PIAA Slim Line Sports Horn

[airboss]

Fine. Sold. I'll pop one on during my Great Electrical Installation of Twenty Fifteen.

Installation tip: don't fire them off inside the garage. Could cause bleeding from your ears.

 

[Salish1300]

Had a guy about to merge into me today and with a little pop of these horns he was quickly back in his lane. May never know if they will have saved my life, but my guess, yes.

 

[art miller]

I just (finally) installed my PIAA Sports Horns on my new bike,. I had a single PIAA Slimline matched with one of the stock horns on my 1st gen, and it worked well, but with the 3rd Gen only having a single wimpy horn (ridiculously ineffective) I knew a dual horn setup was needed.
The horns only set me back around $50 from Amazon (including ship-age) and the installation was not too difficult except for the need to add wiring to the second horn and fashion a mounting bracket, which I did a half-assed job of. Not a big problem for me, but others may find it more difficult.

But the increase in horn volume (loudness) is absolutely worth the 50 bucks. I don't use my horn very often here in the northeast, as I try not to ride in traffic, but when I do need it, I really want the driver in the cage with the music turned up too loud to hear it!

Did you install the slim line horns? If yes, you did not need to make a bracket to fit them. They bolt right on the radiator stud.

 

[Fred W]

Did you install the slim line horns? If yes, you did not need to make a bracket to fit them. They bolt right on the radiator stud.

No, I did not. I installed the PIAA 85110 Dual Sports Horns (the ones with the trumpet shaped outlets)

The reason for the added bracket was primarily aesthetic. I used the stock bracket on the left side, and wanted the right side horn to be at the same height as that, which was tucked about 1 1/4" higher up into the faring than if they were both hung from the radiator bolts.

 

[wheatonFJR]

This horn blows the stocker out of the water and is plug and play.

When you say plug and play, you mean that no additional wiring is required? No fuse to prevent wiring harness meltage?

Just plug and play?

Signed,

Electrons are magic

 

[pcarnut]

Hey Fred, glad to see you got them mounted. I owe you an apology, I was going to pull my inner right side panel off and shoot you a pic of my bracket but I've been moving and time just got away from me.

 

[Warpdrv]

Yes - wheaton....

both the slimline and the horns that fred got are low draw and have zero issues....

I got the slims and they are awesome, over stock....

 

[pcarnut]

This horn blows the stocker out of the water and is plug and play.

When you say plug and play, you mean that no additional wiring is required? No fuse to prevent wiring harness meltage?

Just plug and play?

Signed,

Electrons are magic

You'll need the extra pigtail for the other side but that's it.

 

[Fred W]

Hey Fred, glad to see you got them mounted. I owe you an apology, I was going to pull my inner right side panel off and shoot you a pic of my bracket but I've been moving and time just got away from me.

No problem. I just banged one out of some scrap sheet metal I had laying around. I may make a more substantial one and replace it later on if I get motivated, or... maybe not.

This horn blows the stocker out of the water and is plug and play.

When you say plug and play, you mean that no additional wiring is required? No fuse to prevent wiring harness meltage?

Just plug and play?

Signed,

Electrons are magic

Yes - wheaton....
both the slimline and the horns that fred got are low draw and have zero issues....

That is one of the most attractive things about these horns. Reasonable price, lightweight, considerably louder than stock and best of all, no need to rewire (except to add the wiring extension to the 2nd horn on a 3rd Gen).

 

[bluesdog]

+ n for the slimlines. I just, (finally), installed the 500/400 s. The sound reminds me of the Bosch 'fanfaren' horns I ran on my XS11 BITD.

Those things actually made cages jump sideways, these PIAAs seem to have similar effects.

Installation was very easy, as I had the lower cowlings removed at the time for other reasons.

Now to link the horns to the ericas...

 

[Uncle Hud]

First, I’m a slacker for the delay in writing this up three months after the fact. Second, I have neither the tools nor the two-car garage I once had when an active father and suburbanite. Third, I never have been a good photographer.

And finally, I am very pleased that these things are plug-and-play, that I didn’t injure myself during installation, and that the new horns work so effectively!

Overall install took me about 90 minutes, but most of that was swearing. If I’d planned ahead for just a few minutes, then located the necessary tools and placed them nearby, it probably would have taken half the time.

The stock horn, shown installed at the upper port corner of the radiator. Easily removed. I still have it; if you want it, PM me and pay shipping – I need it out of my tiny little garage.

Couldn’t find the piggy-back lugs that FredW used, but a nearby Radio Shack had these. Two different species, so I used the flat-shaped one because it’s more aerodynamic.

<photo lost thanks to Photobucket ********>

The PIAA Slim Line horns are indeed plug and play, with the supplied skinny bell wire (black with double orange racing stripes) acting as a bridge between the two. I tie-wrapped it to the plastic upper member of the radiator ‘frame’. Hey, if something happens to tug on it hard enough to pop it loose or break the radiator plastic, it will be a serious enough incident that I won’t be worrying about something breaking that little piece of plastic. (The blurry gold thing in the foreground is one of the fork tubes. An untrimmed tie-wrap is just left of it.)

Port side got the red unit, 500 Hz, screwed onto the original horn mounting bracket.

<photo lost thanks to Photobucket ********>


Starboard side, where the blue 400 Hz unit looks fab-oh-la mounted by way of a radiator mounting screw. (The dangling wires were later gathered up and tie-wrapped to the radiator frame -- see photo above.)

I promise I recorded a movie of “stock honk” versus “badass honk”, but my electronic devices have conspired to hide it from me. Maybe it will surface in another three months and I’ll post it up then.

In the meantime, trust me and all the other zealous converts who ride around terrorizing poor helpless auto drivers by beeping at them while they’re texting or drifting across lane lines – these puppies are as loud as the front row at Grand Funk Railroad.

 

[jaslthelen]

If you want to get serious about an aftermarket horn, check this YouTube video out.


On a more serious note, TwoWheelObsession has a how-to-install video for the dual PIAA horns, and some surprising results.

 

[bluesdog]

This has to be one of the easier after-market modifications. It's even more simple on the Gen IIs, 'cause they come stock with not one, but two wimpy horns, so there's no need for extra connectors, wires or mounting bracket.

Slightly more challenging than putting fuel in the tank, the PIAA slimline horn install is literally a plug and play.

Mine are oriented with the 400 hz on the left, and the 500 hz on the right, but they'd probably fit the other way.

I installed 'em when I had the lower fairings off for seasonal maintenance, making an already simple task absurdly easy.

 

[MotoPumps]

I too just did the upgrade on a '15. Extremely easy upgrade compared to a Stebel horn and the relay and required wiring. Not as loud, but a great "Buick" tone that gets attention. Massive upgrade over the stock horn.

Rob

 

[SnowAviation]

Can't believe I waited this long to install these, literally took 20 minutes.

Fantastic upgrade.

 

[PhatAir4Me]

Just ordered mine, 56.00 shipped! At speed I can't even hear my horn now...

 

[ekiM]

Where did you find them at that price? I just paid $68 on Amazon.

 

[PhatAir4Me]

I got the last set at 56.00 from that vendor but there are numerous @ 58.65 https://www.ebay.com/itm/PIAA-85114-LOUD-SPORTS-HORN-SLIM-LINE-KIT-SET-OF-TWO-400hz-500hz-/121097727601?hash=item1c31fcae71:g:l9IAAOxy79VRcX1L&vxp=mtr

Heck the link the guy posted above for Amazon was 60.12

 

[ekiM]

I was too quick pulling the trigger on Amazon prime. The good news is they are 'out for delivery' today via UPS. Truly was 2 days.

 

[Fred W]

[slight detour]

It always is. Even on Sundays. I am loving my Prime.

For $100 a year I get Amazon video TV on demand (was paying for Netflix) and Amazon Music (was paying for Pandora) and Amazon free 2 day shipping on Prime listed items.

It's only a matter of time before they get us all hooked and start raising the rates.

[/slight detour]

And how about those PIAA horns? They are awesome! Some neanderthal was starting to slide into my lane recently and I gave him a short (and polite) toot on my PIAAs and his head whipped around looking for the pickup truck behind him. I waved (with all of my fingers) as I continued by! Public relations are important.