Prevailing Opinion on Aftermarket Horns

[moshe_levy]

All-

 

I'm at work and can't find it now, but I know MCN tested various horns against each other in the past year or so. Some if I recall were standard size, so mounting should be easy on the RT-LC. What horn have you swapped the stocker for?

 

-MKL

[mneblett]

A pair of Fiamm's tucked up the left radiator duct. Kept the stock horn; trigger the Fiamms with a CANopener3.

 

Picture thread here: http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=923728&Searchpage=1&Main=83639&Words=horn&Search=true#Post923728

[moshe_levy]

That's a nice solution. Stupid question: Looks like there's enough space in there to just swap out the stocker for a pair of FIAMS (one on each side of the stock mounting location,) no?

 

-MKL

[mneblett]

I did that on my 2012 RT, stacked one above the other, facing forward to clear the front shock (first pic is somewhat sideways; second pic give a better idea of the angle/positioning on the 2012):

 

 

 

I wasn't convinced I had as much room between the forks/fairing/shock on the 2015 RTW, as the 2015 horn mount is quite a bit farther forward than the 2012's.

 

Even if I could have fabricated appropriate brackets to mount the FIamms off the OE horn mount, I probably would not have because it was easier to install the Fiamms with the CANopener3 trigger, i.e., without needing a BMW repair connector and wiring the stock horn connector to the relay.

 

This approach also kept the stock horn (giving a "unique" (bizarre?) combination of sounds, and means that returning to stock requires zero effort because the OE horn is already there.

[Rob L]

http://www.harborfreight.com/bad-boy-air-horn-94117.html

[Bob H.]

On my last two RTs an 04 and my 14 I installed a Stebel Nautilus air horn , 115db ,cost anywhere from $39-50 depending on where you buy them (my BMW dealer had them in stock ) I also had these horns on two of my Harleys and they saved my butt more than once , they definitely get the attention of people in cars who don't pay attention to what their doing.

[moshe_levy]

Yes, I had them on my previous RTs as well. 2 of them on my 2004, actually. Very loud. But as MCN proved in the April 2014 issue, not as loud as some (much smaller, much easier to mount, and much less expensive) FIAMM types. I'm going that direction based on the MCN test which detailed actual dB levels.

 

-MKL