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Question on R1200RT horn - suggestions?

Bicyclists Vermin? Hardly...

In this area we are inundated with bicycle vermin. I toot my horn as I approach from the rear as they tend to swerve into the vehicle lanes without warning or reason.
Good tactic. That said, Marty, there are some on this board who ride a human-powered set of two wheels also. I have found that a rear-view mirror mounted on my left handlebar (and checked every five seconds or so while riding) keeps me out of trouble.;)
 
Good tactic. That said, Marty, there are some on this board who ride a human-powered set of two wheels also. I have found that a rear-view mirror mounted on my left handlebar (and checked every five seconds or so while riding) keeps me out of trouble.;)
I spend nearly as much time on a bicycle as I do on a motorcycle, and I most definitely don't appreciate people behind me honking their horns ÔÇö it's startling. Whether meant as a friendly warning or not, it's impossible during that split second to correctly interpret it as a friendly signal, a threat or an immediate danger.

When possible, I don't ride in traffic, and when I do, I keep myself well aware of what's going on around me, and try to stay as out of the way as much as possible. Still, a bicycle, in most areas, has just as much right to the road as a motorcycle. There are instances when a toot from behind might be needed with some less-than-careful cyclists, but as a standard procedure when approaching a cyclists from behind, I think it's more likely to startle the cyclists into an accident than it is to prevent one.
 
Unless the bicyclist is deaf, most people can hear an engine coming up on them from behind, electric vehicle may be another story. because the bicycle is making a bit of noise ,too. drowning out tire noise of electric vehicles.
 
I plan on the Stebel soon myself.

As far a bicyclists, I try to give a quick beep-beep from a good distance before I come up on them just to let them know I'm there. I do it out of courtesy; no malice intended, and I think it's usually taken in that spirit.
 
Semper Fi (Luis) ,

I might be starved for oxygen up here at altitude in the Sierras, but your excellent pictorial on the horn installation shows one horn and the parts list shows two horns (hi and low). Before I order, could you help me understand the difference? With two horns ordered I assume one replaces the pitiful stock pancake horn on my 2009 RT and the other is added as shown. Is this correct?

Thanks!

Stan Moore
Lake Tahoe, CA

Stan - not a problem - I added a second horn - the orginal horn is still maintained.

My 08 came one single horn but they (BMW) left the wiring harness for the second horn still on the bike.

The taped connector that I reference is in the install should still be there on the 09.

I just bought the second horn with moutiing bracket and hardware and just mounted it.

Very simple and all OEM.

Luis
 
As far a bicyclists, I try to give a quick beep-beep from a good distance before I come up on them just to let them know I'm there. I do it out of courtesy; no malice intended, and I think it's usually taken in that spirit.
I don't want to belabor the honking at cyclists issue too much, but I'm a long-time cyclist, have lots of cycling friends and belong to a couple of popular cycling forums (similar to this one). Honest, most cyclists really don't like or appreciate honks from behind.

This subject comes up among bicyclists every now and again as a chronic complaint. Experience has taught most of us that people throw water, soft drinks, ice and coffee at us; yell obscenities; toss cigarette butts our way; get their jollies from seeing how close they can get, then letting their horns blare, etc..

Now in all fairness, some bicyclists are twits. They hog the road, they wander across lanes, they disobey traffic rules, fiddle with their iPods, ride two abreast chatting with each other, etc. Those people are the minority, however, and they get under my skin as much as anyone's. And sometimes you need to honk at them just to get them to realize that they're unnecessarily holding up traffic.

Even so, some motorists seem to hate all cyclists, and most road cyclists end up developing a legitimate sense of paranoia over these things. A horn from behind to a cyclist pretty much results in a blast of adrenaline that instantly kicks in the the-jerk-behind-me-has-me-in-his-sites-and-I'd-better-gear-up-for-an-accident reaction.

Maybe if you're a block or two behind them, it wouldn't be so bad, but a far better alternative is to simply approach them slowly, then pass them carefully, acknowledging that they have as much right to the road as the next vehicle.

This is sort of a weird coincidental discussion for me. It wasn't more than two weeks ago that one of my cycling friends was complaining about the "hated [motor]bikers" that roar up behind him, rev their engines, honk their horns then race past him without even moving into the adjacent lane. In that conversation I was doing my best to provide the average motorcyclist's perspective.

If anyone is interested, here's a poll and comments on a cycling Web site about this very issue of motorists honking at them from behind: http://http://www.ecovelo.info/2009/09/30/poll-horn-honking/#ViewPollResults
 
As a cyclist who has crossed much of Canada and western USA in the past 30 years going over 100,000 km via pedal power I would never honk my horn while directly behind a cyclist. Just as cages can and do have a mass advantage over motorcycles so do we over cyclists. The sudden blast of a horn can cause even the most experienced cyclist start and potentially crash. Yes, there are some real cyclist road hogs out there but for the most part they are a lot like us, out on the open road enjoying the ride. Live and let live please.

:brow
 
R1150 horns on 1200RT

Hi,
I acquired some R1150 horns and put them on my '08 R1200RT to replace the single one.

Part numbers 61 33 7 655 881/882

61 33 7 655 881 is the same low pitch frequency as the 61 33 8 381 271 (posted earlier on this thread) but the horn outlet seems to be in the wrong position for the wiring and clearance. I had to carefully remove the plastic scroll and reposition it. I used silicon gasket sealer for gluing it back on. I was also able to do this by just removing the left side plastic. I left the front headlight nacelle on.

Sounds Great!

FYI. For those of you ordering new ones, you don't need to order the cage nut or screw as these parts come off of the right angle bracket the holds the single horn. This bracket is not used on the duel horn setup.
 
2nd horn '08 1200RT

Luis:

It might be the cold Canadian air up here in Vancouver but I'm still not clear on this second horn. If you kept the original horn, was it the High or the Low horn that you installed? Also, is the stock '08 horn the same as the high or the Low on the '05?

Thanks,
David
 
My 05 had the dual hi/low tone horns. When I bought an 06 it had the gnat fart single horn. I put a set of the hi/low belled horns as the wiring was there.
So far, on my 2011 , I cannot find the second horn's plug.
The new horns are the flat (cheap) style. The dual set have a bell type outlet. Someone else will be better able to better describe the difference.
This was not BMW's doing but was done by BMWNA. They probably save a dollar a bike by ordering the bikes this way.
 
Luis:

It might be the cold Canadian air up here in Vancouver but I'm still not clear on this second horn. If you kept the original horn, was it the High or the Low horn that you installed? Also, is the stock '08 horn the same as the high or the Low on the '05?

Thanks,
David

AFAIK, the single '08 horn is the pancake horn.

I guess I did a variant of Luis's install. I did not keep the '09 pancake horn. I replaced it with one of the '05 dual horns and added the second '05 horn. Doesn't matter which (hi-lo) horn is installed where. Now the RT sounds like the 328i!
 
Sorry guys but IMHO pedal bikes have as much right on the highway as motor vehicles when they pay license fees, have mandatory insurance rules and pay the same use tax (fuel taxes) as motor vehicles do. Until then, they have as much right on the highway as hitchhikers and sign holding beggars.
 
Trying to decide on a loud horn. FIAMM dual horn or Bad Boy? Any suggestions or experience with reliability and functionality would be appreciated. I'm leaning towards the Bad Boy but am concerned with reliability. I've heard that Stebel is notoriously prone to breakage. As for FIAMM, someone commented that it sound like an old Buick. I'm not too sure if thats that's what I want.
 
Have you ever heard the horn on and old Buick? Loud, beautiful two-tone sound. I had the Fiamm high/low on my Guzzi and liked it a lot. I had a Stebel air horn on my RT and never had a problem with it. So either on works fine. I guess installation is a little easier for the Stebel, but not much. Both are pretty simple if you have room. I don't have any experience with the Bad Boy.
 
sorry guys but imho pedal bikes have as much right on the highway as motor vehicles when they pay license fees, have mandatory insurance rules and pay the same use tax (fuel taxes) as motor vehicles do. Until then, they have as much right on the highway as hitchhikers and sign holding beggars.

+1
 
My dual '05 horns are loud and DO wake up the distracted drivers smartly! The horns are actually too loud to sound in the garage!

Why not retrofit the dual '05 RT horns? It's a plug and play job with no wiring needed (at least on an '09 RT).
 
My dual '05 horns are loud and DO wake up the distracted drivers smartly! The horns are actually too loud to sound in the garage!

Why not retrofit the dual '05 RT horns? It's a plug and play job with no wiring needed (at least on an '09 RT).

That's what I did!
 
My dual '05 horns are loud and DO wake up the distracted drivers smartly! The horns are actually too loud to sound in the garage!

Why not retrofit the dual '05 RT horns? It's a plug and play job with no wiring needed (at least on an '09 RT).

This is the way to go, in my opinion. I did it on my '07 RT. It's much louder. I woke up a distracted driver at 70 mph just yesterday.
 
{snip}...Why not retrofit the dual '05 RT horns? It's a plug and play job with no wiring needed (at least on an '09 RT).

The only caveat to this is that your bike needs to have the unused horn connector on the clutch side of the nacelle framework. On my RT, if I popped-off the left side mirror and shined a flashlight into the dark recesses, I could just make out the connector strapped to the underside of a horizontal nacelle frame member (see the link below).

I think I remember someone with a 2010 or 2011 RT saying that the connector was not longer present. However, I'm not sure (a) I remember correctly and, (2) the absence of the connector was actually verified.

THIS post by Luis Roth (Semper-Fi) is a good guide for the process. The first picture in the post shows the exposed frame member and the unused connector. While you can retrofit dual horns without removing the nacelle tupperware, it is much easier if you do. Also, it may be good to go through this process just to gain the removal knowledge. Oh, and while the nacelle is removed, change your headlight bulbs (if the are older and are the originals) and clean the oil cooler.

Others have posted on the subject with additional photographs.
 
I have a 2011 R1200RT. Don't know if it has the 2nd horn connector on it. I suppose I will find out soon enough. The 05 RT dual horn requires two connectors one for each horn. If I'm not mistaken, the FIAMM dual horn only needs one connector. This should be an easy plug and play replacement.

The Bad Boy is similar to the Stebel. Does this require one or two electrical connectors? The mini compressor and horn appear to be attached and look to need only one electrical connector. Thinking I can replace the original disk with the air horn.

Riding in the Chicago expressways, I've had a few experiences where the cage came completely into my lane and pushed me out of my lane. The road runner "beep" "beep" just did not cut it. At this point, I'm ready to get a horn that will literally blast them off the road.

I'm a proponent of riding safely and adjusting with evasive manuvers firat rather then taking precious micro seconds to blast them with the horn. But in a highly congested urban area, it happens all too frequently and I'm at the point where I want to make my presence known.
 
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