Loud Horn - Wolo Bad Boy

Well disappointed with the stock horn - sounded fine on my drive, but anything over twenty - forget it.  Asked around here, the general opinion was to go for a Stebel Nautilus but a few American forums were saying there'd been issues with them recently & recommended a Wolo Bad Boy.  Had a look round, couldn't find any in the UK, had to be shipped in at a cost of about seventy quid.  Then happened to find this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wolo-Bad-boy-chrome-for-cars-and-motorcycles-extremely-loud/301233125426?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D23775%26meid%3D8126094409114178274%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D10165%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D301223803829

Came with a relay, connectors & 16 gauge wire.  Delivery in about three days - usual plastic chrome, but that's not a problem.

Fitting was easy, but long winded.  First thing was to decide on a fitting point - went for the top bolt on the frame between the rad & front pot.  That sat it a bit too far forward for my liking so cobbled up a bracket to move it back a couple of inches (not finished yet, now I have the size, I'll have one made & powder coated).  Next thing was to decide on the relay location.  At the front, near the existing horn would have been good, but too exposed.  So it went under the seat, next to the battery.  

You need to run two leads from the existing horn to the relay - I "piggy-backed" off the existing wiring, on the basis that if one of the horns packs up, I still have a spare & obviously, two is better than one !!  Ran the two wires inside a length of heat-shrink, then fitted spade connectors.  You then need to run the 16 gauge from the new horn to the relay & to either an earthing point or the battery neg terminal - I went for the battery as I've seen too many earth failures due to exposure corrosion.  Again, heat shrink, then fit the spades.  Last connection is from the batter pos terminal to the relay via a 20 amp in line fuse.

" />  (Three hours in )

In the end, it took me about four hours - but that included making two fitting brackets, one to use & one as template for the fabricators.  I also took off the petrol tank as it was easier than trying to run cabling under it whilst it was still in place.

Cock-on - & loud enough to make small children jump & start to cry.  Makes adults jump as well  !!  On the move, it's easily heard at normal round town speeds.  You can still hear it at seventy on the motorway - although I don't know how well it'll carry.

And now the wiring's in place, if it fails, it'll be a five minute job to swap for another horn of the same design.

" />

From what I have read, I an sure you will be heard by the living and the recently departed.

 That's a very nice mod Dave, lets them friggin car drivers with a white stick & a Labrador know you're there m8 

Very useful safety feature! It looks the part too!  

Great work Dave! Did mine too ! Used the old horn mounting bracket to move mine rearwards, bugger to get out though so may be making one is a better option, got mine from eBay but was made by RING.
They know iam there now alright!

Yeh - couldn't be bothered removing the rad - so the old one is still there

Same as that Dave, my original is still fitted. No way was I removing it, that would be just making work for the sake of it.
Great write up, this will encourage a lot of people to follow suit.  

Still on my to do list :)

Offtopic - what reg mount is that?

reg plate side mount ebay, well made, they accept "best offer", so it's worth trying them for a few dollars less

MarcinG wrote:

Still on my to do list :)

Offtopic - what reg mount is that?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140885468695?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I attached my Stebel Nautilus on the lower mounting bolt.



Painted it gloss black and you wouldn't know it was there. Fits in nicely

Utilised the original horn wiring on the relay and ran the high amp wire along the top of the frame back to the battery.

Works brilliantly and have had no problem with water etc into the horns on wet rides.



I'd never go back to stock horn. Life's too precious!

Looks good you poor bell will be ringing with sound it makes.

 Those things are LOUD!!  

Interesting write up Dave ...... I keep pondering on a louder horn as mine is a total pipsqueak .... not that I use it too often - but it is rather feeble !

OldManYam wrote:

Interesting write up Dave ...... I keep pondering on a louder horn as mine is a total pipsqueak .... not that I use it too often - but it is rather feeble !

Yeh, I reckon it's one of those "mods" that you tend to put off as it's not really prettying up the bike or enhancing it another way.  I'd thought about it for ages & it wasn't until blind, deaf, old Mr Magoo from down the road pulled out in front of me in his car & completely ignored my horn that it went straight to the top of my list of "very important things to do".  I've not had to use it for defence purposes yet, but the couple of times my thumb has covered the switch, I've felt a lot more confident that it's going to be heard.  I'd say don't put it off - put it at the top of your list !!!

With cars no longer having ash trays, young drivers are now taking to ashing out of the window. As an open face, white shirt suit wearer any ash from the guy in front and BAM! He reckons he's got an 18 wheeler up his arse. Next set of lights and I'm beside him extolling the virtues of not fagging out of the window. The horn helps break the ice.

Nice one Sneikz    

Dave is spot on.

It's too late when the texting passanger (the one in front of the steering wheel) wanders into your path or cuts you off and never hears your factory fit horn. "toot toot" as you size up which part of the body should be sacrificed first as we head for the bitumen.

Spend $40 and at least feel a little more comfortable in the knowledge that you can sometimes scare a little bit of awareness into the odd driver now and again.

I had cause to use my Stebel horn yesterday as two moronic push bikers were hogging the road on a small lane we were using & not looking around themselves & ignored us when we 'crept up' on them but when I used the horn they nearly fell off with shock as the lorry behind them let loose with his horn 

Yeah those babies are loud, that was a wake up call for them then    

I can almost see the smile on your face Peter .... with the mischief element of dispensing even a short toot of the 'mega horn'

Must agree with Yam, I can see the smile on your face when the button was pressed from here.

Yeh what with my bike being quiet due to not poking anything down the silencers(yet) it was good to creep up on the ignorant prats!

Yeah ... Bradley Wiggins has a lot to answer for !!!!!

Don't get me wrong - I am sympathetic to cyclists - but when they blatantly ignore the generally known courtesys of the road & display general ignorance to other road users then they should not be surprised if they get a bit of MEGA HORN !

Totally agree - I have absolutely no problems with cyclists when they follow some sort of road sense.  What really pisses me off is how they have a belief that normal road rules don't apply to them - red lights, zebra crossings, pavements etc.  It amuses me that when I was younger, adults would tell me off for riding on the pavement - nowadays the older generation seem to be the worst culprits.  I've now taken to walking down the middle of the pavement if I see some one riding along it & then giving them a bollocking & telling them to ride on the road - "pavements are for pedestrians - roads are for riders" is a favourite remark.  And don't even get me started on MAMILs !!!

I'd like to agree with the comments 'I'm sympathetic to cyclists' and ' I have no problem' with cyclists  - but I can't?, , I Fucking Hate Cyclists!!  Arghhh!!! Cyclists!!!!   

Yes well Sim, I hear what you are saying, but I don't mind people pursuing their own interests so long as it doesn't significantly impact on my 'world'.

I agree with Dave R that MAMILs are possibly the worst offenders from getting both up your nose, & under your feet, and tending to exhibit pompous self-righteous attitudes that I try my best not to exhibit myself.

The increase in MAMILs is largely down to the publicity 'our Bradley' received .... but the interest may diminish over time.

I must admit that I do occasionally consider getting a push-bike, but it always boils down to why bother with all the hassle when I've got a pair of legs & can walk ..... all the push iron does it let you go a bit further in the same time .... & if that IS an advantage, then I might as well get on one of my motorbikes and go a lot further in the same time ! 

My RANT is over   ..... Yam

  What's a 'Mamil' ? Sorry, I've lived a sheltered life    I still hate cyclists though! 

Hi Sim,

This may put a smile (or grimace) on your face !

MAMIL = Middle Aged Man/Men In Lycra !

You clearly don't get out enough .... or don't dress up enough !

Yam

And MAMILs usually have the body shape of a beached walrus - they tend to be predominately made up of people who've seen "Our Brad" on telly, then rushed out & bought all the kit without actually learning how to ride.  But I do find it amusing that the old boy who bollocked me 40 years ago for riding on the pavement, is now the one who's guilty of the same (probably not the exact same one).  

Few years ago I used to taxi round Nottingham.  One night I had a student threatening me for knocking him of his bike - till I pointed out he'd ridden across the top of a traffic-light controlled T-junction, without looking, straight across the road against a red light that was on green for me & to top it all, he was riding the wrong way into a one-way street.  He then declined my invite to call the police from my mobile.

If you want the respect of other road users - show the same respect back !!

simbo wrote:

I'd like to agree with the comments 'I'm sympathetic to cyclists' and ' I have no problem' with cyclists  - but I can't?, , I Fucking Hate Cyclists!!  Arghhh!!! Cyclists!!!!   

OldManYam wrote:

MAMIL = Middle Aged Man/Men In Lycra !

Cheers Yam   The Snake Pass was full off the said MAMIL's at the weekend! 2 and even 3 a breast sometimes! 

Now sad fuckers like that deserve a Bad Boy up the jacksey - if you know what I mean.  However, to balance this out, my step daughter starts her first job in September.  We live about a  mile away from the school she's going to work at (footpaths across a field in a straight line).  Her options are 

!/ A 90 minute trip using two buses (of course it's not on a single route) costing £80 a month
2/ A twenty / thirty minute walk
3/ A ten minute bike ride 

To me, there's no contest, the bike will be quicker & keep her fit.  Safer than walking & if she doesn't want to use the fields, will still only take about twenty minutes along the main roads.

At the end of the day, I can't uniformly criticise an entire group just because of a few ignorant arseholes.  Where we would be as bikers if that were the case ?  Cos lets face it - no group of bikers have ever caused trouble have they !!

Yep - the world is a fine palce as long as nobody else pisses on your parade !
Then it is fair play to deploy the 'Bad Boy'  if only to register your discontent !

... & Sim, It seems a common problem that the MAMILs have discovered a lot of the roads us motorcyclists have been enjoying for years.

  Yam