Thunder
Registered user
As someone who is becoming more and more paranoid about making my presence known to other road users one of the areas I wanted to look at was fitting something a bit more audible than the standard puny unit supplied with the bike.
On my previous 2006 model I'd fitted a pair of Stebel Magnums but on the 2008 model with the ESA this was not an option owing to the reduced space available so I started looking at other possible areas to fit an after-market horn and having stripped the bike found a prefect position for one of Nippy Normans Stebel Nautilus horns in the new area used to mount the charcoal canister required for areas in the USA.
It can be found under the right side of the new fuel tank is easy to access by removing the side panel and right beside the stock horn so simple to make a connection using Nippy Normans can bus plug.
The Stebel Nautilius is quite a large unit but it's relatively flat design makes it perfect to fit into the space available leaving room to refit the side panel and not making contact with any of the engine casings.
I drilled a hole in the rear bracket that is moulded into the tank. It seems to be best to keep it to the right side to keep the horn clear of the engine casings.
The horn is fitted using a bolt through it’s mounting bracket with a spacer to distribute the “load” over the rear of the plastic tank bracket (I improvised one using a wide shoulder nut which was the right width) and a 25mm washer.
I used 2 heavy-duty cable ties threaded though a mounting point on the bottom of the tank and a gap on the horn itself to prevent the ties slipping off.
I added some impact foam between the horn and the tank to prevent any direct contact and handle any flexing of the horn, and the relay required was mounted through a hole drilled on the forward bracket on the tank (no pictures I’m afraid as the battery went on the camera but you will get the idea from this before shot).
The can bus system cannot handle the additional draw of the Nautilus so a relay is essential, I found it needed a 15amp fuse ,wired accordingly a feed direct to the battery and ran the trigger feed direct from the original horn plug.
When the side panels back in place the horn is well protected and cannot be seen, it can be heard though and is very, very , very loud!
Not saying this is a perfect solution but it works for me and I’m posting it here as a guide to what can be done with no legal liability what so ever, so don’t come back to me if it does not work for you.
On my previous 2006 model I'd fitted a pair of Stebel Magnums but on the 2008 model with the ESA this was not an option owing to the reduced space available so I started looking at other possible areas to fit an after-market horn and having stripped the bike found a prefect position for one of Nippy Normans Stebel Nautilus horns in the new area used to mount the charcoal canister required for areas in the USA.
It can be found under the right side of the new fuel tank is easy to access by removing the side panel and right beside the stock horn so simple to make a connection using Nippy Normans can bus plug.
The Stebel Nautilius is quite a large unit but it's relatively flat design makes it perfect to fit into the space available leaving room to refit the side panel and not making contact with any of the engine casings.
I drilled a hole in the rear bracket that is moulded into the tank. It seems to be best to keep it to the right side to keep the horn clear of the engine casings.
The horn is fitted using a bolt through it’s mounting bracket with a spacer to distribute the “load” over the rear of the plastic tank bracket (I improvised one using a wide shoulder nut which was the right width) and a 25mm washer.
I used 2 heavy-duty cable ties threaded though a mounting point on the bottom of the tank and a gap on the horn itself to prevent the ties slipping off.
I added some impact foam between the horn and the tank to prevent any direct contact and handle any flexing of the horn, and the relay required was mounted through a hole drilled on the forward bracket on the tank (no pictures I’m afraid as the battery went on the camera but you will get the idea from this before shot).
The can bus system cannot handle the additional draw of the Nautilus so a relay is essential, I found it needed a 15amp fuse ,wired accordingly a feed direct to the battery and ran the trigger feed direct from the original horn plug.
When the side panels back in place the horn is well protected and cannot be seen, it can be heard though and is very, very , very loud!
Not saying this is a perfect solution but it works for me and I’m posting it here as a guide to what can be done with no legal liability what so ever, so don’t come back to me if it does not work for you.
