[drDave]

Went for my 700 mile first tune up and got the dealer to put in a Stebel 129db (!) horn in series with the BMW weenyhorn. He was able to put a bracket on the bottom of the Wonderlich crashguard bars, and wired the rest up into the battery.

Result? Omigod; did you ever stand next to a train while it blew its whistle; the horn makes my Classic sound like a 6 ton Peterbilt. . .a nice remedy for BMW otherwise making their bikes invisible on the highway.

Speaking of invisible, I tried on a few of the dealers new bikes, including the K1600 six cylinder; awesome bike, but grey on darker grew with a few hints of grey; the machine would be totally invisible on the road. I asked the dealer about it, and his reply was "well, they have good lights. . ." sigh

 

[yonderbob]

I had one of these on my last bike. AWESOME volume! Unfortunately I didn't have time to even push the horn button before the driver turned left in front of me. Still a believer, though. I'm fond of saying, "...no, loud pipes do not save lives, loud horns do!"

Looks like they have it mounted horizontally? The Stebel I had came with the wiring harness and I installed myself, easy to do when CanBus is not involved, don't know if I'd try on the 1200. Anyway, the instructions that came with the Stebel said it had to be mounted within a few degrees of vertical. Can't remember why.

bw

 

[drDave]

YonderBob, I agree. Since BMW does their best to make their bikes quiet and unobtrusive, putting an OMFG horn on it is a good safety measure. The mechanic did wire it into the Canbus with a universal wiring harness that you buy with the Stebel. Didn't seem to cause any problems, except for having to remove the gas tank to get the wiring tucked in tight. The mechanic was a little worried that a loud horn might make the owner act like an ahole. He tried to lecture me about not getting the horn and being appropriately safety conscious. I assured him that I didn't want to bully drivers, or get stupid, but wanted a last ditch THERES A BIKE HERE! WATCH OUT! warning!

The angled clamp to the bottom of the crash bars doesn't seem to bother it, at least for now.

 

[drDave]

YB, you're right about what twisted throttle says about installing it vertically, they say it "may" cease to function after a while. Don't say why. Will try to find out. and it's 139db, not 129. . .
Stebel Nautilus Compact Dual-Tone 12-Volt Motorcycle Air Horn, 139 dB, Black or Chrome - Stebel : TwistedThrottle.com

 

[drDave]

Looks like the issue may be water or debris entering the bells. . .but people are mounting it various ways with no apparent problem.
Modern Buddy : Mounting the Stebel Nautilus Air Horn on a Buddy

 

[fleuger99]

I installed a dual tone horn which puts out 110Db versus the 80Db from the factory. The two horns are only slightly larger than the factory and installed them to my fuse block.

I've had to use them twice "in anger" as idiots were making lane changes into me. One was yesterday while riding up to New Hampshire to Max BMW to get Throttle Meister installed for my upcoming 2200 miles trip. Two older ladies in a Subaru wagon. As I tooted the horn they shot back into their lane and waved appologetically, which wouldn't help me if they hit me.

 

[yonderbob]

horn wiring

Well, I GOTTA get a horn on this bike that actually HONKS instead of just waving a hankie as the lane hogs blow me off my path...

Not interested in removing the tank and installing a relay for a Stebel Nautilus like I had on my last bike. Just going with a Fiamm Highway Blaster this time. Easy install on most bikes, but... I confess. I'm a CAN-BUS phobic noobie! On my Honda, it was just a matter of plug and play. Of course, the R1200R has a "special" BMW can-bus connection to the horn. I don't want to cut wires if I can help it. Fear of setting loose some sort of electrical doppleganger chain reaction that will cause me to have to learn to cuss in German...

I have used one of these to connect my TomTom 2 and it worked great. Costs more than double the cost of the horn, which seems somehow unfair, but... Universal GPS Power Connector, BMW CAN-BUS System - Touratech-USA

Anyone have any experiences with a DIY install of aftermarket horn and wiring same on the 2011-12 1200R? I'm willing to cut wires if someone else has gone before me and didn't come out looking like Albert Einstein... or Doc Brown... or Kramer.

thanks

Bob

 

[drDave]

Yonderbob,
There's a PIA (?) horn that is a direct replacement for the BMW weenyhorn, but more than 90db. . .not nearly as Depends-changing as the Stebel, but you can't beat a direct plug-in replacement. . .

 

[Hoshiko]

Yonderbob,
There's a PIA (?) horn that is a direct replacement for the BMW weenyhorn, but more than 90db. . .not nearly as Depends-changing as the Stebel, but you can't beat a direct plug-in replacement. . .

Any more info on this?? pictures, links .....

 

[drDave]

Hoshiko, I only know this because the mechanic who was tuning up my bike and installing my Stebel at Cycle Works in Barrington Illinois told me that they keep the Pia's in stock for people who want a louder horn and that it screws into the same spot of the BMW weenyhorn. You could probably give the parts department a call there or email: 847-381-8050, [email protected].

 

[yonderbob]

horn fit vs. wiring

Yonderbob,
There's a PIA (?) horn that is a direct replacement for the BMW weenyhorn, but more than 90db. . .not nearly as Depends-changing as the Stebel, but you can't beat a direct plug-in replacement. . .

Thanks for the reply Dr. Dave...

I've seen the PIAA horn, too. but the problem is not mounting it and making it fit the space, the Fiamm Freeway Blaster will fit just fine. But it's not "BMW specific" in that... the problem is the CAN-Bus connection and wiring it up, amperage draw, etc.

 

[drDave]

YonderBob, it does seem like the CAN-Bus is a solution in search of a problem. . .and that it seems to cause complications for any kind of installation. It is finickier than the electricals on the G650gs I traded for the 1200; I tried to plug in a 60watt electric vest into the 1200 and it blew the fuse. The mechanic said that the powelet outlet wasn't designed for a higher power load, and he had to wire an SAE connector and a bigger fuse into the CAN-Bus.

For what it's worth, my Stebel horn, with the universal wiring harness, has not fried the bike yet during the few times I needed to make oblivious drivers wet their pants. . .

 

[fleuger99]

Thanks for the reply Dr. Dave...

I've seen the PIAA horn, too. but the problem is not mounting it and making it fit the space, the Fiamm Freeway Blaster will fit just fine. But it's not "BMW specific" in that... the problem is the CAN-Bus connection and wiring it up, amperage draw, etc.

I have the Freeway Blaster on my bike. I did not go through the CAN-BUS for the install. I installed it via a fuse block and I've had it since day one on my bike with no power issues at all. It is also a very authoritative horn The wiring was joined to the BMW spindle so it looks very clean.

 

[drDave]

YonderBob,

I wonder if you can just bypass the CAN-Bus for other stuff? If you ever take the seat off of your bike and can show us your horn wiring, that would be cool.

 

[yonderbob]

I have the Freeway Blaster on my bike. I did not go through the CAN-BUS for the install. I installed it via a fuse block and I've had it since day one on my bike with no power issues at all. It is also a very authoritative horn The wiring was joined to the BMW spindle so it looks very clean.

thanks... you would still have to wire the switch (horn button) through the CAN-BUS.? I don't think the Freeway Blaster draws enough amps to be a problem if you just cut the wires and put some spade connectors on and hook 'em up to the Fiamm. That's what i've done on several bikes. My son's SV650 is running one. Don't want to take the chance on the R... I know I could buy the pigtail and it would probably be fine... or shut the bike down the first time I hit the horn button!~

 

[yonderbob]

YonderBob,

I wonder if you can just bypass the CAN-Bus for other stuff? If you ever take the seat off of your bike and can show us your horn wiring, that would be cool.

You can if you want to install a fuse block or, if you have the Stebel, use the harness and relay you can buy with it, which wires the horn direct to the battery. Don't have any problem with that. Done it before - as I mentioned I had a Stebel DIY on my VTX and it was great. I'm just trying to avoid all that. The Fiamm is a good loud compromise... I'd like to do a DIY on the fiamm without the fuse block or removing the tank, etc. Wonder if anyone's done it that way? CAN-BUS just has me spooked...

Thanks!
Bob

 

[yonderbob]

FIAMM installed at last!

For anyone else interested in doing this, it's as easy as it gets for a diy project on a bike. I bought the BMW cable part #83300402344 from A&S Cycles. (Yes, after shipping it cost twice as much as the horn itself). I wanted to be able to reinstall stock with no cut wires if needed. After reseaching all over the place to make sure it didn't create CANBUS problems I decided to go for it.

Anyway, the horn fits perfectly and actually bolts right up to the existing horn bracket. One nut to replace and it's in. Very close tolerances to the telelever strut spring, but it works.

Now that it's done, I gotta say, I don't think it's any louder. A different tone and better "attitude" maybe, but no louder. I did a seat of the pants test by honking the stocker a few times in my garage before and a few honks on the FIAMM after. Sounds like the difference between a European car horn and an American car horn. :001_unsure:

 

[drDave]

Yonderbob, your horn is probably a little more conspicuous by the unusual sound. . .but seriously, I'd still go for the Nautilus, which is actually 139(!) db not 129. The son of a friend of mine wanted to hear it, and I was stoopid enough to fire it up in an open garage. . .it is have a seizure and wet your pants loud.

The dealer kept the original BMW weenyhorn on the circuit; you can hear it, sort of, as it sounds a few milliseconds before the Stebel kicks in; it's the aural difference between your sister walking by in Sunday Church clothes, and Marilyn Monroe sidling up to you wearing nothing but high heels.

 

[Classic11]

I used my OMFG horn a couple weeks ago riding through Indiana University's campus. AKA honking at the girls on the sidewalk and saying OMFG see the milk bags on her!!:001_tt2:

 

[drDave]

I used my OMFG horn a couple weeks ago riding through Indiana University's campus. AKA honking at the girls on the sidewalk and saying OMFG see the milk bags on her!!:001_tt2:

From a dating perspective, a good way to check from a distance as to whether any of them might suffer from incontinence. . .