflectors from the bottom of the horns to keep them off the fender. On mine, if I lower the front at all, I will also have to remove the deflectors.

I have an older post about these horns somewhere. Then Billy figured out the bends and put them in his spring build thread and I put more pics in MrsFZ1inNH's build thread with Billy's idea on the bends. ;)

BTW, with the bending, soldering and mounting, it took me less than 90 minutes for two bikes. :D
 
Like I stated in the first post there is 3/4" clearance for normal riding, when parked with the forks at their most extreme angle there is 1/2" clearance. I pulled both seats, propped up the tank, pulled the airbox and got creative with making a harness, heat shrink wrapping in the flexing (steering) area and so on. The brackets are bent to clear the steel area of the front brake like. Both horns are loosly mounted then bent back to within 1/4" of contacting the forks, bolts are then tightened, then horns spread slightly and a glob of RTV shot between them. Helps to control potential vibration issues and also triangulates the whole assembly. I used red RTV since that's what I had on hand, but clear or black would not show. These horns do hang down but can't be seen unless you get down low and have a look. I think they look like they mean business!
Could be done in a shorter time but I had nothing else going on at the time.......
It's not really a big job.
 
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This photo shows the 3/4" clearance between the horns and the fairing. I found it impossible to get a photo of the clearance with the forks turned all the way.
 
Oops, I see fender not fairing. In the garage I cannot get the horns close to contacting the fender but I'll check it out on the road. I'm going to put some clay on the fender and do some hard stops to see how close it comes. I didn't think there would be clearance issues but now I'm thinking.........
 
Rex D. said:
Oops, I see fender not fairing. In the garage I cannot get the horns close to contacting the fender but I'll check it out on the road. I'm going to put some clay on the fender and do some hard stops to see how close it comes. I didn't think there would be clearance issues but now I'm thinking.........
Click to expand...

There was with mine but at that time, I had the front forks up 10mm in the triples. After putting the forks back to stock, the horns no longer tap the fender on hard stops or big bumps. But, I want to put the forks back to 6mm up from stock and I think that I will have to remove the horn's deflectors. ;) Stock, with the bend I have in the brackets, it is fine. Without those bends, they DEFINITELY tapped the fender. :(
 
loosenut said:
I was able to use the stock horn and one of the Piaa horns and was able to get them to tuck in better with no chance of hitting the fender.
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Is that PIAA pointed straight down? If not and you ride in a heavy rain, getting water in there will render the horn useless. :( Pics? :tup:
 
My bad on the horn location. I'm so used to dirt bikes where the fender is in a fixed position, I didn't even consider the FZ1 fender travel with the forks. I've now looked over the situation and even though my horns don'thaven't contacted, it looks like in a hard stop they probably would hit the fender. This weekend I'm pulling my fairing to look into mounting the horns inside the fairing ( one on each side) . Looks like there is plenty of room and they will be protected from the elements better. I'll get back to the forum with photos in 4 or 5 days.
 
Piaa horn installation

Hi Rex D,
Don't you think the horn is too low mounted , have you try jammed brake your bike and observe is the horn touching the front hugger?

Just from my last experience..........
 
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