The member photo gallery is now integrated and live!!  All user albums and pictures have been ported from old gallery.


To register send an e-mail to admin@bmwr65.org and provide your location and desired user name.

Author Topic: Horn upgrade  (Read 1661 times)

Offline davidpdx

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 216
Horn upgrade
« on: May 23, 2019, 01:56:21 PM »
I have always been a bit disappointed with the sound and volume of the stock horn on my 1984 R65. I got a box of old horns from a friend and tried a bunch of them but none of them seemed any better. I found them the other day and hooked a Framm horn up in parallel with jumpers to my stock horn and together they are loud and assertive. I looked at the wiring diagram to try and see if it would blow a fuse if the two horns put too much draw on the system but the little wiring diagram in the owners manual is hard to follow. Anyone have experience with putting more draw on the horn circuit? Thanks      
1984 R65 60K+
1946 Triumph Speed Twin

Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. ?That is why God made fast motorcycles, Bubba?

? Hunter S. Thomps

Offline Bob_Roller

  • Global Moderator
  • Mt. Olympus Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 9121
  • -7 hours GMT
Re: Horn upgrade
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2019, 05:18:53 PM »
I upgraded to an airhorn, used the OEM horn wiring to activate a relay for the airhorn .
'81 R65
'82 R65 LS
'84 R65 LS
'87 Moto Guzzi V65 Lario
'02 R1150R
Riding all year long since 1993 .
I'll give up my R65, when they pry my cold dead hands from the handlebars !!!!!

Offline BPT

  • Lives at Base of Mt. Olympus
  • ***
  • Posts: 720
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: Horn upgrade
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2019, 07:36:58 PM »
My understanding is that you need a relay in order to keep from frying your switch.  Somewhere here on the forum is a write-up where someone (MrClubike, maybe?) fashioned one.
I was going to ask about this again soon since I want to change my single to a dual.
I think Cycleterminal stopped making them.  Eastern Beaver might still do them but they could be pricey.
I have wire and connectors, just need to get a relay and figure out where everything connects.
 Hopefully one if the electrical/horn experts can offer some advice?
1983 R65 w/ Velorex 562 Sidecar

Offline davidpdx

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 216
Re: Horn upgrade
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2019, 08:26:12 PM »
The connectors were something else I wondered about. They look real different from regular push on connectors.
1984 R65 60K+
1946 Triumph Speed Twin

Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. ?That is why God made fast motorcycles, Bubba?

? Hunter S. Thomps

Offline BPT

  • Lives at Base of Mt. Olympus
  • ***
  • Posts: 720
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: Horn upgrade
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2019, 09:04:55 PM »
Which connectors are you talking about? On the horn?
I'm just planning to use the basic Fiamm hi/lo pair and the connectors are normal looking spade terminals.
1983 R65 w/ Velorex 562 Sidecar

Offline mrclubike

  • Mt. Olympus Resident
  • ****
  • Posts: 1437
  • Jungheinrich Master Tech
Re: Horn upgrade
« Reply #5 on: May 23, 2019, 09:41:36 PM »
The horn does have a fuse
But the horn is at the very end of the circuit
You should power it with a relay to protect the switches

Below is a simple drawing on how to hook it up
It is very simple and does no require cutting the original  wiring if you want to revert back to stock
« Last Edit: November 06, 2020, 06:55:17 PM by Justin B. »
1982 R65 running tubeless Snowflakes
2004 R1150R

Offline BPT

  • Lives at Base of Mt. Olympus
  • ***
  • Posts: 720
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: Horn upgrade
« Reply #6 on: May 23, 2019, 10:39:57 PM »
Sorry, I'm electricallĂ˝ stupid so pardon me if my questions sound the same.....

Are you saying that if I add a second horn, I can just route it through the starter relay?  I'd seen several versions of adding a couple of wires that also had a mini relay connected. These miniature wiring harnesses  worked to connect the two horns but then had that relay also.  Then that was connected to the bike's electricals.
1983 R65 w/ Velorex 562 Sidecar

Offline Bob_Roller

  • Global Moderator
  • Mt. Olympus Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 9121
  • -7 hours GMT
Re: Horn upgrade
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2019, 06:58:22 PM »
You need to get another relay and connect the original horn wires to terminals 85 and 86 .
'81 R65
'82 R65 LS
'84 R65 LS
'87 Moto Guzzi V65 Lario
'02 R1150R
Riding all year long since 1993 .
I'll give up my R65, when they pry my cold dead hands from the handlebars !!!!!

Offline BPT

  • Lives at Base of Mt. Olympus
  • ***
  • Posts: 720
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: Horn upgrade
« Reply #8 on: May 25, 2019, 06:44:10 PM »
Thanks to both for the info.  I think I might have to wait until I'm ready to put them on and ask some questions then.  Unfortunately discovered just this week that I've misplaced one of the pair.......

Maybe you can tell me what additional relay I need to get?  The harnesses I've seen pictures of have had a mini relay attached, maybe 20A?
1983 R65 w/ Velorex 562 Sidecar

Offline Bob_Roller

  • Global Moderator
  • Mt. Olympus Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 9121
  • -7 hours GMT
Re: Horn upgrade
« Reply #9 on: May 25, 2019, 07:08:34 PM »
Just a common 12 VDC relay, usually you can get one at an auto parts store . Usually rated at 20-30 amps, so your horn will not use that much current .
'81 R65
'82 R65 LS
'84 R65 LS
'87 Moto Guzzi V65 Lario
'02 R1150R
Riding all year long since 1993 .
I'll give up my R65, when they pry my cold dead hands from the handlebars !!!!!