Fitting a Stebel Nautilus horn

[videobike]

Has any one tried to fit one of these Stebel Nautilus Compact Dual-Tone 12-Volt Air Horns and if so where have you located it

Regards

Nigel

[OneSided]

Well after almost getting put into a guardrail by a cager the other day and realizing that no one inside a cage can hear the Viffer's pitiful excuse for a horn, I took the challenge of mounting a Stebel Nautilus Compact Dual-Tone 12-Volt Air Horn on a 6th Gen VFR. The challenge part was mounting where it would not interfere with any suspension movement or require any other modifications of body work or panels. I'm sure some of you out there can make a better mounts but this ought to give you some inspiration.

I think I have found the only spot short of mounting it to the outside like a big rig that you can hear all 139db of this beauty.

Check out these pics if you're interested:

[OneSided]

I'm loving my new toy... you should have seen the look on my coworkers face this morning when I honked at him in the parking lot. That is, after he came back down to earth from about jumping out of his skin.

[mello dude]

Is that inside the body? Seems like that would block out some sound. I too, need to come up with some other horn setup. I have been looking at the space around the front radiator hose, maybe using an extension of the bolts that mount the oil cooler. That Stebel looks cool, but a bit of a large monster.
What other horns setup have you guys used?

MD

[OneSided]

The horns aim at the frame and seem to deflect off and toward the front of the bike. I'm sure I'm losing some volume but mounting near the stock horn location wasn't an option due to suspension movement. All I know is you can hear it clearly inside a running vehicle with windows rolled up and radio on. I too was initially concerned about the placement but when you're talking about 139db it can apparently overcome a less than ideal mounting location.

[mello dude]

what do you think it weighs?
MD

[OneSided]

About a pound - pound and a half, shipping weight packaging and all was 2.0 lbs.

[videobike]

Well the task is done and the previous posts have given me the idea.

Here are some photographs:

http://www.advancedmotorcycletrainin...tilus_horn.htm

Video of the sound:
http://www.advancedmotorcycletrainin...2007(001).html
Hope this helps

Regards

Nigel

ps
These horns are the business......

[Fireman777]

I just bought a stebel for my bike as well. I'll take pictures as I install it. Did both of you guys leave your stock horn hooked up as well so that they both go? Did you both use a relay? Thanks!

[Britt]

Funny that this topic came up. I have a Stebel running off a relay (it comes with one and it should be used). I mounted it inside the front cowl, but it filled up with water, and on Saturday my horn got stuck on.

Very embarrasing and I had to pull over and pull the fuse until I could take the relay out and replace it. I put the new one inside a balloon and zip tied it shut nice and tight around the wires....

[Fireman777]

Whoa! That's wierd! I'll make sure to weatherproof my relay. Do you have a wiring diagram for how you hooked up the relay? Which position did you mount the horn in? (videobike, or onesided) Also, I have a powerlet mounted on the left side below the handlebars...will that be in the way of mounting the horn? I like the way that videobike's is mounted.

Btw... thanks guys for posting this stuff. I don't think I would have been adventurous enough to buy a horn not knowing if it would fit on the bike or not.

[Britt]

Here is the writeup I did on my install. I'm not sure if it was the best way to do it but I couldn't get anything better worked out...

http://vfrworld.com/forums/modificat...h-gen-vfr.html

[Ch.P]

I put it in place of the stock horn on my '02.

Not too hard - separated the compressor and mounted it on the frame close to where the blue connector is on the left side. Ran a hose from the compressor to the trumpet.

Trumpet is unobstructed facing front, pointed down slightly for water drainage.

Works GREAT!

Takes a 5/16" barbed brass fitting to mount the hose to the trumpet; a 2" (or so) insulated conduit bracket bolted to the frame to hold the compressor; and I had to make a bracket to mount the trumpet (you could probably use the flat metal bracket on the stock horn - bend it and epoxy it) - bolts right up, no other mod necessary.

[Britt]

I put it in place of the stock horn on my '02.

Not too hard - separated the compressor and mounted it on the frame close to where the blue connector is on the left side. Ran a hose from the compressor to the trumpet.

Trumpet is unobstructed facing front, pointed down slightly for water drainage.

Works GREAT!

Takes a 5/16" barbed brass fitting to mount the hose to the trumpet; a 2" (or so) insulated conduit bracket bolted to the frame to hold the compressor; and I had to make a bracket to mount the trumpet (you could probably use the flat metal bracket on the stock horn - bend it and epoxy it) - bolts right up, no other mod necessary.

That's exactly how I wanted to mount mine, but when I had it in place it really seemed like the trumpet could hit my fender if the fork was fullly compressed. I wonder if clearance is different between a 5th gen and a 6th gen, or if I just didn't work at it long enough...

[Katana Paul]

I decided against the Nautilus (just too big) and went for the Stebil Magnum instead. This was a simple job and is mounted just above the OE horn without the need for a relay.

Ok, its not quite as loud as the Nautilus but still knocks idiot cyclists off their steeds with fright! (Hey - its better than me riding over the top of them!!)

[Fireman777]

Well, I got my nautilus today and took the plastics off. I'll do an oil change while I've got it apart. After trying a few things, it looks like the whole horn will fit great mounted to the inner fairing on the left side. I will finish the install on Saturday when I have time to do a good job and take clear pictures of everything.

[Fireman777]

Well, I finally did my air horn install. It took me a little longer because I wanted to run the power out of my auxiliary fuse box, but my fuse box had the power supply straight from the battery when I bought the bike. I wanted a relay in place so that the fuse box would only have power when the key was on. While I did this, I wired the autocom to the fuse box too. While I had the fairings off, I did an oil change. It took me all day to do everything!

I put heat shrink on all my electrical connections and left my stock horn hooked up just to create as much noise as possible when the horn is needed. It fits easily, and works great!

[Cyborg]

I got the Stebel Nautilus but mine is mounted on the fairing bracket just forward of the radiator and about level with the LF turn signal. Mine's powered but a horn relay from Eastern Beaver Company and I've had no problems other than a (VERY RARE) feeling of guilt when I've scared some brain donor cager into spilling their coffee as they swerve back out of my lane...

[Fireman777]

Do you have any pictures of your mounting? Glad to hear that it's working!

[Red Duke Rider]

Here's the down and dirty on the Stebel:

Seperate the plastic "horn" section from the compressor via a good whack on the bottom of the compressor with a rubber mallet.

Mount the horn section up under the steering stem in the airstream pointing forward. Mount the compressor at some convenient area under the fairing. Connect the output spigot of the compressor to the intake opening of the horn (you need a barbed plumbing connector and an "O" ring).

The horn and the compressor don't have to be directly connected to work fantastically.

Works like a champ!

[fotodaddy]

This is all fine if you dont have ABS, but with ABS, where exactly would you put the compressor?? (cos the recommended location is where you have the ABS stuff)

[Red Duke Rider]

Go over to VFRDiscussion.com. I did a whole write up on it including photographs. ABS or not doesn't have anything to do with it. The megaphone fits in the same area as the stock horn and uses the same two 6 mm bolt holes in the frame as the stock horn. The only "exceptional" thing I did was remove my PAIR valves and install blank off covers over the PAIR openings to get my horn megaphone up tighter.

Look for postings by "Pete McCrary".

[fotodaddy]

Thanks Red Duke!! The link is at Stebel Horn Installation - VFRD.

Your solutions certainly looks like the way to go. I already have four ballasts under the fairings from the HIDs and was just pulling at my hair, thinking of how to mount the compressor. I'll have my hands full this weekend then.

[Fireman777]

I like the way that install looks as well. I didn't feel adventurous enough to try and fabricate a way to mount the horn in the stock place though. One thing that I did notice is that there is a split second of lag time between the Sebel and my stock horn, and I even left my horn together. I also left my stock horn hooked up, so when I push the horn button, I hear the stock horn instantly for a split second before the airhorn drowns it out. I would imagine that with the horn being remotely mounted from the compressor, the lag is even a split second longer because of the air hose expanding and having to fill up those extra few cubic inches of air space before it pressurizes the horn. To me, those extra split seconds weighed in enough to convince me to leave the air horn together and loose a few Dbs with it hidden behind my fairing. It is still MUCH louder than the stock horn, and I'm happy with it!

All these methods of mounting are great though. It just goes to show that just about anybody should be able to find a place to mount it on their bike.

[Red Duke Rider]

If you're getting a lag between depressing the button and making a lot of noise, something sounds wrong about your installation. Mine is instanteous. Good PVC tubing will not swell with the amount of air the compressor is putting out. The total length of tubing is only maybe 12-15". Don't forget the tubing has air in it all the time. The sound should be instanteous with hitting the horn button. Try taking your stock horn off and just run the Stebel. Maybe you're getting an electrical draw from the stock horn that could be delaying the compressor.

Make sure you use a good thick wall PVC clear tubing, "O" rings at all fittings, and a barbed fitting going into the megaphone. Use must use a relay and large wire - I think I used 12 ga.

This is an excellent project to tackle along with installing a set of All Balls tapered steering stem bearings at the same time and doing the blue connector ground.

And I have to admit, it was one of the most difficult mods I've ever done to my VFR. It was a hair puller.

[Fireman777]

If you're getting a lag between depressing the button and making a lot of noise, something sounds wrong about your installation. Mine is instanteous. Good PVC tubing will not swell with the amount of air the compressor is putting out. The total length of tubing is only maybe 12-15". Don't forget the tubing has air in it all the time. The sound should be instanteous with hitting the horn button. Try taking your stock horn off and just run the Stebel. Maybe you're getting an electrical draw from the stock horn that could be delaying the compressor.

Make sure you use a good thick wall PVC clear tubing, "O" rings at all fittings, and a barbed fitting going into the megaphone. Use must use a relay and large wire - I think I used 12 ga.

This is an excellent project to tackle along with installing a set of All Balls tapered steering stem bearings at the same time and doing the blue connector ground.

And I have to admit, it was one of the most difficult mods I've ever done to my VFR. It was a hair puller.

Well, mine is very quick, and nearly instantaneous. I don't have any tubing involved in my install because I left my horn intact. I believe the only reason that I can tell there is a delay is because I am able to hear the stock horn for a milli-second before I hear the air horn kick in. If I didn't have the stock horn on there, my brain would tell me that the air horn sounds the instant that I push the button as well. I'm sure that if you had your stock horn on as well, you would hear the same thing. The reason there is a difference is because the sound for the stock horn is generated with electricity, so there is no delay. The air horn (as fast as it is) still has to take the extra time (as little as it is) to spool up the compressor and pressurize the air horn enough to make a sound. Also, I know that the tubing always has air in it, but the air is only at an ambient air pressure. It just adds a little bit more volume of air that must be pressurized before the horn is pressurized.

I like the way you did your install though. It is very clean! I thought about doing something like the way you did it, but wanted to explain the reasons that I ended up doing it the quick and easy way.

[Red Duke Rider]

Thanks for the compliment and thanks for the courtesy explanation.

Glad to see we are all still gentlement on this board (for the most part).

Again, thanks.

One last thing about the Stebel, deer definitely do hear it. I don't think they stop running for half a mile after hearing it.

[_oxygen_]

On my 86 I put it under the left inner fairing. I unmounted the turnsignal relay and the other relay that was there bent it a bit out. used the bolt to connect the horn to the bracket. zip tied the relays to the horn and surrounding electronics. and ran my power wire around to the battery. I didn't put an inline fuse near the battery because I didn't have one handy but I'll be getting one soon.
it's a pain to get the relays in a position where rain won't get to them when it's sitting outside in a downpour. my first attempt to ziptie them to the horizontal cross bar on the front fairing stay resulted in them getting filled with water. so I relocated them under the inner fairing covers.

[Fireman777]

Thanks for the compliment and thanks for the courtesy explanation.

Glad to see we are all still gentlement on this board (for the most part).

Again, thanks.

One last thing about the Stebel, deer definitely do hear it. I don't think they stop running for half a mile after hearing it.

I've seen that too. The deer go running! Works great :) I also put a pair of deer whistles on just to be safe.

[Knife]

I've seen that too. The deer go running! Works great :) I also put a pair of deer whistles on just to be safe.

Deer whistles work?