FJRiders.com

Not for the FJR but for the motoring public!
I recently ordered another PIAA motorcycle horn for my new ride, but the dealer brought in the wrong part number. Instead of a single horn, I got two horns with different pitches....Part # 85112. I began a research to get the correct part number when I discovered people using this part number on motorcycles quite successfully and with no issues beyond waking up inattentive cagers.
The install took a few minutes using the rad cover bolts and the supplied wiring. The result...... enough noise to scare the bleep out of anyone entering my lane when unsafe!! Sounds very European and it beats the sickly 'meme meep' of the OEM horn.
As per other posts, I removed the PIAA stickers to keep the area very black and both horns come with rain covers to reduce water ingestion.
Great results for a wrong order and at least one pickup driver in my town is looking at his mirrors before making lane changes!

Lots of us are using the PIAA Sports Horn. The 500/600 Hz sound you got is very effective. Another option is the 400/500 Hz which sounds like a Buick. Either one beats the OEM horn. I use the 400/500 in my bike and the horns are linked to the Krista LEDs to flash when the horn is used.

I like the addition of the lights with the horn application!

Does the installation of the dual horns require the use/addition of a relay, or are these just plug and play?

Skip wrote:Does the installation of the dual horns require the use/addition of a relay, or are these just plug and play?

No relay required. They are plug and play.

Skip wrote:Does the installation of the dual horns require the use/addition of a relay, or are these just plug and play?

Skip,

A relay will let your horn button last very much longer, and a relay only costs a few bucks if it ever fails. Get a price on the handlebar switch, for comparison. Maybe it's just me, but I expect any manufacturer to quit making special parts, about six months before I need one.

Relays are really fairly simple, they just use very little power to flip a serious, heavy-rated switch. Pick a common (P/N) relay, and you can get a new one for cheap, almost anywhere. The alternative is to run all the power needed for the horns through the stock horn button; that button may or may not handle the extra load in the future. AC switches usually last a good while. DC (bike) switches take a pounding (electrically) with every use. Relays need far less power than a heavy horn rig. The relay also delivers the full battery power to the horns, and you can use heavier, shorter wires to get it there. The long and thin harness wires do limit the power delivered at the horns. Headlights and horns often benefit greatly from the installation of relays.

Cheers,
Red

Another vote here for relays. I cringe when reading stories about spider ground fault issues and the like on some of the bikes. Anything electrical added to my bike gets powered via a relay switched fuse block which is powered directly off the battery. Loading up harness circuits and switches above what the factory designed for can easily be inviting future troubles. A $5 relay can be a great electrical insurance policy.

Add 50 cents to this and it might buy a cup of coffee somewhere.....

Red wrote:

Skip wrote:Does the installation of the dual horns require the use/addition of a relay, or are these just plug and play?

Skip,

A relay will let your horn button last very much longer, and a relay only costs a few bucks if it ever fails. Get a price on the handlebar switch, for comparison. Maybe it's just me, but I expect any manufacturer to quit making special parts, about six months before I need one.

Relays are really fairly simple, they just use very little power to flip a serious, heavy-rated switch. Pick a common (P/N) relay, and you can get a new one for cheap, almost anywhere. The alternative is to run all the power needed for the horns through the stock horn button; that button may or may not handle the extra load in the future. AC switches usually last a good while. DC (bike) switches take a pounding (electrically) with every use. Relays need far less power than a heavy horn rig. The relay also delivers the full battery power to the horns, and you can use heavier, shorter wires to get it there. The long and thin harness wires do limit the power delivered at the horns. Headlights and horns often benefit greatly from the installation of relays.

Cheers,
Red

The power to the horn, can this power the relay and have the relay powered from the battery?

The horn button gets wired to the relay coil, instead of the horn. The hot lead (12V) to the horn gets wired to the other side of the relay coil. Beeping the horn button then just clicks the relay (the switch contacts). Full battery power, a heavy wire straight to the battery, goes to the relay switch contacts. The other side of the relay switch contacts is wired to the horns. When the relay clicks, the horn sounds.

In the case of the FJR, one wire to the horns has 12V applied, always (when the ignition key is on). The horn button puts ground to the second horn wire, to blow the horn. You *can* wire the straight 12V from the battery to the switch contacts AND to the relay coil, and then the horn will probably work whether the ignition key is off or on. This method leaves you with an unused 12V hot lead (from the wire harness), which you would want to insulate and tie off safely to the bike wire harness. Heat shrink tubing for the hot wire would be good insulation, there.

Cheers,
Red

Thanks, much appreciated