Air Horn

[ontwowheels]

Air Horn Mod:
 
 
There are various brands of motorcycle marketed air horns available, and they all seem to be very similar. The key is to find one with the separate horn and compressor design. It is easier to find two medium size mounting points on the bike, as opposed to one large space. The one piece units are really hard to hide on tidy, compact bikes like the FJ-09. This horn came from Revzilla and cost about $55. (Photo)
 
My goal was to make the install as clean as possible, to avoid drilling holes in the new bike, or cutting factory wires.
 
I started by removing the plastic bodywork, seat, and fuel tank.
 
I was able to mount the new horn on the stock mounting tang by straightening the bracket. I removed the stock Fisher Price horn and used a vise to straighten the 90 degree bend from the bracket and then remounted it in the stock position. The bolt which came with the new horn actually worked fine, and I added the locknut behind the stock threaded tang for extra security. Orient the new horn with its exhaust facing down and rearward to avoid water ingestion. Adjust it vertically to just barely clear the headlight assembly while turning the bars side to side. I did some fork compression measurements and a spirited two-up ride to see if there were any clearance issues with the front fender under full fork travel, and it clears without contact. (Photo)
 
I ran the plastic air hose back inside the frame following the factory wiring on the left side below the fuel tank.
 
My bike is a California model, so it includes a charcoal canister below the rear portion of the fuel tank. I would guess this area is open on the 49 state models, but I don't honestly know. For lack of any better ideas, this was my location choice for the compressor. (Legal/regulatory disclaimer: Once you remove the charcoal canister the bike is no longer legal for use on California roads.) This is definitely more complicated on the California model. You can ignore the next few steps if your bike came without a canister. Just figure a good way to mount the compressor in this space. But, if a California model, toss the canister and replace it with the compressor. I used a large hose clamp to secure the compressor to the charcoal canister mounting bracket and then reinstalled the bracket. It is very secure here. (Photo)
 
California model Hoses: You will have one tank overfill drain line that remains unchanged. There will be a second tank line which is the vent line. Reconnect this line directly to the rollover valve (inline plastic canister about 2" tall) which has its line running down and exiting next to the overfill line. This one is important because it allows air to enter the tank and prevent a vacuum (fuel starvation), as well as venting an over pressure tank. There is a third small hose which runs to the intake side of the motor, plug this line securely. I threaded a tight fitting bolt in this hose.
 
Wiring: Now that you have the compressor mounted, you can mount your relay. I found a good spot behind the front edge of the fuel tank on the right side. (The left side pocket would also work fine or under the seat if you don't need that space for storage). My choice is behind the triangular piece of bodywork that houses the turn signal. You will see the optional grip heater wiring terminates here in a clear plastic cover. (Photo)
There is a nice bolt already there for mounting the relay and it seems well protected from water.
Reroute the 2 stock horn wires to the relay (terminals #85, #86) They are just the right length and already have the proper terminals for the relay. Use a dab of dielectric grease on each of your terminals for corrosion protection. Run a hot fused power lead (+), with the fuse removed, from the battery or hot side of the battery relay to the relay (terminal #30). Then run your switched hot lead (terminal #87) back to the compressor. Ground the compressor to the negative (-) side of the battery. I would recommend using 18 AWG wire or larger. (I used 14 AWG) because, although it is only used for a short duration, the current draw is pretty robust.
 
Finally, cut as necessary, and connect the plastic hose from the horn to the compressor. I like to follow factory wiring harnesses whenever possible by zip tying to them, and using shrink tubing at connectors, and plastic flex around hot wires for extra chaffing protection. Check all your controls with bars turned in both directions. Lastly, install the 20 amp fuse in the fuse holder.
 
Now go find THAT kid in your neighborhood. Roll up on the FJ and ask him if your front tire looks low on pressure. Wait for him to get his head down near the front wheel. Test horn.
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

[couter]

replace the fisher price horn- I think that is the best description I have EVER heard.
I want to do this badly
 

[michael]

Funny thing about lack of evap can making it not legal in Cali for those of us that have to get inspections at the DMV: it's more important to have the Cali emissions sticker than any of the actual equipment

Some of the stuff (like the air injection and evap canister system) would be pretty difficult to show them there at the DMV, since you'd have to remove most of the bodywork and the seats and gas tank to expose the stuff. 
Where do you live in California where you have to get inspections on motorcycles?  Heck, where I live out in the boonies, we don't even do smog inspections on our cars and trucks.

[peporter]

replace the fisher price horn- I think that is the best description I have EVER heard. I want to do this badly

If you do it.....you can make I Phones fly..... 

[panooch]

Had a Stebel Nautilus on my ST1300A that saved my hide more then once. Its on my to do list but until then, I'm staying away from cars. Nice write up, thanks.

[jjb]

I fitted the Denali Split Sound Bomb in a similar fashion although positioned the compressor under the seat locking mechanism. What I found was that the supplied tube wasn't long enough to go between the horn and the compressor so I used some ride-on mower braided fuel line, which I figured would weather the engine environment better.
 
With my CC on order and a need to remove the tank, I may seek out this hidey-hole described above as I'm pretty sure there's no cannister to worry about on my UK model.

[couter]

If you do it.....you can make I Phones fly.....

Oh I want to do more than make phones fly, I want people to actually crap their pants when they try to merge into me.

[washufiddyfo]

So I decided to get going on installing my Denali Soundbomb split, and went after the under-tank location for the compressor install to save space under the seat. Followed OP's excellent write up very closely, but mine is not a CA model so nice large gap under the tank. For actual tank removal, left the front bolts in initially to act as a hinge while I recruited a helping can to hold up the back side while I worked on the hoses.
 
Relay went to the front right box, but had to cut off the stock bolt's washer to get it to mount. Factory wires rerouted perfectly to that location. Put some heat shrink over the entire run of extra wire needed, for two wires out from the relay back along the inside right edge, one to the battery, one to compressor (+). Then a black from compressor (-) to the battery. Used 18AWG marine grade for the whole thing with heat shrink terminals.
 
Compressor mounted with a ~2" strap, and the horn mounted as OP did, bent the bracket a bit and used the provided screw with the stock bracket, which has the nut welded to it. Hose ran along the left edge up to the horn.
 
Almost looking forward to the next texter that starts to drift a bit.
 

 

 

 

 

[washufiddyfo]

No issues at all with panels fitting back on. If you look down the inside just under the bars you can see the top side of that cutout, which I actually hadn't really studied until you mentioned it. Figured there's enough other wiring in there that it's covered well enough. Honestly it's a bit more open than I expected, but don't foresee it being an issue for me since I can usually avoid wet riding, and it's tucked under there pretty well.  
 
For those that enjoy riding in the rain, you could easily beef up the water resistance by taping up the top side of the notch in the case, or use a relay socket or waterproof relay/socket combo. Since mine's wired up already, if I get the urge to pull the panels again I might cut one side of that existing clear shroud that houses the grip warmer connectors, and stretch it over my relay and tape it back up, which looks like it will fit will with mine mounted to the bottom bolt, where OP used the upper bolt.
 
Or you could just put the relay by the compressor or under the seat somewhere.  Biggest difference there is just extending the wires from the stock horn back to an alternate relay location.  Either way you're fishing two wires along the inside frame.  
 
 

[redfjniner]

Are you sure that the front fender won't bump the horn?
 
 

[washufiddyfo]

I had considered that, and it was really close, when I measured the forks I would have had to completely bottom out for the fender to bump it.  But I wanted to get the rest of it finished over the weekend, and didn't have a chance to take a closer look until tonight. 
 
Part of the issue was the stock bracket was pretty thick, and I didn't have a vice at home to get it very straight. It also offered no adjustment once installed. So I pulled the horn down and took a fresh look, and saw a tab on the adjacent bracket that yamaha uses to mount a zip tie to hold the original horn wiring.  I bent this straight down, and drilled out the hole to fit the denali bolt.  Gave me room to turn the horn flat, and the thinner bracket also makes it much easier to fine tune the placement.  End result, no more clearance issues.  
 
 

[Panther6834]

Finally received, and installed, my Denali SoundBomb Split. While I installed the horn in a manner similar to how washufiddyfo installed his (after he moved it), although I installed the compressor in a less "problematic" way. For the horn, I was originally going to bolt the horn directly to the bracket attached to the lower triple-clamp, exactly as washufiddyfo initially did...but, I (as did he) noticed that the lowest part of the horn was lower than I'd expected, and, not wanting to damage it, I decided to play around with a few different options.
 
In the end, here's what I came up with. As seen in the first three photos, the OEM horn is bolted to a bracket (technically, two identical pieces), which, in turn, is bolted to a second bracket, which is bolted to the lower triple-clamp. I removed the OEM horn, removed the 2-piece bracket, then bolted the 2-piece bracket together at both ends, and bent it/them into an L-bracket. I then bolted the L-bracket, upside-down (as seen in the third photo), back to the bracket attached to the lower triple-clamp. After that, I attached the hose (more on that in a second) to the horn, and finally bolted the horn to the upside-down L-bracket, with the horn facing down, and the hose pointed to the left side of the bike. I routed the hose up through the faring, over the top of the radiator, down the back side of the radiator (away from the fan), under the Engine Guard bolt (indicated by the red circle in photo 4), and into the compressor.
 
Regarding the air hose, since I was originally going to installed the compressor, I realized that the length of hose included in the kit would be way too short. On top of that, the material it's made of isn't exactly welcomed by the high temperatures, and, since I was planning on running the hose right through the engine area, the hose Denali includes would NOT work. So...I went on the hunt for some high-temp, high-pressure, hose. What I came up with was found at AutoZone - 1/4" ID Fuel Injection hose, with a SAE J30R9 rating (working pressure 100psi, burst pressure 900psi, working max temp 275F, intermittent max temp 302F). The OD is a bit larger than the included hose (the wall thickness is twice as thick), but easily fits inside the horn. Unfortunately, even though the ID was the same as the included hose, it doesn't stretch as easily...so, out came the can of air freshener. A "trick" I learned when installing aftermarket grips years ago (which I've since used with every pair of replacement grips), is that air freshener spray works just as good, if not better than "soapy water", plus it dries (actually, evaporates) a lot quicker. A few "quick bursts", and the hose slid on somewhat-easily enough.
 
Speaking of the compressor, as you can see in photos 4 & 5, I attached the compressor, using two cable zip ties, to the middle bar on my Givi Engine Guard Bars. Next, I attached the wiring harness so that it's connected directly to the battery, to the original horn connectors inside the fairing (I pulled the connectors up, so that they wouldn't "hang"), and to the compressor via the same route as the air hose. The line running to the OEM horn connectors runs down the right side (right next to the MCCruise cruise control harness), while the line running to the compressor runs down the left side, both inside the frame & under the gas tank. Lastly, I held the air hose & wiring harness in place using more cable zip ties.
 
After putting the bike back together, I gave the new horn a few "test bursts"...and I am VERRRRRRY pleased to state that the Denali SoundBomb is CONSIDERABLY louder...and more obnoxious-sounding...than the roadrunner-sounding "beep-beep" OEM horn. My only disappointment...and it's a minor one...is that I won't get to see the face of the person in front of me each time I blast it.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[proast]

Finally received, and installed, my Denali SoundBomb Split. While I installed the horn in a manner similar to how washufiddyfo installed his (after he moved it), although I installed the compressor in a less "problematic" way. For the horn, I was originally going to bolt the horn directly to the bracket attached to the lower triple-clamp, exactly as washufiddyfo initially did...but, I (as did he) noticed that the lowest part of the horn was lower than I'd expected, and, not wanting to damage it, I decided to play around with a few different options. 
In the end, here's what I came up with. As seen in the first three photos, the OEM horn is bolted to a bracket (technically, two identical pieces), which, in turn, is bolted to a second bracket, which is bolted to the lower triple-clamp. I removed the OEM horn, removed the 2-piece bracket, then bolted the 2-piece bracket together at both ends, and bent it/them into an L-bracket. I then bolted the L-bracket, upside-down (as seen in the third photo), back to the bracket attached to the lower triple-clamp. After that, I attached the hose (more on that in a second) to the horn, and finally bolted the horn to the upside-down L-bracket, with the horn facing down, and the hose pointed to the left side of the bike. I routed the hose up through the faring, over the top of the radiator, down the back side of the radiator (away from the fan), under the Engine Guard bolt (indicated by the red circle in photo 4), and into the compressor.
 
Regarding the air hose, since I was originally going to installed the compressor, I realized that the length of hose included in the kit would be way too short. On top of that, the material it's made of isn't exactly welcomed by the high temperatures, and, since I was planning on running the hose right through the engine area, the hose Denali includes would NOT work. So...I went on the hunt for some high-temp, high-pressure, hose. What I came up with was found at AutoZone - 1/4" ID Fuel Injection hose, with a SAE J30R9 rating (working pressure 100psi, burst pressure 900psi, working max temp 275F, intermittent max temp 302F). The OD is a bit larger than the included hose (the wall thickness is twice as thick), but easily fits inside the horn. Unfortunately, even though the ID was the same as the included hose, it doesn't stretch as easily...so, out came the can of air freshener. A "trick" I learned when installing aftermarket grips years ago (which I've since used with every pair of replacement grips), is that air freshener spray works just as good, if not better than "soapy water", plus it dries (actually, evaporates) a lot quicker. A few "quick bursts", and the hose slid on somewhat-easily enough.
 
Speaking of the compressor, as you can see in photos 4 & 5, I attached the compressor, using two cable zip ties, to the middle bar on my Givi Engine Guard Bars. Next, I attached the wiring harness so that it's connected directly to the battery, to the original horn connectors inside the fairing (I pulled the connectors up, so that they wouldn't "hang"), and to the compressor via the same route as the air hose. The line running to the OEM horn connectors runs down the right side (right next to the MCCruise cruise control harness), while the line running to the compressor runs down the left side, both inside the frame & under the gas tank. Lastly, I held the air hose & wiring harness in place using more cable zip ties.
 
After putting the bike back together, I gave the new horn a few "test bursts"...and I am VERRRRRRY pleased to state that the Denali SoundBomb is CONSIDERABLY louder...and more obnoxious-sounding...than the roadrunner-sounding "beep-beep" OEM horn. My only disappointment...and it's a minor one...is that I won't get to see the face of the person in front of me each time I blast it.
 
 

 

 

 

 

I did the same thing around 9 months ago after reading about it in another thread. 
Same install for the horn but was able to tuck the compressor in under the tank.
 
Recommend using the Denali wiring loom...saves time and hassle.
 
I use it pretty much every time I ride...plenty of need/opportunity. And at 120db It's the loudest legal unit that still meets Australian Design Rules.
 
Got my bike serviced last week and when I picked it up I asked if they discovered my horn (was concerned it may have gotten in their way) and the foreman had had fun scarring the crap out of the apprentices in the workshop.
 
I would have to say that it is the #1 most important mod I've done. Has saved several potentially dangerous situations from developing through being deployed.

[wordsmith]

Finally received, and installed, my Denali SoundBomb Split.    This has been an interesting topic, but may I ask what is the hose attached to?   And could someone please post a link to the vendor?   TIA...

[Panther6834]

Not entirely sure what you mean by "what is the hose attached to".  Obviously, one end attaches to the horn, and the other end attaches to the compressor.  The hose is how the air gets from the compressor, to the horn.  As for the vendor, I ordered mine from Revzilla, but you can also order directly from the distributor (Twisted Throttle).  Not to "put down" Twisted Throttle (as I have absolutely no reason to), but, personally, I prefer Revzilla, if for no other reason than I've ordered from them for years, and they've always provided excellent customer service.  That being said, I did also recently order from Twisted Throttle, which also provided excellent CS.  Whether you order from Twisted Throttle, Revzilla, or anyone else (including your local dealer), you'll still get the same great product. it's so great, that my next door neighbor, who has a KLR 650, wants one for his bike.