Stebel horn - Decent price!

[ital916]

Just looked at the advert..... be very careful, there is another version to this horn (updated) which is a lot more weather resistant, i think you'll find this particular model is really for a car (under the bonnet) the more protected version has a plastic 'cap' that covers the top of the compressor that is exposed on this one,,,,,,,

The waterproof is much more expensive I have found. A little bit of common dog and a trip down to para rubber, and you can make a cover for the top end of the compressor, cover with a waterproof textile from spotlight, voila. Will only cost you ten bucks or so, and that's if you decide not to easily separate the compressor and put it somewhere dry. I know all other busa owners I have see and installed the compressor under the pillion seat or next to the engine.

[Jay GTI]

Bought one of those just before Xmas for my ute, as the previous owner had fitted a rather pathetic set of air horns (they just kind of noisily sighed at people, even the last WoF inspector suggested I fit something with a little more aggression).

Simple to fit, well made and loud as feck. In fact so loud, the last time I needed to use it, it made the other driver jump in her seat (she got out of the way pretty quick though!).

Obviously mine is under-bonnet, so no weather issues to worry about for me, but some sensible pre-installation work would easily solve that.

[Naki Rat]

I fitted one of the 110dB/300Hz Steibels to my Sprint RS last year. Not as loud as the 139dB twin tone Steibel but still attention getting, and with a 'stealth' install other motorists struggle to recognise the source.

For those with limited fairing space to provide a weatherproof installation consider splitting the compressor and trumpet. This will require a (preferably short) length of plastic tubing and a couple of hose clips. The longer the tubing, the greater the delay of the horn sounding. Full instructions can be found by Googleing.

Great for 'surprising' the fuckwit in the next lane on his/her cellphone

[pzkpfw]

Mine never seemed all that loud (forget which model it was). Would using a relay to power direct off the battery make much difference? (I've seen people claim it will, but dunno ...)

(I also figure if I do that, I might rig it up so the stock horn goes at the same time, it's much higher pitch than the steibel so the combination might be useful. But don't want to mess with a relay if it won't make much diff.)

[ital916]

Mine never seemed all that loud (forget which model it was). Would using a relay to power direct off the battery make much difference? (I've seen people claim it will, but dunno ...)

(I also figure if I do that, I might rig it up so the stock horn goes at the same time, it's much higher pitch than the steibel so the combination might be useful. But don't want to mess with a relay if it won't make much diff.)

A screaming banshee uses the stock horn and a stebel like horn, a short press activates just the bike horn, a long press activates the higher pitched bike horn and the 139db air horn, giving a twin pitch effect.

http://screaming-banshee.com/

[ital916]

Righto, update time.

Well the package arrived very promptly, within five days and was well packed and secured.

As far as fitting the Stebel to my bus, it was not easy, I ended up having the horn sitting on my table for a week as I sat and thought about how to add it in. I inquired with a bike mechanic to help me in the endeavour but after being quoted eight hours labour, decided to do it myself and boy was I glad, learnt a lot and came up with a awesome set up!

On the forums, many riders have separated the horn and placed the compressor next to the engine and horn where the stock mounts, though this impacts the radiator. Also being typically annoying to work on, you need to remove the dash panels and most of the side cowlings on the left side just to access the wiring loom for the handlebar.

After pondering for a bit, I decided to go a completely different route. I ran piggy back spades between the stock horn and horn connector. The earth and power cable is well displayed so it was easy to figure which was which. After a quick trip to jaycar, I bought the bits to make my own wiring loom and ran it close to the tank to under the seat where I connected it to the wiring loom I bought for the stebel. I then mounted the compressor under the pillion seat and mounted the air horn, which I separated from the compressor (with a brass hose fitting from repco glued in place) under my givi box, which stays permanently on the bike. There is a small vacuum hose running from the compressor to the trumpet and is barely visible.

The advantage of this setup is that the stock horn is triggered as well as the stebel. Giving a two tone sound.

As for the horn, sweet blonde haired blue eyed baby Jesus it is loud, actually sounds like a freight train coming down the road. As it is mounted at the rear and exposed, it has great rear sound quality, and couple with my stock horn gives a hell of a toot in all directions.

I tested it inside the garage initially....not a great idea.

So in the end, if you buy the horn beware it is huge, and requires a fair bit of ingenuity to mount but is bloody worth it. Used it to warm a cyclist merging into me I was there, he moved and all the traffic behind me promptly slowed down too!

[chasio]

Mine never seemed all that loud (forget which model it was). Would using a relay to power direct off the battery make much difference? (I've seen people claim it will, but dunno ...)

(I also figure if I do that, I might rig it up so the stock horn goes at the same time, it's much higher pitch than the steibel so the combination might be useful. But don't want to mess with a relay if it won't make much diff.)

I'm pretty sure all Stebels draw enough current that you'd want to use relayed power so as not to burn the horn switch out over time (or worse). Also even a single Magnum sounded louder wired that way to me, and that would be the bottom end of required current for a Stebel.

The Nautilus horns draw close to 20A, IIRC, so I doubt you were running one of those on the factory wiring.

Edit: useful wiring diagram for that setup here.

[ital916]

I'm pretty sure all Stebels draw enough current that you'd want to use relayed power so as not to burn the horn switch out over time (or worse). Also even a single Magnum sounded louder wired that way to me, and that would be the bottom end of required current for a Stebel.

The Nautilus horns draw close to 20A, IIRC, so you I doubt you were running one of those on the factory wiring.

Edit: useful wiring diagram for that setup here.

Yeah, you dont want to run the stebel off stock wiring, mine only uses the stock to connect the trigger, as per the directed instructions, the loom from the stock goes through a 30A relay and then the wiring loom for the stebel, with a 30A inline fuse built into the loom as well.