I want a louder horn: Difference between revisions

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You can get a '''LOUD''' FIAMM horn for about $15 at a regular car-parts store (e.g. O'Reilly, Advance Auto Parts, etc.) Places on eBay have them, as well as [http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Search?catalogId=10101&storeId=10101&sku=fiamm+horn&searchbtn.x=0&searchbtn.y=0 JC Whitney] and [http://ridesafer.com/store/item/fpc3/Horns/Fiamm_AM-80_High_Performance_Trumpet_Horn.html ridesafer.com].

Get the low-tone; The 125 dB [http://www.fiammamerica.com/Product.asp?ProductID=154 AM80] is ~~probably your best bet~~. ~~It's the one used by the majority of club members~~. They're way louder, and are a bolt-in replacement for the stock horn. Point the bell of the trumpet down so it doesn't collect water, and cover your ears before you test it in an enclosed space. Even with it pointing down, it is loud and can be heard by cars and other motorcycles easily.

Get the low-tone; The 125 dB [http://www.fiammamerica.com/Product.asp?ProductID=154 AM80] is popular, as is the 132 dB [http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/Fiamm-Freeway-Blaster-Horn-p-17137.html Freeway Blaster]. They're way louder, and are a bolt-in replacement for the stock horn. Point the bell of the trumpet down so it doesn't collect water, and cover your ears before you test it in an enclosed space. Even with it pointing down, it is loud and can be heard by cars and other motorcycles easily.

Avoid the FIAMM piezoelectric horn (looks like the stock one, or a small speaker). They're smaller, and look like they'd fit better, but they're not as loud. Get one of the trumpet-shaped ones instead.

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The low-tone horn is still relatively high-toned. It cuts through noise quite well. The difference is that when people hear a deep horn, they get more of that instinctive "Oh crap, what's going to smoosh me?" feeling. You want them to have the feeling that they're impinging on your space. It seems to produce a more pronounced effect than the high-tone horn. When you hear that low-tone horn, you look around for the big Cadillac that's about to turn your car into junkyard art.

Some members tried the high-tone horn, on the theory that people would be looking for a bike if they heard a high horn, but it didn't seem to work out in practice. The low-tone horn brings much better results. It sounds more like a semi than the high-tone.

It's a direct replacement. No relay is necessary. It includes a bracket for mounting. You can either remove the nut holding the horn to the bracket and retain the stock bracket, or remove the one bolt holding the bracket to the bike and use the new bracket instead. Just try and see; the brackets are very similar. Installation time is estimated at "120 seconds".

It's a direct replacement. No relay is necessary. It includes a bracket for mounting. Installation time is estimated at "120 seconds".

A couple things to remember: The horn on the EX250 is "always hot" (meaning it always has 12V supplied). The horn button grounds it. Also, don't forget that the EX250 frame is also grounded. So, if the horn body is connected to its terminals, you need to isolate the horn body. This is one reason why the stock horn is mounted on a rubber insulator.

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[[Image:FIAMM Horn.jpg|150px]]

====Installation====

The installation is very straightforward:

Remove the OEM horn by removing the two power connectors from the horn, then removing the nut at the top of the horn bracket.

[[Image:IMG_1889.jpg|150px]] [[Image:IMG_1888.jpg|150px]]

OEM horn removed:

[[Image:5x7syns.jpg|180px]]

Here's a picture of the top of the replacement horn, a Fiamm Freeway Blaster, and one of the underside:

[[Image:IMG_1890.jpg|150px]] [[Image:IMG_1891.jpg|150px]]

To install the new horn, start off by loose fitting it, with the wiring reattached, so you can figure out the best angle. Make sure that the mouth of the horn is pointing downwards, so as not to collect water, and that the existing wiring is not stretched.

Secure the bolt to the bracket, then tighten the bracket to the bike.

Here's how it looks after installation:

[[Image:IMG_1895.jpg|150px]] [[Image:IMG_1899.jpg|150px]]

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 You can get a '''LOUD''' FIAMM horn for about $15 at a regular car-parts store (e.g. O'Reilly, Advance Auto Parts, etc.) Places on eBay have them, as well as  [http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Search?catalogId=10101&storeId=10101&sku=fiamm+horn&searchbtn.x=0&searchbtn.y=0 JC Whitney] and [http://ridesafer.com/store/item/fpc3/Horns/Fiamm_AM-80_High_Performance_Trumpet_Horn.html ridesafer.com].
-Get the low-tone; The 125 dB [http://www.fiammamerica.com/Product.asp?ProductID=154 AM80] is probably your best bet. It's the one used by the majority of club members. They're way louder, and are a bolt-in replacement for the stock horn. Point the bell of the trumpet down so it doesn't collect water, and cover your ears before you test it in an enclosed space. Even with it pointing down, it is loud and can be heard by cars and other motorcycles easily.
+Get the low-tone; The 125 dB [http://www.fiammamerica.com/Product.asp?ProductID=154 AM80] is popular, as is the 132 dB [http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/Fiamm-Freeway-Blaster-Horn-p-17137.html Freeway Blaster]. They're way louder, and are a bolt-in replacement for the stock horn. Point the bell of the trumpet down so it doesn't collect water, and cover your ears before you test it in an enclosed space. Even with it pointing down, it is loud and can be heard by cars and other motorcycles easily.
 Avoid the FIAMM piezoelectric horn (looks like the stock one, or a small speaker). They're smaller, and look like they'd fit better, but they're not as loud. Get one of the trumpet-shaped ones instead.
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 The low-tone horn is still relatively high-toned. It cuts through noise quite well. The difference is that when people hear a deep horn, they get more of that instinctive "Oh crap, what's going to smoosh me?" feeling. You want them to have the feeling that they're impinging on your space. It seems to produce a more pronounced effect than the high-tone horn. When you hear that low-tone horn, you look around for the big Cadillac that's about to turn your car into junkyard art.
-Some members tried the high-tone horn, on the theory that people would be looking for a bike if they heard a high horn, but it didn't seem to work out in practice. The low-tone horn brings much better results. It sounds more like a semi than the high-tone.
+It's a direct replacement. No relay is necessary. It includes a bracket for mounting. You can either remove the nut holding the horn to the bracket and retain the stock bracket, or remove the one bolt holding the bracket to the bike and use the new bracket instead. Just try and see; the brackets are very similar. Installation time is estimated at "120 seconds".
-It's a direct replacement. No relay is necessary. It includes a bracket for mounting. Installation time is estimated at "120 seconds".
 A couple things to remember: The horn on the EX250 is "always hot" (meaning it always has 12V supplied). The horn button grounds it. Also, don't forget that the EX250 frame is also grounded. So, if the horn body is connected to its terminals, you need to isolate the horn body. This is one reason why the stock horn is mounted on a rubber insulator.
@@ Line 20: / Line 18: @@
 [[Image:FIAMM Horn.jpg|150px]]
+====Installation====
+The installation is very straightforward:
+Remove the OEM horn by removing the two power connectors from the horn, then removing the nut at the top of the horn bracket.
+[[Image:IMG_1889.jpg|150px]] [[Image:IMG_1888.jpg|150px]]
+OEM horn removed:
+[[Image:5x7syns.jpg|180px]]
+Here's a picture of the top of the replacement horn, a Fiamm Freeway Blaster, and one of the underside:
+[[Image:IMG_1890.jpg|150px]] [[Image:IMG_1891.jpg|150px]]
+To install the new horn, start off by loose fitting it, with the wiring reattached, so you can figure out the best angle. Make sure that the mouth of the horn is pointing downwards, so as not to collect water, and that the existing wiring is not stretched.
+Secure the bolt to the bracket, then tighten the bracket to the bike.
+Here's how it looks after installation:
+[[Image:IMG_1895.jpg|150px]] [[Image:IMG_1899.jpg|150px]]