Motorcycles
Tuono - Hella Horn Install
Like so many stock horns, the one mounted on the Aprilia Tuono is quite pathetic. Considering how often motorcyclists get cut-off, it seems especially unsafe. I decided to replace the horn with a much more powerful unit - the Hella Supertone kit. Mounting both horns turned out to be quite easy and the result is significantly louder than stock.
What you need:
Hella Horns Kit (p/n HL85115)
Wire (12 gauge) x 14". I recommend going with black wire for everything as the Tuono's lack of bodywork will leave the wires exposed in a few places.
Tap splices (10-12 gauge) x 2
Insulated disconnect terminals (10-12 gauge) x 6
Ring terminals (10-12 gauge) x 2
Optional: Heat shrink tubing
Tools:
Soldering gun
Wire stripper
Crimping tool
Allen wrench
Open-ended wrenches
I didn't like the look of the red horn covers so I started by painting them black. I unbolted the covers and removed them from the horn assemblies. I scuffed up the red paint with 400 grit sandpaper, then sprayed some grey primer followed by gloss black.
Next thing I did was disconnect the battery. I then cut pieces of wire and crimped connectors on. I soldered the connectors on as well just to be sure they hold up. I cut a total of 5 lengths of wire:
1. 42" long with an insulated disconnect terminal on one end and nothing on the other end.
2. 32" long with ring terminal on one end and nothing on the other end
3. 38" long with a ring terminal on one end and an insulated disconnect terminal on the other end
4. 40" long with an insulated disconnect terminal on both ends
5. 8" long with an insulated disconnect terminal on both ends
You will end up with this (but hopefully with all black wires):
Next remove the 3 screws holding the coolant reservoir cover on and then remove the 2 bolts holding the coolant reservoir on and swing it out of the way.
The Hella kit included the necessary relay. Here's a convenient place to mount it - on one of the starter motor bolts. You will need to enlarge the hole in the relay mounting tab slightly to run this bolt through it. The relay is pointing forward in this photo but I turned it to face outwards before tightening it down.
Now unplug the 2 wires from the stock horn. You'll plug those wires into the relay shortly. Unbolt the stock horn and toss it in your spares box.
Next mount the new horns. The Hella kit includes a number of steel mounting plates. Use 3 per side to mount the horns off of the lower radiator cover. See photo above of the mounting screw's location.
Ignore the fact that the plates are hanging down. They were rotated to horizontal before being tightened down.
Routing the wires:
I happened to have my fuel tank off the bike at the time of install so it made routing the wires much easier. I routed the wires along the inside of the frame rails and through the V of the engine.
The relay has four spade connectors numbered 30, 85, 86, and 87.
-Run wire #3 from the positive side of the battery to number 30 on the relay.
-Take the grey wire that used to be plugged into the stock horn and plug it into number 85. That will ground the relay. -Take the blue wire that used to be plugged into the stock horn and plug it into number 86. That allows the horn button to trigger the relay to open and the horns to sound.
-Run wire #5 from your right hand horn to number 87 on the relay.
An additonal step you might take to help protect the exposed connections at the horns and improve their appearance somewhat is to place heat shrink over them:
Re-connect the battery, turn the bikes ignition on and give it a try. Insert some ear plugs first though. I warned you.
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