The louder the horn the more deafening it is to the rider because the horns are not directed towards the intended drivers. So having much louder horn is actually quite useless unless you point the horn towards other riders/drivers they wont hear it as loud as you.
Here's a pic of my 14" apes. Now, the apes are 14" but I swapped out the stock risers for the stubby CVO ones so net gain approx 12". HD doesn'r overdo it with their OEM cables.
Recently I finally got my stage one (v&h super radius, heavy breather, se pro super tuner, all on my 15 FXSB. ) however even though I love the look, new power, and sound I'm getting a decel pop. I typically get this around the 3000 rpm range when I let off the gas in any gear.
This is something that caught me off guard as all the other breakouts I see around I'm not hearing pop, nor do I hear any talk about this. I was under the impression that I was going to get a perfectly "tuned" bike with no issues. Isn't that what I payed for?
Now before everyone says "do a search there's plenty of threads on this topic"... I have. And, I've heard many mixed answeres. I'm just hoping someone here especially the couple of you running similar setups would have a more definitive answer.
Should I have them re-tune my bike or should I accustom myself to the sound of my almost brand new bike sounding like some old jolopy? Or should I just start riding around like an old man to avoid these pops?
Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Thats good to know. My dealer put in the factory SE Tuner and mine pops quite a bit rolling up to stoplights. It accelerates very well and rolls into power smoothly, but as you mention, the decel popping is curious. I'll bet my tuner was connected str8 out of the box as well....good to know this.
Thats good to know. My dealer put in the factory SE Tuner and mine pops quite a bit rolling up to stoplights. It accelerates very well and rolls into power smoothly, but as you mention, the decel popping is curious. I'll bet my tuner was connected str8 out of the box as well....good to know this.
Multiple HD service technicians have told me that they are not allowed to tune properly - they have to by policy stay within certain emissions-based limitations, which leave the mixture lean overall.
A good indy tuner wll be able todo a much better job. The tune I got on my Stage 4 Race kit from Mike Lozano of Lozano Brothers (Google it) is as perfect a tune as I have ever gotten.
Originally Posted by 2015 Harley Davidson Street Bob Guy
The louder the horn the more deafening it is to the rider because the horns are not directed towards the intended drivers. So having much louder horn is actually quite useless unless you point the horn towards other riders/drivers they wont hear it as loud as you.
Car horns, which are hidden under a lot of sheet metal and certainly not directional, still do just fine. The Ness horn sounds like a car horn.
Earlier, I posted about how I installed the Arlen Ness "Beveled" horn (pn 70-204) withOUT using the provided relay-equipped back-to-battery wiring harness intended for use on HDs equipped with CANBus electrical systems. It seemed to work when I tested it during the install without the harness. I was unable to "road test" it because we have been getting flooding-level rains here in Texas.
However, today the rain is finally gone, and I got out for a ride. One of the first things I did was test the horn while the engine was actually running and I was on the road. It did NOT work! Pressing the horn button did nothing.
Since everything else electrical on the bike seemed to work, I assumed that with the engine actually running, and the other normal electrical loads on a running bike, the capacity of the circuit that the horn was wired into was exceeded with this more powerful horn, and a so a circuit breaker had been blown.
However, once I had the bike back in the trailer, I tested the horn again, with the ignition on like I had tested it before, but with the engine off. It works with the engine off!
Now I don't have any electronics expertise,but I am speculating that when the engine is on, the CANbus system is somehow detecting a larger than normal current load on the horn circuit, and is shutting it down.
Can someone with HD CANbus knowledge and experience explain exactly what is occurring?
In the meantime, anyone else contemplating this mod in order to get a decent horn to replace the pitiful stock horn: Be warned. you may have to use the provided relay-equipped Ness wiring harness and run it right back to the battery. To me, this non-stock extra wiring back to the battery is not acceptable, so I will be returning the horn. But I am still curious as to why the problem occurs with the engine running, and if there is some simple cure (e.g. Can the CANbus system "learn" the presence of the new horn just like it can "learn" the presence of LED running and signal lamps?).
Earlier, I posted about how I installed the Arlen Ness "Beveled" horn (pn 70-204) withOUT using the provided relay-equipped back-to-battery wiring harness intended for use on HDs equipped with CANBus electrical systems. It seemed to work when I tested it during the install without the harness. I was unable to "road test" it because we have been getting flooding-level rains here in Texas.
However, today the rain is finally gone, and I got out for a ride. One of the first things I did was test the horn while the engine was actually running and I was on the road. It did NOT work! Pressing the horn button did nothing.
Since everything else electrical on the bike seemed to work, I assumed that with the engine actually running, and the other normal electrical loads on a running bike, the capacity of the circuit that the horn was wired into was exceeded with this more powerful horn, and a so a circuit breaker had been blown.
However, once I had the bike back in the trailer, I tested the horn again, with the ignition on like I had tested it before, but with the engine off. It works with the engine off!
Now I don't have any electronics expertise,but I am speculating that when the engine is on, the CANbus system is somehow detecting a larger than normal current load on the horn circuit, and is shutting it down.
Can someone with HD CANbus knowledge and experience explain exactly what is occurring?
In the meantime, anyone else contemplating this mod in order to get a decent horn to replace the pitiful stock horn: Be warned. you may have to use the provided relay-equipped Ness wiring harness and run it right back to the battery. To me, this non-stock extra wiring back to the battery is not acceptable, so I will be returning the horn. But I am still curious as to why the problem occurs with the engine running, and if there is some simple cure (e.g. Can the CANbus system "learn" the presence of the new horn just like it can "learn" the presence of LED running and signal lamps?).
Jim G
So Jim, after reading your post, I did a little testing of my horn, and sure enough there is an issue, mine is a little different and is why I hadn't noticed it.... When the motor is running, I can honk the horn 2-4 times and it quits...shut it off, re-start and It's ok for another 2-4. Since I rarely use the horn, and I don't remember ever hitting it more then 2 times between re-starts, I hadn't triggered the problem..
So Jim, after reading your post, I did a little testing of my horn, and sure enough there is an issue, mine is a little different and is why I hadn't noticed it.... When the motor is running, I can honk the horn 2-4 times and it quits...shut it off, re-start and It's ok for another 2-4. Since I rarely use the horn, and I don't remember ever hitting it more then 2 times between re-starts, I hadn't triggered the problem..
Ok, this is getting weird.
At church today, a friend suggested trying to reverse the terminal connections on the horn. He says since the polarity is not obviously marked, I may have connected it "+" to "-" and he insists it makes a difference.
But at this point, I am thinking I'll just return the horn. I don't need more mysteries in my life, especially on a safety item.
02-13-2015, 02:41 PM
