An air horn is a must

[Karen]

Ok, folks, I am new around here, so I apologize for breaking any social norms in advance! Read my intro to learn a bit about me.

I have now had an FJR in my garage for about a year, its mostly ridden by my husband, but when I rode it this spring and some BD cager cut me off I could have (and probably did) yell at him louder than that anemic POS factory horn did.

Umm, yeah, that sucker's gotta go! I just grabbed the stebel off a retired Honda in the garage and then spent the next hour trying to figure out where and how I would mount thing thing.

Uhhh.... Maybe there is an FJR forum and I can ask what others do, cuz nothing seems obvious here.....

So where to you put air horns on these things? I am not seeing anything obvious. I can do metal fabrication work and make a bracket if I need to, but before I go inventing the wheel... what do the rest of you use? (And please don't say you are perfectly happy using your factory horns combined with inappropriate gestures. This chick doesn't like that gesture and I REALLY want a louder horn to express what my fingers would say if they weren't on the bars controlling my ability to live through the situation I am currently in.)

 

[raesewell]

Go here

https://eurokclub.bike/index.php?topic=2091.0

Read that

 

[Allen_C]

What year is the fjr? Earlier generations had two horns and more recent years only have one. In either case, compact air horns can be installed in the stock mounting hole. You will need a relay, which hopefully came with the air horn. I installed a Chinese knockoff on my 2014ES three years ago and have waken up many cagers not paying attention.

 

[NTXFJR]

Welcome.

Yep, factory horns are downright dangerous and should be outlawed. I put a Stebel on the Gen I my son has, and also on my Gen III. For the Gen I, we used the left side horn mount to hang a bracket for the Stebel. For the Gen III, there is a black plastic deflector plate mounted to the bottom of the lower triple clamp with two flanged bolts. I used one of those bolts to hang a bracket off of. Coupled with the mounting offset of the horn, it ended up fairly centered between the forks and well out of the way of suspension travel. Because of the higher current draw, you might want to use a relay to drive it so there aren't any eventual wiring issues.

 

[RossKean]

If you want a no-relay (and no bracket) solution to more volume, quite a few folks have used a pair of PIAA horns

https://www.piaa.com/store/c/4115-Horns.aspx 400/500 hz or the 500/600 hz versions. The slim (in 400-500 hz) might be a better fit although people have used both styles. Generally available on ebay and elsewhere.

I understand you already have the Stebel but this is a simpler alternative. (The Stebel definitely will need a relay)

 

[Mudslide Miller]

If you want a no-relay (and no bracket) solution to more volume, quite a few folks have used a pair of PIAA hornshttps://www.piaa.com/store/c/4115-Horns.aspx 400/500 hz or the 500/600 hz versions. The slim (in 400-500 hz) might be a better fit although people have used both styles. Generally available on ebay and elsewhere.I understand you already have the Stebel but this is a simpler alternative. (The Stebel definitely will need a relay)

+1 on the PIAAs. Plenty loud over the stock single horn on my '14, easy mount & no relay necessary.

 

[deagle]

+1 on the PIAA dual horns. With the two horns to replace on the earlier Gen FJR's, It's already set up for easy replacement "unplug old and plug in new" I hear. Gen III's with only one horn require a little more wiring, but still easy once someone here posted detailed pictures. Not as loud as a Stebel I am told, but way better than stock.

 

[JamesW]

Loud horns are a plus, but they are a supplement for being alert, lerts live longer. Safe riding. I would admire a PIAA someday on my bike.

 

[roger dodger]

Loud HORNS save lives!!! I did the high/low PIAA version. Plug and play on your bike.

Loud pipes just piss off those behind you.

 

[Uncle Hud]

This thread describes the ridiculously simple method to install PIAA dual horns. It's so easy, I did it without any help!

Since then, my bike went swimming (long story) and water intrusion destroyed one of the PIAAs. I bolted on the stock horn with the remaining PIAA, and still get a good, loud honking when I press the button.

To do this, you'll need the PIAA horns (link in an above post) and a couple of special electrical connectors you should be able to find in any hardware store.

This thread talks about mounting a Stebel.

.....................................................................................

Just so you know, the advanced search feature (gear icon to the right of the search box) is a great tool to help you discover all the experience embeded on this site. For example, use the feature to search for "Stebel air horn" and use the quotation marks. Make sure you search in Forums, but leave all other fields blank. (After you've been around here a while, you may remember that the post you're looking for was written by ionbeam or SacramentoMike, or maybe you'll have a rough idea when you read it.)

When I search for "Stebel air horn", I get 43 hits. One of them likely has the precise information you desire.

 

[Karen]

Wow, so it appears I really need to learn how your forum works, I was so disappointed that no one had answered and suddenly I see I have 8 answers. Yes I have a relay ready to install.. the whole set up is just getting transfered from my old Honda.

I have also discovered a blown fork seal, so it looks like I am going to be taking a few of the big bits out of the way to do the horn install.

Is putting a jack on those exhaust pipes really how you lift the front end of this thing? I put a piece of ply wood under it to distribute the load, but I am used to lifting on an engine block, not exhaust manifolds.

The bike is an 07, yup..it had 2 horns. Thank you for the two places to go try (Allen and NTXFJR)... I am going to look now.

raesewell thank you for that link, I can see what type of bracket I would need to make if it comes down to it. Why did the font change? Ugh, some days I feel so stupid?!?!

 

[Karen]

Woah, Uncle Hud snuck in a post... that is EXACTLY what I needed!! Off to fabricate one.

THANK YOU!!!!

 

[Allen_C]

@Karen, yes you lift under the headers. Oh, and welcome to this forum! It may take is a little while to respond due to life happening but you will find many answers in here.

 

[SacramentoMike]

I had a Stebel that somebody passed over to me on the "Pay it Forward" thread. After scratching my head a LOT, I passed it along the same way to somebody with better fabrication skills and a better imagination and bought a set of PIAA Slimlines (just added a bracket and extended the connector from the stupidly SINGLE Gen 3 stock horn).

We did have one member who mounted a Stebel horn on one of his engine guards a few years ago. Ugliest bike ever on the forum.

And hey, welcome to the forum, Karen.

 

[Karen]

I am not afraid of ugly, but my husband rides this bike 90% of the time... and he likes his vehicles to look sharp. I am going to fabricate a bracket for under the tripple tree, I like that spot.

My old Hondas get to be pretty rough before they get retired. My current ride was dropped off the back of a tow truck on the highway last summer because the kid operating the truck was a buffoon. Its got all brand new plastic on it right now thanks to the small claims court system. Sharpest looking bike I've ever ridden.

I am almost afraid to use it for fear I will scratch it up! Its possible my 2000 Honda with 156K miles on it looks nicer than the FJR with only 34K on it.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Where in the heck is that picture of Patriot's bike? He had his airhorn hanging off his right hand slider. Ugly, but effective. Haha. Karen, this is one subject where everyone will agree that the OEM offering sucks. Most of us have aftermarket horns.

Have fun!

 

[Geezer]

I have a Stebel Nautilus compact air horn mounted on my '05 in place of the left factory horn. It is tight and I had to bend the mounting bracket just right in order to clear the radiator and forks when the forks are fully compressed. I also had to trim the black plastic piece that Yamaha calls the 'inner panel', part number 14 in this diagram: https://www.boats.net/parts/search/Yamaha/Motorcycle/2005/FJR1300%20-%20FJR13TC/COWLING%202/parts.html

I also added a relay to provide power to the air horn rather than trust the thin factory wiring.

 

[12tinker]

Hi Karen,

In regards to your fork seal, most always the fix is just to buy a "Seal Mate" seal cleaner tool or use a 35mm negative as there is probably just debris lifting the edge of the seal up. Remember that you have to slide up the guard, then the dust seal before you can get good access to the oil seal for cleaning.

Better take care of it before those brake pads and piston seals get fouled. Careful of using cleaning sprays, as they like to eat rubber parts. This is probably one of the most common money makers for shops getting riders to replace seals.

watch those cagers with a close eye!

12Tinker

 

[BOAN]

I have a Stebel Nautilus on my -11, just behind the radiator....I get attention when I want it

https://berup.com/berup%202m66.html