I want to install a train horn on my 2007 Softail Springer Classic.
I am very limited on space and my alternator only puts out 38 amps.
I’d like to buy an entire kit. What would be the best kit for my limited
space and power requirements?
Welcome to the forum. I know air compressors but not horns or installs but these other guys can help.
Interested also for 07 heritage
There is a youtube video of a guy with a K3 in some big ol’ saddle bags…
Welcome to the forums.
Put some saddle bags on it and mount the air tanks in the saddle bags. Mount your horns below the headlight and get some hearing protection. LOL
Did you check with your local motorcycle shop ? I’ve seen some pretty neet horn setups just for bikes (Not train horns) but they were very loud.
<quote> There is a youtube video of a guy with a K3 in some big ol’ saddle bags…</quote>
^^^ Yup that one.
Or check this one out:
http://youtu.be/when3v7NVFk
At least you can see all the pieces req’d to make it work.
Yeah, I saw that guys video, and while the sound was awesome and just what I am looking for, the packaging of all the parts to make it work was not very clean at all. I understand that there are a lot of large bulky parts to package, that’s why I was asking about a more compact system. His system made his saddlebags unusable. I am beginning to think that if I want to make this work while retaining my saddlebags, and without looking hillbilly, I’m going to have to package it all in a tour pak on the back of the bike like this:
Aren’t there any compact systems on the market that sound that good? A horn will still work without the trumpet looking deal on the end of it, right? And I would think that using several smaller, thinner air tanks together, piped together to a common manifold, instead of one huge fat one would work as well. I have seen several fire extinguisher tanks that would tuck up under the saddlebags nicely. A compressor that’s gonna put out 150-200 psi is just gonna take up bag space. I don’t see any way around that. Somebody, somewhere must have figured out a clean way to do this by now.
This is what the bike looks like now. Seems like there is room under the saddlebags for some thin air tanks.
Hornblasters has some Viair 1 gallon tanks.
There might be others out there that are shaped differently.
Seems like when I looked for horns on motorcycles, all I found was the loud electric Wolo horns.
Not THAT good. Those in the videos are real trainhorns. The next best horns are the shockers, but you probably won’t fit those either. A smaller horn is going to sound like a smaller horn. The united pacific horns sound pretty good, but they look a little big too.
So maybe just look at the smaller horns that Hornblasters sells. At least they’re good quality. Or you could think about taking the 3 bells off the Nathan manifold and mount them seperately with custom brackets.
After hearing that awesome train horn in that video, no plain old loud smaller horn is gonna do.
I want something that is gonna make people crap right in their pants when I hit that button.
I need a K3 or K5. I’ll make a dedicated tour pak to house the thing.
I built a gasoline injected flamethrower for my shovelhead, but have never messed with horns.
If I go to buy this thing in pieces, are there any minimum specs I need to adhere to to be able to get the same awesome sound that was in that video?
Do I need a certain psi compressor… dual compressors?
How much air volume do I need… 1 gallon…3 gallons… 5 gallons?
And is there a certain size air line I need for a high volume air dump… 3/8"… 1/2"… bigger?
And I assume these things use electric solenoid valves… what kind will I need?
Here’s a pic of the shovelhead in action:
I use A 1/2 inch electric solenoid valves spliced into my horn wire. it only draws about 1 amp when activated. You can use multiple air tanks and DOT hose which is black so it easily blends with the Harley stuff. Valve Mfgs. SMC, Asco 12v solenoid valves are available from most air ride shops or Hornblasters.com. The K3s are actually (By Decibel tests from airchime) are said to be louder than the K5s so you probably wanna get A set of those like the guy on the video you viewed. There are A few different types of K3s,the most popular is the K3LA, K3HA Horn #s 1 2 4a same sound note just different height manifold with the k3LA being short in height and the K3HA being tall manifold. Then there is K3L sound note is A bit lower note Horn #s 1 2 3. So it’s all up to you for the most part as to what sound you like. BTW you can make your own manifolds if you can’t fit the OE manifold on your ride.
Here is A site you can listen to A few different locomotive horns. BTW min 3-5 gallons air @ 120-150 PSI you can use more air pressure but it’s said to be hard on the horns. I’ve had mine for 4 years NO problems.
>>>> http://www.dieselairhorns.com/sounds.html
Rex.......[b]Wow… great info.
Thats exactly what I was looking for.
Since I will have space limitations, it only makes sense to put this setup together a piece at a time, that way I can optimize the space I have available. First I’ll find an affordable tour pak, measure it up and see what kind of room I have to work with. I have a feeling that I’ll have to use two 5" or 6" diameter tanks instead of one big one to get the whole shebang into a tour pak. It looks like the outside dimensions of a Harley King Tour Pak are 25" W × 20" × 13" H. This thing is not an exact square box… its got curves and angles and I most likely won’t have that 25" W × 20" × 13" H to work with.
It looks like the dimensions of the K3LA horns and manifold are:
Length: 18.25 in
Width: 16.25 in
Height: 9.75 in
Considering the 38 amps my charging system puts out and the short refill time I desire, I think a Viair 400-C compressor would work well. The 400-C draws 26 amps. My ECU and ignition system draw about 4 amps while running and the headlight draws another 4.5 amps, the passing lamps draw another 4 amps… add running lights and a GPS charger and I think thats about all I can afford to add to my charging systems capabilities. Of course it won’t be running all the time, but I like to keep a safety margin.
The compressors dimensions are:
Length: 8.54 in
Width: 3.94 in
Height: 6.75 in
Now that I have looked at all the measurements, it looks like I could use the NATHAN AIRCHIME K3LA 540 TRAIN HORN KIT from Hornblasters as is, as long as I mount the actual horns outside the tour pak. They could hang under the tour pak or under the saddle bags. The air tank that comes with that kit measures: Length: 20.5 in x Diameter: 9.5 in x Height: 11.5 in. which should fit right in the tour pak with room for the compressor and even a little storage space too. Looks like it would fit easy… as long as I can find a place to mount the horns.
WHOA… I just priced this thing… $1500… WOW… maybe I will opt for the HORNBLASTERS CONDUCTOR’S SPECIAL MODEL 540 TRAIN HORN KIT instead. Its all the same parts except the horns… and at less than half the price. I can still upgrade to the K3LA horns later on. [/b]
The tour pak’s outside dimension of 20" is already less than the tank’s 20.5" length. Maybe it would fit diagonally… They also have a 4 gallon pancake style tank that is 16" diameter.
Nice flame thrower pipes!
The outside dimensions of a Harley King Tour Pak are 25" Wide × 20" Deep × 13" High.
25" is the Width… it’ll fit easy.
what the heck was I thinking?
What I was thinking was buy the tank and compressor then mount the bells separate on custom brackets under the saddle bags. And just buy the k horns seperate. Like a #1 and #3.
[b]That sounds like the way to go. How well can the bells hold up to the weather and close proximity to the exhaust? If I put them under the bags, they will be withing 3 to 4 inches of the exhaust. They use metal diaphragms, correct? As long as I have a decent heat resistant paint on them, they should be ok, shouldn’t they?
If they can’t survive under the bags, I could hang them under the Tour Pak. There is between 8 to 10 inches between the bottom of the Tour Pak and the lid of the saddle bags. The bag lids are flexible leather so they should still have room to open up. If I staggered the ends of the bells, I believe I could get all four of the horns from the S4-540 kit under the Tour Pak. Does anyone see a problem with this arrangement?[/b]
I don’t know anything about the shockers.(i wouldn’t waste my time with them) but the Nathan k horns would not have any problem under the bags. Buy them individually with custom mounting brackets. You will always wish u went with Nathan’s after u do all that work.
At least with 3 Nathan bells, one of them (the 4a) is kind of small.
All 4 shocker horns look to be pretty long.
But I was thinking the same thing as 63belair.
The only part that’s not metal is the cushion between the diaphrams. I wouldn’t worry too much. Just give it a few inches.
Now that I have read up on the Shockers, I see what you mean.
They have a Fiberglass Reinforced ABS Plastic Body.
That wouldn’t stand up to any heat very well.
Looks like I will just have to save up a little longer.
I like to get the best quality products I can afford the first time.
Too many times those so-called deals have bitten me in the butt later on.
Thank you all for your input.