Author Topic: Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...  (Read 35716 times)

J6G1Z

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Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...
« on: August 16, 2013, 12:41:12 pm »
My project Ascot had suffered a low speed dump prior to my buying it. The P/O
decided that it was too expensive for her to fix it, so up on Craigslist it
went. The bars, tachometer, headlight, right side foot-peg, turn signal, etc.
were either bent or broken. Fortunately the tank, fenders, side-plates, etc. all
survived unscratched. The OEM headlight, horn & gauge mounting bracket was bent
up also, so I decided to remove all that stuff & use a round headlight mounted
the conventional way to the fork legs. I bought a 7" round headlight, mounting
brackets & turn signals from EMGO for less than $100 & picked up a Trail Tech
Vapor computer to replace the broken gauge cluster.

All that was left was to figure out what to do with the horn. Originally the
horn attached to the small framework that mounted the OEM headlight & gauges.
Now that it was gone, I had nothing to mount the horn to. I ended up buying one
of those small diameter black anodized horns intended for CAFE bikes & mounted
it right above the steering lock.

I removed the steering lock from the lower triple clamp & fabricated an "L"
shaped bracket out of some scrap aluminum plate that I had. I made the "L" about
2.5" tall with the lower section about 1" long. It's about 1.25" wide to match
the original steering lock mounts width. I mocked up the bracket by holding it
onto the steering lock mount & then came up from the bottom to scribe the
mounting holes onto it. I ended up only being able to drill one of the mounting
holes due to the second one being too close to the 90 degree bend in the
bracket. I then drilled a hole in the long section to mount the horn. I dressed
up the bracket on my bench mount combination disk/belt sander & radiused the
corners to make it look nice. I found a longer screw that matched the one I
removed from the steering lock & reassembled the steering lock with the new
bracket on the top. I used some blue Lock-Tite to help it stay tight. I then
mounted the horn & hooked up the two wires. I have just enough room for the horn
& the headlight to mount without hitting each other. The horn turns with the
handlebars & sounds louder than the original horn. I don't think there would be
enough room to use the OEM horn as it is bigger around & would sit up higher
hitting the headlight. I suppose you could make the "L" shaped bracket in a way
that the horn sits behind the headlight.

« Last Edit: August 16, 2013, 12:50:25 pm by J6G1Z »

J6G1Z

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Re: Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...
« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2013, 12:50:53 pm »
 ;)

J6G1Z

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Re: Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2013, 12:51:32 pm »
 :)

thumperdh

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Re: Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2013, 10:43:09 pm »
How loud is this horn compared to stock? The stockers on these were embarrassing to begin with. I'm currently running a Wolo Badboy horn and while it is super loud, it takes up a lot of room.
1982 FT500
Conti Classic Attack tires
Foam filter mod
Round headlight
Rejetted carb
Progressive springs
Supertrapp muffler
Thumperstuff header

J6G1Z

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Re: Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2013, 11:36:27 am »
It is louder by quite a bit. It doesn't sound like a moped horn anymore.
I used this horn: http://www.speedmotoco.com/product-p/01-3-ha.htm
Here is another source: http://jokermachine.com

I had originally planned on using this horn on a different project, but ended up using it here. It would be nice if you could find the horn itself without the mounting bracket. One problem with the way I mounted mine under the headlight, is that you can't lower the headlight more & it still sits a bit high as compared to other bikes. It's not as big around as the OEM horn, but if you could find a more compact one, it would be better.

Good luck
J.

michiganadam

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Re: Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2014, 12:57:54 pm »
Looks bad ass. Maybe i should do this, even though i am trying to keep it stock.

The stock horn is embarrasing? Every bike i've ever been on had an embarrasing moped horn.

Joe D.

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Re: Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2014, 11:51:06 am »
I would like to get a round headlight on my bike in the future. :)

J6G1Z

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Re: Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2014, 02:00:22 pm »
I don't mind the rectangular headlight. It was just less expensive to replace the original with the round. Mounting the horn underneath limits how low you can position the headlight. You can't split the difference between the upper & lower triple clamps & mount it in the middle. It has to mount a bit higher than center. Other than that... It works well.

J.

Lefty

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Re: Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...
« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2014, 06:46:25 pm »
I'm running the el cheapo Ebay Chinese 7"round one. I like it, but I'd like to eventually get a CB unit with some mounting ears, so I can lower it a little.
BTW J6, I like your horn location & mount, it looks great!

J6G1Z

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Re: Horn Swap & Mounting With Round Headlight...
« Reply #9 on: July 20, 2014, 06:49:52 pm »
Thanks. It was an easy answer to the problem of where to mount the horn.

J.