It is no secret the horns on these bikes are pathetic. I found a quick cheap easy solution. I bought a new pair of BMW 535 horns, HELLA 012010881 Black 12V BX Trumpet Horn Kit. The kit includes a pair of horns with one rated 400Hz and a second rated 500Hz. The set of horns on Amazon cost $25.86. I installed one on my 2014 R1200GSA and the other on my friend's 2014 R1200GS.
Installation - 1)The new horns come with a bracket, but removing the stock bracket on the bike looks to be a lot of work so I removed the stock horn nut from the stock bracket. 2) The center mounting nut can be loosened and removed from the stock horn with a 13mm wrench. 3) With the horn loose you can remove the connector by depressing on the tab release latch and pull the plug from the horn. 4) The new horn is slightly larger so I needed to bend the stock mounting bracket outwards about 5/16 inch / 8mm to make a little room. 5) These new horns use the same connector configuration as the factory bike horn, but the new connector was slightly tighter and it took a little effort to get it lined up before it mated. 6) Once the connector is mated you can put the horn in position. 7) The stock mount has a 8mm hole and the new horn comes with a 6mm mounting stud so I used a 6mm locking flange nut to hold it down. The nut that holds the bracket to the new horn is not a lock nut so you can either thread lock compound or replace it with a lock nut. 8) Position the horn with the output facing down and tighten the lock nut with a 10mm wrench. 9) Move the handlebars left and right to make sure you have clearance to the new larger horn. Both the GS and GSA had at least 1 inch clearance so there was lots of room.
For less than $14 bucks per bike this upgrade is much louder and better sounding than the stock horn. The GSA install took me 10 min and the GS install took 5 min.
Installation - 1)The new horns come with a bracket, but removing the stock bracket on the bike looks to be a lot of work so I removed the stock horn nut from the stock bracket. 2) The center mounting nut can be loosened and removed from the stock horn with a 13mm wrench. 3) With the horn loose you can remove the connector by depressing on the tab release latch and pull the plug from the horn. 4) The new horn is slightly larger so I needed to bend the stock mounting bracket outwards about 5/16 inch / 8mm to make a little room. 5) These new horns use the same connector configuration as the factory bike horn, but the new connector was slightly tighter and it took a little effort to get it lined up before it mated. 6) Once the connector is mated you can put the horn in position. 7) The stock mount has a 8mm hole and the new horn comes with a 6mm mounting stud so I used a 6mm locking flange nut to hold it down. The nut that holds the bracket to the new horn is not a lock nut so you can either thread lock compound or replace it with a lock nut. 8) Position the horn with the output facing down and tighten the lock nut with a 10mm wrench. 9) Move the handlebars left and right to make sure you have clearance to the new larger horn. Both the GS and GSA had at least 1 inch clearance so there was lots of room.
For less than $14 bucks per bike this upgrade is much louder and better sounding than the stock horn. The GSA install took me 10 min and the GS install took 5 min.
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