Be Seen and Be Heard This is a Re Post as the Mods seem to have somehow deleted it first time around, so here goes again. To be seen……. Some years ago I was sideswiped at a junction in the night by a driver who claimed he didn’t see me side on cos of my bike lights only showing forward and back. Most cars are fitted with Daylight Running lights which Volvo has used in Europe since forever. Nearly all Manufacturers fit bright LED lights so that cars to be seen – Why do Bikes not have them too? My Husky runs with its lights on automatically, but they only have a forward and back perspective and almost nothing from the side – pretty useless in daytime anyway. Here in Philippines customising bikes with LED running lights of various colours is very common and unless they are White (front) and Red (rear) they are considered illegal by the traffic enforcement authority, if they ever care to look. The LEDs are cheap and readily available so I set about adding some to my Strada to increase its daylight visibility, plus also its sideways visibility at night. For the front I obtained and fitted four white strips of 9 led lights each, 2 running down each fork leg. They are wired directly to the silly little white ‘parking’ lamp that sits above the headlight and serves no purpose as there is no Parking Light option in the switching. The strips are self-adhesive but I backed them up each with 3 zip ties for extra security. Power consumption is minimal and I have made no changes to any original wiring, switches or fuses. For the rear I obtained 2 small strips each with 2 very bright red LED lights and similarly wired them into the Number Plate light. They are also self-adhesive and fit very nicely up the side of the light support itself. Once again no changes to original wiring, switches or fuses have been made. The effect is exactly what I hoped to achieve, excellent daylight visibility and also a very bright side-on aspect at night too. The total cost was less than $20 and IMHO money well spent. To be heard…….. Driving in Philippines traffic a good loud horn is a real asset to safety and often necessary for clearing dogs and idiots off the road. Fed up with the original stupid little Husky peeper horn, fitted where it can best not be heard, I set about getting something a bit louder, but easy to fit. I found a nice pair of Bosch Windtones in my local hardware store, perfect for the job and the right colour too. (Cheap at just under $15) Fitting was a breeze as they came with small straight 2 hole brackets which I found fitted directly onto 2 of the 4 bolts under the headlamp shroud. Wiring involved chopping off the existing horn connection socket and basically extending the wire back up to the headlight. I could have been even more discreet and picked up the horn wires from inside the headlight and done it that way, but I was feeling lazy and went for the easy option which can be returned to original any time I might want to. (I might find the time to tidy things up later) The horns kind of fit in with the strange shaped shroud and the colour matches very well. Suspension travel is not a problem as the forks would have to compress over 90% for the front fender to even get near to touching the horns where they sit tucked up under there. Even though they are fitted facing backwards to avoid dirt and water getting in, they work very well. So for a total outlay of less than $35 and less than 2 hours work, I am pleased with my safety enhancement as I can now be seen very well, and you bet I can be heard too. Cheers, MH
nice work. I did the horn mod on my other bikes. The Husky spends most of its life in the country, so I am not sure it is necessary. But the lights is something that I plan to do. Thanks for the hint on the connection to the parking bulb.
I totally agree about the being seen and heard bit, especially heard over here cuz nobody is looking up from their cell phone when they drive, ugh. Those Bosch horns looks almost identical to the Fiamm Freeway blaster horns I put on my Stelvio. They are great horns, very effective as it sounds like a car. I'm not sure about the Bosch horns, but the Fiamms come in a high/low note pair which gives that nice car type sound. They do draw some current (~5amp each) so it's advisable to run then through a relay. Here's a shot of one of the Fiamms mounted on my Stelvio. I want to upgrade the horn on both my Terra and my Ducati but am looking for a smaller size if possible. I was told by one of the mechanics at the local Guzzi/Vespa shop that one of the horns off of an earlier Vespa was quite loud but still similar in size to the original style horn. The problem is, I don't know which one and he's not there anymore.
With me sitting on the bike there is actually 150mm of upwards Fork travel available. The distance from horns to Fender is 120mm so potentially the fender could touch the horns. However before fitting the horns I tested how much the forks do actually travel on the bumpiest road I could find (easy in Philippines) and also drove up and down some high kerbs. By cleaning the forks then putting a grease mark on them I was able to establish the maximum fork travel/compression was around 100mm, so the fender will not touch the forks in almost any driving conditions. Also the method I used to mount the horns means they are quite flexible so if they did take a small hit they would simply move upwards and then hopefully return to original position.
The horns you fitted to your Stelvio look like the slightly bigger Bosch EC9-Evo type, they are half metal half plastic casing construction. The Windtones appear to be slightly smaller and all plastic casing construction and yes they are high and low tone - you can even hear the individual sounds on the Bosch website. Apparently also available in Red if you fancy a change of colour. I am not exactly sure of the model I have as the packaging mine came in was not an original box - I may even have the Bosch EC6 Compacts as they all look the same. As for the current draw, it may be a little more than the original peeper horn, but do not seem to have any effect on the 15 amp circuit they are fitted to. I may tidy things up and pick up the horn feed in the headlight connection then add a relay, but so far so good.
I don't know how the livestock and wildlife is in your part of the world, but a good horn means you can get their attention from further away. I like to let any animals I see know that I am coming, so that they have an exit plan if our paths are going to cross. Some animals when startled will act eratically.
