Wimpy Horn Replacement

I changed the wimpy horn on my 1250GSA a while back and it turns out, it was the same OEM horn on the R18. There is a "plug & play" BMW car horn that fits perfectly and is louder and deeper. The part is: Clarton Horn P/N: CN-61338381271


See before/ after videos below:


I did get to this thread a year after the original post, but I would like to thank you for a great find.
I received mine yesterday and mounted it right away. I am extremely pleased with the results. Awesome mod!
 
When fitting the Denali sound bomb compact, do I need the wiring loom kit or just the two wire with BMW compatible plug on other end as sold by Denali for BMW. A bit confused by what is CANbus compatible and what isn't.
 
When fitting the Denali sound bomb compact, do I need the wiring loom kit or just the two wire with BMW compatible plug on other end as sold by Denali for BMW. A bit confused by what is CANbus compatible and what isn't.
Just found an answer to my question by looking at the Denali website and re-reading this thread. I will need a relay and wiring harness. Might just go with the other solution as mentioned previously ie, use the Clarton horn.
 
I changed the wimpy horn on my 1250GSA a while back and it turns out, it was the same OEM horn on the R18. There is a "plug & play" BMW car horn that fits perfectly and is louder and deeper. The part is: Clarton Horn P/N: CN-61338381271


See before/ after videos below:


Thank you Enzo, I just ordered mine. 👍
 
It is so hard to judge the loudness of any horn or exhaust on video.....unless someone is having a conversation at the same time to see how the sound of what is being judges drowns out their conversation.
 
It is so hard to judge the loudness of any horn or exhaust on video.....unless someone is having a conversation at the same time to see how the sound of what is being judges drowns out their conversation.
Not just about volume. The type of sound intrigues me. I.e., is it like one of those obnoxious train horns? Klaxon? Old timey automobile? The possibilities are endless without a sample!
 
I've been riding since 1971 and owned more than a few motorcycles. I was also a motorcycle mechanic for a few decades and have ridden hundreds of motorcycles of almost every brand. I have NEVER known of a motorcycle that came with a horn worth retaining on the bike. So any time that other riders put in some effort to make their bike more "noticeable" to the rest of the world WHEN THINGS GET DICEY, I'm all for it.
When I took an R18 for a test ride, I tried out the horn and was not surprised to find it "lacking". Like most bikes, it's too much like the "beep beep" that the Roadrunner gives to Wiley E. Coyote just before he blasts off in a cloud of dust.

Enzo5000, thanks for showing that a louder horn can be a simple swap to a better horn. I was wondering if the BMW's electronics might be "sensitive" to a replacement. As an example, my 2016 Indian Roadmaster has modern electronics that monitor all uses of it's electrical devices. If a device uses more or less power than expected, it results in a "check engine light" and "fault code" that has to be sourced and corrected. When I swapped the wimpy horn to a pair of horns made by Hella, the change in impedance caused a fault code and the bike shut down power to the horn after more than a second of use. I had to add a resistor to the circuit, making it imitate the original horn in in electrical impedence in order to fix the problem. I'm pleasantly surprised that the Germans haven't made the R18 so darned complex.
The stock horn on this bike is loud, and sounds as if it came from a 1970s American car!
 

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I did get to this thread a year after the original post, but I would like to thank you for a great find.
I received mine yesterday and mounted it right away. I am extremely pleased with the results. Awesome mod!
Thank you Enzo5000, I made the Clarton horn switch you suggested, wow what a difference, easy fix.
 
I changed the wimpy horn on my 1250GSA a while back and it turns out, it was the same OEM horn on the R18. There is a "plug & play" BMW car horn that fits perfectly and is louder and deeper. The part is: Clarton Horn P/N: CN-61338381271


See before/ after videos below:


Clarton Horn | 61338381271 works fantastic! I was keeping it from having installed because the bolt securing the bracket to the bike's frame was so hard to lose... My bad!

One just needs to work the nut securing the bracket to the horn itself (red rectangle) using a wrench #13, connect the cable harness (1) back to the new horn (to have it disconnected be sure to pinch the upper clamp on the harness), a cable zip tie to replace the one you cut off and.. voilá! A completely different horn sound on your bike, it sounds much louder and has a punchy bass. Thank you again buddy.


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Got myself a Bosch 0986AH0501 horn, which is basically the same as the Clarton 61338381271 except for the connector. The Bosch comes with the classic connectors. So I cut the plug from the wire, soldered the internal two wires to the connectors of the horn. Some shrink wrap around the connectors and that's that for the wimpy stock horn :cool:
 
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Has anyone photos of the Denali Sound Bomb Dual-Tone installation (e.g. where did you put the compressor ? How did you route the harness, where to hide the relay.....)

I'd love that horn, having 120-124 dB at 1 m (3 ft) distance.... doubling the distance, you'll lose -6 dB...... which means, you'll be just at the legal limit for Germany :cool:
 
This video BEST shows the direct comparison of the improvement in the sound. Other videos taken outdoors describing and showing this horn upgrade have more background noise so its harder to tell the difference and improved sound.
 
I did my horn change 😂 blasting out of 2 a whopping 123 dB(a) 🤪
 

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