Air Horn Stablizer

[RevRoy]

I just put a new set of 15" air horns on my GS550E. I mounted them on the underside of my saddlebags (hard cases), on the right side. They sound great, but I am wondering if there is a stability problem. They are mounted at the base by a fairly strong bolt and nut. Problem is, the horns extend 15" to the front, and I am afraid that highway speeds will produce enough drag on the front of the trumpets to break them off.

Anyone know a way to stabilize these two horns to keep them on the bike?

Thanks,

[WesV]

I just put a new set of 15" air horns on my GS550E. I mounted them on the underside of my saddlebags (hard cases), on the right side. They sound great, but I am wondering if there is a stability problem. They are mounted at the base by a fairly strong bolt and nut. Problem is, the horns extend 15" to the front, and I am afraid that highway speeds will produce enough drag on the front of the trumpets to break them off.

Anyone know a way to stabilize these two horns to keep them on the bike?

Thanks,

As long as you used body washers (not standard flat washers, but the VERY over sized washers with small hole in them) to sandwich the hard bag material with then you should be fine. These things have been on Big trucks for generations with sometimes little more then sheet metal screws holding them to the cab.

[RevRoy]

Thanks for the suggestion ... don't know why I didn't think of it. The washers I used this evening are called Fender washers. Each is 2" in diameter, with a hole just big enough for a 1/4" bolt to pass through. I sandwiched the fiberglass hard bag beween two of these washers for each horn, then tightened them up with stop-nuts.

Thanks again. BTW, these horns really grab attention! They are the lower frequency horns, like the ones the big trucks use. I like to have as much noise as possible, and these horns make people think they are about to tangle with a truck.

[Dark Jedi]

There was a train graveyard near me when i was young. I grabbed a train triple horn and mounted it under the hood of my Scout. (ever see the spare room under there? and it was STILL tight!)

Had to put a 3 gallon compressor tank in there to work them, and mounted an old oilless AC compressor off an old Ford to keep it charged up.
Could only blow it every 5 minutes or so... but I could clear a mile of hiway doing it!

[WesV]

There was a train graveyard near me when i was young. I grabbed a train triple horn and mounted it under the hood of my Scout. (ever see the spare room under there? and it was STILL tight!)

Had to put a 3 gallon compressor tank in there to work them, and mounted an old oilless AC compressor off an old Ford to keep it charged up.
Could only blow it every 5 minutes or so... but I could clear a mile of hiway doing it!

Shoot, you just don't know where to put them (or you didn't pull enough of the smog equipment out)8-[. I can show you some pics of an ScoutII with a 3 gal tank, the 3 horn train unit and a 1/2" dia.pipe running through the floor to a ball valve and back to the horns. That is the only way to get enough air to them ;-) The valve is the only thing you can see with out crawling under the truck.

[RevRoy]

A triple-horn would be awesome, but perhaps a bit too big for my GS. I could use them on my '78 Thunderbird (mint condition, no rust or door-dings, never smoked in, 62,000 original miles. I drive it in bad weather, when I can't ride).

[Mysuzyq]

If you continue having issues with the trumpets, consider this Stebel Nautilus air horn for your bike & free up the trumpets for your T-bird maybe ......

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/2137/

Rest assured, they are as loud (if not louder) than most of the dual- trumpet horns out there, and reportedly have a quicker response time as well...I have yet to install mine.

http://www.casporttouring.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Stebel11135&Category_Code=new

Tony

[Steveb64]

If you continue having issues with the trumpets, consider this Stebel Nautilus air horn for your bike & free up the trumpets for your T-bird maybe ......

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/2137/

Rest assured, they are as loud (if not louder) than most of the dual- trumpet horns out there, and reportedly have a quicker response time as well...I have yet to install mine.

http://www.casporttouring.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Stebel11135&Category_Code=new

Tony

Yeah - I've heard of those (the Nautilus) - they look quite large tho? I've got a set of Fiamm (Italian made) twin trumpets mounted up on my Ducati - nice and small, but 110 - 120 dB output! Doesn't sound like a truck - more large car-ish - but BOY do they get cages to move out of the way! Loud enough for another biker to hear from ~50 yards in front... and only weigh a few ounces more than the original diaphragm type tooters.

[Mysuzyq]

Its actually quite compact (as the name suggests, lol) esp. when you consider the unit includes all of the components (compressor, trumpet etc. ...and no tubes!). The unit lends itself to a variety of mounting possibilities, though on a bike it would require a simple bracket (basically a small metal strap with two holes) if the stock location is to be used....a couple GSR members are already rocking this horn...perhaps one will come along and post a pic, to give an idea as to its size on the bike....maybe this winter I will get around to mounting mine....up here, I think I have only used my horn a couple times a year, (usually a goodbye toot to a riding buddy), so it has'nt been a big priority. I have used Fiamms in the past, and they too are great, but the Nautilus seems to be hugely louder, if you can dig that.

Tony.

[Steveb64]

I have used Fiamms in the past, and they too are great, but the Nautilus seems to be hugely louder, if you can dig that.

Tony.

:-D Oh yeah! Nothing like seeing some cager - totally oblivious to what's going on, suddenly leap in their seat, then just about dislocate their neck spinning around to see what's about to take them out! :-D\\/

[Planecrazy]

I'm thinking that if you mount the "train triples" to a bike you ought to turn them around backward and then just use them for propulsion! :shock:;-)

[Robu]

If you continue having issues with the trumpets, consider this Stebel Nautilus air horn for your bike & free up the trumpets for your T-bird maybe ......

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/2137/

Rest assured, they are as loud (if not louder) than most of the dual- trumpet horns out there, and reportedly have a quicker response time as well.

Tony

I have one, and for my yearly safety inspection the inspector nearly p..... his pants LOL.

[Mysuzyq]

I have one, and for my yearly safety inspection the inspector nearly p..... his pants LOL.

LMAO...I bet he jumped!:-D

Tony.

[bakalorz]

If you continue having issues with the trumpets, consider this Stebel Nautilus air horn for your bike & free up the trumpets for your T-bird maybe ......

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/2137/

Rest assured, they are as loud (if not louder) than most of the dual- trumpet horns out there, and reportedly have a quicker response time as well...I have yet to install mine.

http://www.casporttouring.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Stebel11135&Category_Code=new

Tony

The stebel nautilus and the wolo bad-boy are exactly the same horn, but rebadged ... the bad boy even says made in Italy on it.
(the nautilus quotes a deceptively higher db figure because the 139 is measured like 4 inches from it, everyone else quotes 1 or 2 meters/yards)

HarborFreight.com currently has the bad-boy on sale for $35 in store.
They have in the past had them for 35 in store, 30 on web.
If you print out the web price and bring it in they honor it.

I have one on the bike, and another in the box to go on the cage when I get around to it.