Stebel Installation Questions

This subject was covered a long time ago, but the questions I have weren't discussed, that I could find. And the folks who'd done it, again that I could find, don't seem to be around much anymore. I'd love to discuss some questions here or by PM that come out of trying to stick one of these monsters on my '05. I just got the "compact" Stebel from Gregory on the PIF thread, and I'd sure like to get it installed. I've been using a set of car horns from Auto Zone or somewhere for several years, and they beat the heck out of the OES jobs, but--hey, more is always better, right?

I did install FJRandy's purpose-made wiring harness for the car horns, and I was able to plug the leads from that into the terminals on the Stebel today, and got a satisfying Wall of Sound, but where to mount the beast? I know somebody (or more than one) split the two parts and mounted them separately, connected by a hose of some kind, but I wish I had some good detailed pics of that installation, including--what's missing in the thread I've seen--exactly how the two parts were connected--the air hose part. It seems to be something non-standard, at least non-standard for Home Depot.

I did get the two parts apart; I don't think there's anyplace--inside of the fairing anyway--to install them as a unit. I'd hate to have to give up and re-install those Buick horns, but a feller's gotta have some kind of a horn, right? Anybody do this, and/or maybe know of a good picture-rich link to the process? Thanks.

Another forum member suggested putting it under the seat so that's what I did. Easy to do and I couldn't be more pleased with it, sounds great!

under the seat? are the vibrations...... p l e a s u r a b l e ?

Hell - just mount it on the slider like Patriot did.

I mounted mine as a complete assembly under the lower triple tree, but that requires making a custom bracket that's more involved than just slicing off a piece of metal stock. I can send you a drawing if you want to go that route. My original post here: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s=&showtopic=112666&view=findpost&p=520719 Since that post, I've replaced the stock horns with a set of PIAA sport horns and I've had to replace the original Stebel that finally secumbed to probably 80k miles of dust and rain. BTW, I really love the combination of sport horns and stebel at the same time because it'll wake the dead! :crazy:

Some other install links:

FJRandy

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=8126&hl=fjrandy's+compact+nautilus+install

Spunkmyer

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=107159

kolonial72

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=112063&st=0&p=513441&&do=findComment&comment=513441

Very helpful post, Harald. I'll read the links and see if I think it's do-able (for me). I'd about decided to reverse the process and go back to last week's setup. Don't think too much of Patriot's idea, looks-wise, but it was original, at least. Under the seat? I wondered the same thing Eric did. :lol:

I think Eric is confusing the horn with the vibrating phone in his pocket!

My last bike came with a car horn stock. While I hate the sound of the Yamaha horn, cars move just as fast as they did with the car horn. Maybe they can hear it better than I can....

I mounted the compact Nautilus as a single unit in place of the left stock horn. I had to form the bracket a bit and remove some of the black plastic panel to make room to clear the fork, but it fits. If you do this, be careful that nothing rubs on the radiator.

I'm afraid I've tossed in the towel. I separated the two parts of the horn, but there were so many damn issues about fit, weight, and all the connections (electrical and air), I decided to bag the whole project. I did break off the plastic lock tab that lets the compressor part snap into place and holds it securely when it's used as one unit, and yes, the tab snapped off when I tried to bend it to separate the parts. I'm not sure if that would prevent it being used as a single unit again, though it would certainly still work in two parts, if you're handier than I am.

As to the way Geezer describes mounting his--on my bike, at least--the bracket (more of a tab really) that the stock horns, and now my basic Auto Zone car horns, were mounted on is far from sturdy. It wiggles a lot, and I couldn't imagine that monster not eventually damaging my radiator. So the horn is back on the free market, just like it came to me. I'll be putting a few things into the PIF thread here pretty soon; have to take some pictures and so forth, but I'm mentioning it now for anybody who's been paying attention to this thread, since I figure they're already interested in this air horn. So let me know.

Mike, get the PIAA Sport horns. The sound is awesome.