Twin Horns

[slofox]

I have had one Stebel Magnum on the bike for quite a while now. I just hooked it up to the existing wiring and it works fine.

In a moment of madness I decided it would be cool to put the other-toned one in as well to make the pair - one low tone and one high tone. Doubles the volume as well...

Now the second horn has arrived complete with wiring set and a relay. I didn't bother with such frippery when I put the first one in. Is it advisable to do so now that there will be two horns drawing current? I was just gonna parallel wire them. All the current is still gunna go through the original horn button so some of the wiring is going to be original anyway...

What wisdom oh mighty KB warriors?

[Virago]

Firstly, two horns are not twice as loud as one - although with two different tones there will be a marginal difference. That's why twin-horned vehicles always have two different tones.

Two Stebels will indeed be too much for the horn button - and probably the fuse. Easy fix - run the relay off the normal supply to the horn, and bring a fused supply from the battery through the relay contacts, to the Stebels. Ground the Stebels at their mounting brackets.

[slofox]

Firstly, two horns are not twice as loud as one - although with two different tones there will be a marginal difference. That's why twin-horned vehicles always have two different tones.

Two Stebels will indeed be too much for the horn button - and probably the fuse. Easy fix - run the relay off the normal supply to the horn, and bring a fused supply from the battery through the relay contacts, to the Stebels. Ground the Stebels at their mounting brackets.

All the wiring and the relay are there with the purchase - I was just being lazy...but I guess I better do it right. The supplied wiring kit is no drama to install - once I can be arsed getting the tank off etc etc etc and working on the bike instead of riding on it...maybe I wait for a wet day.

Re Volume: The factory claims 136db for a single and 139 for the pair. There are reviews out there that cast doubt on that claim. Personally I doubt they reach those volumes although they might if ya stick 'em inside ya ear...suffice to say they're pretty damn loud. And the beats generated by the pair do add a certain degree of...ermm...aggro...

[Jonno.]

Those decible ratings are from like a cm away, I think the magnum rates about 112 from one meter away.

[CookMySock]

Watch out, horns can draw 20A each.

Steve

[vifferman]

Yeah, use the relay.
I'm using the OEM horn plus two Fiamms, all running through the relay. Even the standard horn will sound more betterer with good volts getting to it.

[slofox]

Those decible ratings are from like a cm away, I think the magnum rates about 112 from one meter away.

One review I read (here) rated them at 82db at two feet distance...that seems very low to me, but I really do doubt the 139db claim...

Yeah, use the relay.
I'm using the OEM horn plus two Fiamms, all running through the relay. Even the standard horn will sound more betterer with good volts getting to it.

The OEM horn is gorn...I took it off when I put the first magnum on. It sits gathering dust in the garage...

[slofox]

Sooooo...having decided to use the relay and wiring supplied, I am now debating whether to wire their loom directly to the battery as advised or to go to my own distribution block which itself runs off a relay...which would mean the horn only working when the ignition is on. I assume that their wiring system would mean a live horn even when the ignition is off...

Which option would you choose, oh Great Electrical Gurus of KB?

[IdunBrokdItAgin]

Slofox, after reading all about your fun exploits of scaring cyclists with you air horn I decided to go and get one as well.

Magnum arrived yesterdayfitting it this weekend (using existing wiring).

Some people have put on a seperate magnum to have both high and low, but stebel does makes the compact nautilus which is one unit with high and low combined. This comes with a seperate relay whcih needs to be fitted. I'd definately suggest using a relay with two magnums, but if all else fails you might want to pick uop a nautilus and sell the magnums seperately.

I'm looking forward to many fun adventures with my new magnum, OEM horn sounds like it should be on a scooter.

[slofox]

Slofox, after reading all about your fun exploits of scaring cyclists with you air horn I decided to go and get one as well.

Magnum arrived yesterdayfitting it this weekend (using existing wiring).

Some people have put on a seperate magnum to have both high and low, but stebel does makes the compact nautilus which is one unit with high and low combined. This comes with a seperate relay whcih needs to be fitted. I'd definately suggest using a relay with two magnums, but if all else fails you might want to pick uop a nautilus and sell the magnums seperately.

I'm looking forward to many fun adventures with my new magnum, OEM horn sounds like it should be on a scooter.

I used the Magnum 'cause the Nautilus was a little large to fit onto the SVS. The magnum is tucked inside the side fairing. The second one will go on the other side fairing. I stuck the nautilus into the cage instead...hurhurhur.


Oh and the single magnum works fine with existing wiring...

[slofox]

Watch out, horns can draw 20A each.

Steve

Stebel rate the Magtnums at "<6a"...How accurate that is I wouldn't know...


Anyhoo, job done. Since I woke at 3.30am yesterday and after two hours not getting back to sleep I figured, at 5.30am, that I may as well make use of the extra time on my hands by fitting the new horn...

So down to the garage in the early morning gloom and the tinkering began...first off I couldn't find the existing wiring attachment that I had myself fitted mere months ago. I had done such an ace tidy up job that it was not at all obvious and the incipient alzheimers made the memory a bit dodgy...so I initially sorted up the attachment for the new horn inside the right hand side fairing. There's a lot of farting around required with this - the space is small, the forks are always in the way no matter what direction you face 'em in, the drill is always too big to fit into the available space and I needed three hands to do the job - one to hold the drill, one to pull out the fairing and another to hold the light so I can actually see what the fuck is going on it there...suffice to say it did eventually happen and the new horn was sorted.

Next the wiring. Back to searching for the attachment I had put in. And damn, there it was, just behind the radiator, totally wound in insulation tape and tucked up into an inaccessible space...a lot of thinking eventually happened and I managed to understand how to sort it out. This was easier than putting in the new horn, thanks largely to the excellent wiring loom supplied, although a little divergent thinking was required to actually get all the attachments in place. But by then I had actually woken up and the logic was working again. A few checks with the multimeter proved that I hadn't wired it to blow up when switched on (I hoped) and all was good. Couldn't resist a small test, despite it being early Sunday morning, which being in close proximity, bloody near deafened me. Oh and no doubt reallllly enamoured me to the neighbours...

So it works. Now to find some cyclists...

[sinned]

If only there was somewhere on the busa to fit a stebel or any decent horn?