Horn

T=Trouble · Post by **T=Trouble** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:12 am

I have a 1997 GL1500A and looking at upgrading the horn. It still has the factory horn which, in my opinion, might as well be one of those little clown horns. I want a horn that deserves respect yet at the same time makes a driver crap his/her pants and freeze rather than react. Anyone have suggestions? Thanks.

Post by **WingAdmin** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:19 pm

T=Trouble wrote:I have a 1997 GL1500A and looking at upgrading the horn. It still has the factory horn which, in my opinion, might as well be one of those little clown horns. I want a horn that deserves respect yet at the same time makes a driver crap his/her pants and freeze rather than react. Anyone have suggestions? Thanks.

I have a set of Rivco air horns on my GL1500:

They are extremely loud, but not so blasting loud that it makes people jump. My bike sounds like a very loud car. I left the original OEM horns attached, although you can barely hear them over the air horns. Overall, I have never used them and NOT had a car hear me - which happened all the time with my GL1100 and its OEM horns. (I replaced those with FIAMM Freeway Blasters - which are also a decent alternative for the GL1500, and nearly as loud as the air horns).

tom84std · Post by **tom84std** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:45 pm

I've been faced with this exact question before. I've found what I believe is a very good solution, provided you have the room. For my trike I wanted a horn that would get attention immediately and could not be ignored. I went to a local junkyard and found an old Buick with three horns. Got the relay and the horns plus the mounting brackets and hardware, pigtail plugs and everything associated for $10. I mounted the horns low, pointing to the ground under the trike's frame between the seat and front wheel. They are invisible from any angle except directly underneath the vehicle. A friend lives 1/4 mile away, I knew he was in his driveway. I blew the horns several times (harmony) and called him. He said "My God man! Was that your trike?!"

Mh434 · Post by **Mh434** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:13 pm

You might also look at Fiamm "Freeway Blasters". They're cheap (think Wal Mart, Amazon, etc.) and they're LOUD. They're also (if you buy the matched Hi/Lo pair) quite melodious - sound like horns from a 1960's Cadillac...only 3X louder. I bought a pair for my Miata (vs. the original 'meep-meep' one) and it commands instant & serious respect...and not a little surprise! I think I paid around $20 CDN (around $8 USD, at the moment

) and worth every penny. I have a pair destined for my '97 1500SE, too.

Bigbiker0 · Post by **Bigbiker0** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:41 pm

i agree Fiamm is the best no need of modification very loud.

RoadRogue · Post by **RoadRogue** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:40 pm

If you can find the room and have money to burn there is always these guys

https://www.hornblasters.com
Look for the video, bwahahahahaha

Post by **WingAdmin** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:56 am

Mh434 wrote:You might also look at Fiamm "Freeway Blasters". They're cheap (think Wal Mart, Amazon, etc.) and they're LOUD. They're also (if you buy the matched Hi/Lo pair) quite melodious - sound like horns from a 1960's Cadillac...only 3X louder. I bought a pair for my Miata (vs. the original 'meep-meep' one) and it commands instant & serious respect...and not a little surprise! I think I paid around $20 CDN (around $8 USD, at the moment ) and worth every penny. I have a pair destined for my '97 1500SE, too.

As I mentioned above, this is what I installed on my GL1100, and yes, they are very loud. Keep in mind however that the bracket they come with is PART of the horn. It requires mounting to that (unmodified) bracket in order for it to develop the proper resonance to develop their full output. If you shorten, modify, bend, etc. this bracket, you will end up with a sickly "mweeep" instead of the blasting noise they normally put out. This is mentioned in the instructions, I decided to try it anyway in order to get it to fit in one application, and they're right - modifying the bracket ruins the horn. I made a new bracket exactly like the original to replace my modified one, and once modified on it, the horn worked perfectly.

This fact, along with the physical size (depth, especially) makes it difficult to mount on a bike. It fits inside the lower cowls of the GL1100, but I was unable to get them to fit in the OEM locations in my GL1500.

Mh434 · Post by **Mh434** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 12:38 pm

A friend of mine with a GL1500 had the same issue - where to mount his new air horns. He ended up mounting them...under the saddlebags! He says they're plenty loud there (he played a recording of it for me, and it was indeed shockingly loud) and it was easy to find a spot for them. I'll be scouting a location there on my own GL1500.

thomba · Post by **thomba** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:27 pm

I have a Wolo style air horn mounted under the right saddle bag on the saddle bag guard. I purchased the horn on Ebay from Sickspeed for $24.95 buy it now price. Advertised at 135 db. Is plenty loud.

: Horn is the Blue thing under the saddlebag.

That location works well .... until. Well lets just say I scraped it up pretty good riding the Dragon.

: Scraping the horn

Mh434 · Post by **Mh434** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 5:16 pm

Yep - think I'm gonna pick up a couple of horns (probably the Freeway Blasters) and mount 'em under the bags.

Thanks for the pics, Thomba!!

steve allen · Post by **steve allen** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:02 pm

I did something a bit different from the norm. I too, remember a friend with a 82 Buick regal stock horns was super loud. So, off to the junk yard searching, and was showed a Lincoln escort cat with horns facing each other. Took them apart, sound was crap....remounted back on bracket facing each other and the sound is louder than any car on the road. Had decibel check at event, they registered 163db. I only paid $7 for them at junk yard. Ofcourse, I had to wire relay and stuff in! Just my 2cents worth. Don't have to spend big money to be heard.

someguy · Post by **someguy** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:39 am

I am in the midst of getting my wing ready for duty and am curious as to whether anyone has found a spot close to factory for the Fiamm style horns. I have a set in hand and am having a tough time finding a spot for them. I see that WingAdmin (thank you SO much for your efforts here) says they're a tough fit down there. Just wondering if anyone has managed to get them in. Mine came off a VW Jetta and sound right without brackets so I don't have that concern.

T=Trouble · Post by **T=Trouble** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 3:18 pm

Based on the posts (thanks everyone for your input) and after doing research on the suggestions, I have decided on going with the Rivco Air Horn. I have the Rivco Front Mount Air Horns AHFRT on order and will post more when I have it installed.

Mh434 · Post by **Mh434** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 3:25 pm

I did pick up a pair of the Fiamm Freeway Blasters. The lower front fairing is off at the moment, while I try to sort out a way to mount 'em. One member was successful in mounting his in the OEM location, although he had to cut slots in the fairing for them to fit (he did a NICE job of it, I must say!). I'm loathe to go that far yet, so I'm still searching.

I did look at mounting them under the saddlebags, but without reducing the bike's lean angle, it looks like a non-starter. So...it's back to inside-the-fairing possibilities.

Post by **WingAdmin** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 4:42 pm

I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to fit the FIAMMs in the OEM position without modification to the bracket, horns or fairing and finally gave up.

Mh434 · Post by **Mh434** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:08 pm

If you can't do it, then we know it AIN'T gonna be easy! I'll keep poking at it, and if I find a way, I'll post it here.

TAZZ · Post by **TAZZ** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:49 am

I like the way this Wolo horns are in the front of the bike by the forks like in this picture I would like to do the same but not used the Mini Halogen light has any of you done this with out using the Mini halogen light and do you have any pictures on your installation.

Mh434 · Post by **Mh434** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:02 am

Sorry - I have my mini LED driving lights in that position, so that doesn't help. I have, though, been thinking about using these, instead of my Freeway Blasters - a friend of mine mounted these under his saddlebags (one under each side), and they seem to work great. WingAdmin has pics of a pair of these mounted on his right-side engine crash bar, and they look awesome IMHO. I might try that!

Kit looks pretty complete, and even includes the relay. They're on sale in my area for $35 CDN for the kit, at the moment.

RoadRogue · Post by **RoadRogue** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:40 pm

Mh434 wrote:Sorry - I have my mini LED driving lights in that position, so that doesn't help. I have, though, been thinking about using these, instead of my Freeway Blasters - a friend of mine mounted these under his saddlebags (one under each side), and they seem to work great. WingAdmin has pics of a pair of these mounted on his right-side engine crash bar, and they look awesome IMHO. I might try that!

Kit looks pretty complete, and even includes the relay. They're on sale in my area for $35 CDN for the kit, at the moment.

I had two sets of these on my 1500,picked them up at Princess Auto ( Canadian version of Harbor Freight) when they were on sale. I mounted them on each side above the crash bars, the compressors were mounted inside the fairing. They were reasonably loud enough for me. Made one guy almost drop his cell phone out the window of his car at 80kmh. Over time the trumpets get crud in them and dont make as much noise as they used to, I flushed them out from both sides with wd40 to restore them.
Just make sure to power them with a relay, they draw a fair bit of power and the horn button isnt up to that much current.

Mh434 · Post by **Mh434** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:43 pm

Getting water & crud in them was my concern, as well. I noted that the ones WingAdmin's pic had some sort of chrome covers over the open ends to deflect water. Despite the best efforts of my Google-Fu, I've not been able to find anything like them!

Still exploring options. Tried to see if there was a spot under the saddlebags for the Freeway Blasters (I'm determined that there won't be any possibility of 'em grounding in a turn, so, mounting would have to be very precise), and it looks like it might, just, be possible.

RoadRogue · Post by **RoadRogue** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:20 am

I only had to flush them out once in 2 years. The ones from Rivco have the "hats" and are of better quality, but they cost a bit more. http://cyclemax.com/inc/sdetail/gl1200_ ... 129/190124

Mh434 · Post by **Mh434** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 2:10 am

Yup, those are the ones, alright! They are a bit pricey, for sure, but I like the fact that they're designed specifically for the GoldWing. The price at Cyclemax is the same as other places, but the others only have either generic-fit ones, or specific Harley ones. The Rivco set are claimed to be 100% waterproof, too, which seems like a real good idea. Add to that the fact that they're not only *BLING!*, but functional bling, that makes an additional plus IMHO (did I mention that I like chrome?!)

As they're the ones that WingAdmin chose, and he's happy with them, they seem like the way to go. I think I see a set in my future...

Post by **WingAdmin** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 11:47 am

Those Rivco horns were actually on my bike when I first got it. I was on the fence about them - the way they are mounted means every time I have to pull that lower fairing off to do any work, that I have to disconnect and remove those horns first. I had initially made the decision to remove them.

But they were SO unbelievably loud. And the OEM horns were...well, not. So I decided to keep them, and I'm glad I did.

The covers are available separately, and I think I might replace mine, as the chrome on the covers is starting to get a bit pitted.

http://www.jpcycles.com/product/ZZ36122 ... oC2q3w_wcB

Mh434 · Post by **Mh434** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 5:21 pm

WA, where is the compressor mounted on yours? It looks to be just inside the vent, aft of the right radiator, but...is it?

TAZZ · Post by **TAZZ** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 2:10 am

Do any of you have pic. of wire instructions or diagram on how you ran or did the wire to connect two horn cause I'm a little lost on where to splice the wire to connect 4 into 2 to the relay cause I was going to use the Wolo horns 320-2T is two horns

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