PCX horn replacement attempt

[Dustoff66]

OK ..... Like most of us I'm not too happy with the PCX horn. It sounds like I ran over a chicken and has the warning capability of , well, ..... nothing really. I can actually yell louder!
I finally bit the bullet and got a PIAA 150db horn off Amazon this week and I'm going to TRY to replace the original without taking the entire scoot apart, which is the craziest thing Honda could ever come up with. After studying my service manual, which requires that the entire body be disassembled, which would entail the complete removal of my Givi tailbox mount ( with my LED light wiring attached ), the seat, all the body panels, and at least 4 hours of frustration -- I'm going to TRY to access the horn by removing the windscreen and the "meter cover" which seems like it'll give me sight access to the horn. I plan to try a "Rube Goldberg" system of PVC pipe, duct tape and long-reach pliers to do it. I'll post pictures of the ( hopefully ) successful attempt later. Wish me luck!
........And if anyone has a better scheme I'm all for it. I think with all the careless 4-wheelers we encounter daily we need a louder horn. Honda should have realized this.

[6ftMach1Girl]

Keep us posted!

Meep-meep!

[BrAtKo]

Much louder horn drain the battery much more. It is possible that you will not get working the new horn because wires, fuse and battery will not be able to provide required currency from accu. I'm keeping to watch this your thread.

[dasshreddar]

try getting to the horn by taking off front inner shield (behind the front wheel) one bolt and a few screws...
p.s. that plastic is much more flexible than the outer panels

[Mel46]

Maddiedog put a replacement horn on his PCX. I have one the I plan on putting on also. However, I am going to tap into the wires for my present horn and hook the new one up in tandem. I also will use a relay, which will send higher current to the new horn. Mine is a Bad Boy air horn. I'm not sure where I will put it, but I think Dave posted his efforts.

[Rudy_09]

Nice post.

[Dustoff66]

Just a quick update --- it FINALLY got warm here the other day, warm enough to get my scoot unwrapped from the winter storage plastic. But of course it started raining again. Anyway, thanks " dasshreddar " for the tip on the inner shield. I'm going to try that method first. I posted elsewhere that I ordered the ERMAX +25 from redracing.com in Italy. After waiting, and waiting ... patiently .... I sent an email yesterday asking them to either ship or give me a refund. They replied that they were shipping today, April 12th. So I'm going to wait 'till it arrives ( hopefully by week's end ) and open up for surgery all at once. I'm also going to install a 12v outlet inside the glovebox and maybe put some more LEDs ( amber ) near the front somewhere. I'll post surgery photos as soon as I get busy. Happy Spring, all!!

[Siper2]

Hey there, just joined. I bought my wife a 2013 PCX last year, barely used, and was just thinking about swapping the horn out, earlier today.

I actually had a brand new pair of Hella Supertones horns for an old car, that I never installed. The horn on my 1994 Yamaha Seca II wasn't working after this past winter, so I opted to throw on one of the two horns. Used the 300Hz one for that and figured I might try to put the 500Hz one on the PCX. On a car they should be installed in pairs, but it's plenty loud for the Yamaha.


Dustoff66,

I see that you're central PA! Me too, I live south of Harrisburg. You?

[Dustoff66]

Hey there, just joined. I bought my wife a 2013 PCX last year, barely used, and was just thinking about swapping the horn out, earlier today.

I actually had a brand new pair of Hella Supertones horns for an old car, that I never installed. The horn on my 1994 Yamaha Seca II wasn't working after this past winter, so I opted to throw on one of the two horns. Used the 300Hz one for that and figured I might try to put the 500Hz one on the PCX. On a car they should be installed in pairs, but it's plenty loud for the Yamaha.


Dustoff66,

I see that you're central PA! Me too, I live south of Harrisburg. You?

Hey Siper2 -- I'm in Williamsport. I'm trying to work up the cojones to ride to Camp Hill to visit my son, but the Nascar-type drivers up here plus the gas rigs might run me off the road!
It finally got warm here so I'm going to try installing the horn tomorrow. Also a 12v outlet in the "glove box".

[Siper2]

Understood! I'm about 20 minutes due south of Camp Hill off of Rt. 15. As you know, parts of 15 are hospitable to bikers (or even cars!!) and others are crazy. Best of luck.

I only started riding last year. I'm 37, been around bikes my whole life but never got my license. So I'm still skittish, haven't done a highway run yet. I'm fine with back roads for a while, I think.

[Dustoff66]

I've made the trip up to Wellsboro a few times to visit a friend. Use back roads & 287, a 2-lane road which USED to be pretty calm "back in the day" but now, the gas rigs and their cowboy drivers make it real interesting. They pass on curves, on double lines, and they tailgate like mad. Nothing like seeing a closeup view of the bugs in a Kenworth's grill while you're doing 60.
I've been riding for over 30 years -- had a bigger Honda but the family came before riding a lot. Now that it's just the BW ( beautiful wife ) and 3 cats I have more time. Except when the grass needs mowed, or the Honey-do list gets too big.

[Siper2]

I understand the honey-do list. Very well.

I was on 287 once with my wife. We drove up to Wellsboro in 2005 for STPR, I'd actually like to go back, it was fun. It was a fun canyon road (parts of it anyway). I suppose trucks try to get around the main routes too; can't blame them, but it does sap the fun for everyone else.

I drive all over PA for my work, and when I have to go to Erie every month, there's a back route I take to come back home. It's fun, provided that there's no truck traffic. Get stuck behind one, and sometimes it's a long wait until there's a good passing zone.

My Dad's been riding since 1963, he still lives in NH where I grew up. So it's he that got me in to bikes, I just never got licensed and then never had the time, money nor space to store one. Last year my wife and I decided to just do it. We both got permits, passed the BRC course and now here we are. She has the PCX and I ride my '94 Seca II. She spent three weeks in south VietNam in 2002 on a Red Cross mission, and fell in love with scooters. Been talking about buying one, ever since.

My old man's visiting later this week, actually. The Harley dealer in Gettysburg is having a Demo Day so I'll probably bring him down and we'll tool around on some expensive Harleys for a couple hours. He's owned two, currently a 2006 Fat Boy. Not really my thing, but I only see him twice a year, so... I'll oblige.

[Dustoff66]

Well, today I attempted to install the new horn by going in through the front rubber shield. The screws and the bolt came out just fine. Unfortunately, my normal-size hand is too big to get a wrench onto the nut holding the horn in place. A nice bloody cut was the result, plus some choice words. Also, the new PIAA horn seems a little too big to fit in the original space -- I don't think the panel would close again without a gap. I'm not admitting defeat -- yet, but so far the damn project gremlins have the upper hand. Update to follow when I figure something out. Or maybe someone has a suggestion.

[you you]

Well, today I attempted to install the new horn by going in through the front rubber shield. The screws and the bolt came out just fine. Unfortunately, my normal-size hand is too big to get a wrench onto the nut holding the horn in place. A nice bloody cut was the result, plus some choice words. Also, the new PIAA horn seems a little too big to fit in the original space -- I don't think the panel would close again without a gap. I'm not admitting defeat -- yet, but so far the damn project gremlins have the upper hand. Update to follow when I figure something out. Or maybe someone has a suggestion.

Why not not bother?

[maddiedog]

Why not not bother?

Because the stock horn is terrible.

Here's the howto I made for installing an aftermarket horn. The PCX certainly has the capabilities to supply one, and it will not drain the battery or cause any ill effects. Read the how-to here: http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23

Hope that helps. Reply to that linked thread if you have any trouble.

[WhiteNoise]

Another Horn Option
Shame shame on me. I've had a Screaming Banshee Horn kit tucked away never installed and now?
No scoot to put it in! But!!!! I've got plans
Let me (re) introduce you to (No! This is Not a Beatles tune. However, sing if you must) .......
......an installation video of the Banshee I found on YouTube. Loud toot comes at the end

[mrgizmow]

Have had my 2015 PCX now for 8 months. Since this time of year is cold and wet, figured I would move the scooter into the shop and do a little upgrading. This time around my plan is to install a louder horn, an audible directional signal indicator and fork emulators. Though I have a service manual, I wanted to see if I could get the job done without having to remove lots of body panels. Since the removal of the front wheel, fender and fork had to be done to upgrade the suspension, I was optimistic in hoping that this would also afford the needed access to the horn and directional signal wires. Well almost, but still with some formidable issues. Managed to finish both the horn mounting and the beeper hook up. I will speak to the horn install first. To get loud, had to move away from the circular disk style stock design and try one using the 'snail shell' design. Felt confident that I could use the stock location for the retrofit. Got it to fit but it was a very tight squeeze. Had to fabricate a small "L" bracket to move the horn away from the fork. Without the bracket, the fork would brush against the horn when turned to the extreme left. As I was unsure of Honda's wiring capacity, I wired my upgraded horn using a new relay and a thicker gauge wire that I pulled through the body from the battery box. Used a 3/4" hole saw and made a hole on the front facing upper right corner. First pushed a 6' length 12 gauge copper ground wire. With a couple of tries I was able to get the wire through to the front of the scooter. Then I crimped the heavier gauge hot wire and pulled it forward. In the event that my new hot wire might be close to something hot or sharp, I carefully feed some 1/4" very flexible rubber hose forward over the wire. When connecting to the battery, a 7.5 amp fuse was used for safety. The -PICTURE- provided shows and area where plastic had to be trimmed, the location of the relay and the wire coming in from the battery. Before finalizing this project and since I now know my wire and relay has been upgraded, decided to add a few more decibels by adding the stock horn back. Found a pretty easy mount location and the added sound is VERY noticeable.
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Will find a good 'turn signal beeper' thread and post beeper mod as "mrgizmows signal beeper"

[Mel46]

OOOOK, well I have installed 2 Bad Boy Horns and the whole process took less than an hour, but then I didn't take the bike apart like you did. I think you did an admirable and very professional-looking job. All I did was take the instrument panel cover off and stuff the horn down in the open area. Then I tie wrapped it in place, ran the wires to a relay that I had attached to the frame under the center cover, and then to the battery, ran a wire from the original horn, which I kept, to the relay, and I was done.

[mrgizmow]

Well Mel, I just took a look at the Bad Boy horns. Guess the Fiamm horn appealed to me cause it is simple, loud(ish) and low cost. Given the effort, I would not suggest anyone follow in my footsteps. If I were to do it over, like you, I would keep the stock horn in the stock position and find a find a couple of nice disk units to put under the dash cowl. The stock disk horn on my 125cc Buddy scooter was very loud but seemed to be tough to find. Even from dealers most seemed generic, not presented as a 'Genuine Buddy' product. Given the db output of your Bad Boys, bet you avoid pushing that horn button without your helmet or some other form of ear protection in place.

[Mel46]

Yes, when I push the horn button everyone around me jumps! However, I have needed that horn several times already because of the big SUVs with all the gizmos and drivers driving in a daze. One lady didn't even notice that I was in the lane she wanted. She just pulled up right beside me, in my lane, while talking on the phone. I could have reached up and held onto her mirror. I had no place to go, so I pressed that horn button and she hit her brakes before looking beside her and realizing that I was there!
Another time there was an idiot weaving back and forth in her big SUV because she was talking on the phone while reaching in the back for something...while attempting to keep the car in a straight line, which she was doing a terrible job of. I watched her in my mirror as she got closer in the lane beside mine. Eventually she was beside me, well over the line, and still not paying any attention to the fact that I was there. When I pressed my horn button she dropped whatever it was she was fishing for in the back and clamped both hands onto her wheel while applying her brakes. Then she looked up and realized that she was a foot and a half over the line!
We have a lot of idiot drivers in my area who correct their bad driving by going faster, thus making things even worse but at a faster speed. Imagine a Maserati taking up two lanes while coming up from behind you. What do you do? If there are more than two lanes I would move over. Unfortunately, so would that idiot, only they would do it at an accelerated speed! Many of the drivers in my area have NEVER driven before coming to our area, but they have lots of money so they want a fast car. The bad habits they get away with here are passed on to their kids, who also drive that way eventually. It is up to the motorcycle and scooter riders to watch out for them, rather than it being their responsibility to be aware us. That is why, when I ride, I try to do most of my riding well away from this local area.