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Stupid question here boys, and prob should in a different section...
my breakout is a '14 and has some water spots on the triple trees that don't look good- i tried using a basic polish and it didn't a damn thing... how can I get rid of the water spots? the rest of my shine is looking good, so no complaints there.
Will be posting up some more pics soon, so far i've done this in the week i've had it.
-Thunder torques on the stock exhaust
-Edge cut pegs, grips, shifter and brake pedal (need the arms to match but can't $$$ em yet)
-SE High Flow AC, waiting to install till my PV comes in this weekend.
after that the 70t pulley that LA did a write up on, then some suspension work.
We have spoken often here about the awful stock horn on the breakout that has two big issues: it's too quiet, and it also sounds so wimpy when you use it that you sort of feel humiliated every time you do so!
Rocker B has previously mentioned that he replaced his stock horn with the Arlen Ness horn, part number 70-204. Inspired by his success, I bought one too and just completed the installation. Because the installation was mostly straightforward - pretty much a "plug and play", but also because there are a couple of wrinkles, I figured I'd post here so that others could benefit from my actual experience with the install.
This horn is MUCH LOUDER than the stock one, and, unlike the stock one, actually sounds "authoritative". It's not in the same league as an air horn obviously, but it definitely is much louder and will get an errant driver's attention.
The Ness horn is also far more attractive and the quality is entirely on a different planet than the stock one. When installing it, you even notice its much greater weight than the stock horn's weight.
Best of all, it is plug and play in the factory location and with the factory wiring (but see caution below) and does not interfere with the ABS module on a Breakout equipped with ABS.
Note though that it is also much larger than the factory horn. THis photo shows you the comparative size:
It's not outlandish, but definitely larger.
Here's a photo of it without the distraction of the factory one:
Note the mounting.
Here is a photo of the stock horn that is removed and also the stock horn bracket that is removed, along with a reminder to use blue Loctite:
This photo, because of its perspective, greatly exaggerates the relative size difference of the 2 horns, so do NOT go by this photo. Look at the previous photo.
The factory horn mounting bracket in this photo cannot be re-used, because it depends upon the stud permanently mounted in the stock horn. The Ness horn does not contain such a stud. But that is fine, because the mounting hole in the Ness horn aligns perfectly with the mounting hole on the bike frame that is used to mount this stock bracket, so you mount the Ness horn there DIRECTLY versus via the bracket. This also makes for a much stronger mount, which is good because the Ness horn weighs so much more than the stock one.
The Blue Loctite is important to use, since using a lockwasher would be visually unattractive in this situation.
The correct mounting hardware and supplies to use are as follows:
- 1 of M8-1.25 x 20mm metric stainless steel Hex Cap screw (nice appearance and no rusting, the 20mm length is necessary for a clean and easy installation through the THICK Ness mounintg ear and the factory frame mount)
- 1 of M8-1.25 stainless steel nut
- 2 of 8mm stainless steel washers (1 under the nut and 1 between the bolt head and the Ness horn)
- one of the wire zip ties provided by Ness (Ness provides multiple zip ties in case you are doing a custom bike install)
- Blue Loctite
The factory wiring connectors will work just fine with the ness horn. The length of the factory wiring is "just enough" to work without applying any strain to the factory harness, once you remove the TWO factory zip ties securing the factory wiring to the left frame downtube. You will need to install one of the Ness zip ties to resecure the factory wiring to the left downtube, just below the horn.
The Ness kit comes complete with a wiring harness that includes a relay, connectors that allow intercept of the factory horn wiring, and wiring sufficient to reach the battery with ring terminals already installed. The instructions say that this kit should be used with all 2011 and later Softails that have CANbus factory wiring, which obviously includes the Breakout. However, this was not disclosed on the Ness website nor in the dealer ads, at least not obviously, and I was not interested in doing any horn replacement that requires altered wiring, and especially any horn replacement that requires yet another connection to my bike's battery (already have a GPS connection and a heated seat connection, so NO MORE!). To ME, not disturbing and not unnecessarily complicating any factory wiring is a "never break" rule.
So, I could have simply returned the kit once I discovered the Ness wiring harness and the instructions, but instead I did a simple experiment. I connected the horn to the factory horn wiring terminals, turned on the ignition, and pressed the horn button. It worked fine. I tested multiple times, and it continued to work fine.
Now here is the important caution part:
I believe that the Ness horn almost certainly draws a bit more power than the factory one, as it is notably louder. This means more current through the wiring, which means more heat, and more current through a circuit breaker. I suspect that Ness wants to ensure that pressing the horn button does not pop a circuit breaker, and also if someone presses and HOLDS the horn button for a PROLONGED period, the wiring does not get too hot.
My little experiment shows that pressing the horn button with the Ness horn installed does not pop a breaker. So, the only remaining caution is that HOLDING the button down for a PROLONGED period COULD start heating up the factory wiring, IF the factory wiring is marginal for a more powerful horn.
Now I never apply the horn on a motorcycle or car for more than about a second. I never use it as a "prolonged deterrent" or as "audio punishment for a careless driver". If YOU do, and want a louder and more authoritative horn when doing so, your testing should probably include a prolonged blowing of the horn,just to make sure that the wiring does not get really hot.
I did check with Rocker B on this too. He has run this setup for a long time already, and has not experienced any problems. But, like me, he is a horn "tapper" and does not do prolonged horn blasts.
So, you can draw your own conclusions and make your own decisions.
I am delighted in everything about this horn except its price (It cost me $169.50 shipped, from Amazon, which seems like an insane amount to spend on a horn, but man, that factory horn sucks). I like its loudness, its authoritative tone, the ease with which it installs on our Breakouts, the removal of the eyesore factory horn bracket, its quality, and its appearance. On the appearance, I get an extra bonus on my bike - the "beveled" styling of this horn pretty much perfectly matches the pattern on my accessory HD clutch cover.
One other thing: The only part of the installation that goes anywhere beyond "dead easy" is getting the washer and nut onto the M8 bolt. You want the nut and washer on the REAR of the mount, that people don't see, so the nicer looking bolt head can be on the front that people see. It is a little hard to get your hand in between the mount and the engine's front cylinder head, especially if you have large hands like I do. But, it still only took me maybe a minute, and one dropping of the nut.
Overall conclusion so far: Very worth doing.
Jim G
IMPORTANT EDIT!! See my June 5th edit later in this thread about how this horn, installed without the Ness wiring harness backto the battery works with the engine OFF but does NOT work when the engine is running!
Jim G
Last edited by JimGnitecki; Jun 5, 2016 at 09:12 AM.
Bumped the back tire to the Metzeler ME 880 260, lowered it slightly, added an under fender custom LED brake light, moved the license plate to the swingarm, swapped to the one-up Harley seat (wish there was a LePera for this model), changed the headlamp to a little different design, SE tuner, V@H pipes, Kuryakn intake, RSD grips, levers (fit kind of loose, a little disappointing / too much play), RSD pegs, RSD brake cylinder covers, Derby, timer, so on and so forth.....little stiff after the drop, but getting used to it, just need to take it easy around sharp corners so I don't grind the case...
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?
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.
I had the same thing after I got my stage 1. Usually the dealer does NOT tune your bike but load a canned (standard) map to you ECM. This - in a lot of cases if not in all - is not a sufficient/proper tune. So taking the bike back to the dealer will probably not make any difference.
So find yourself a decent (indy) tuner and have him really tune your bike...that will do the job and make the bike run better in general.
My break out is a 2016 I love it I'm 6ft5 I like drag bars their kool but I have few baggers with 12" apes heard some guys can get away with stock cables and put on 12" inch apes anyone help me so I don't get my hopes up thanks for reading
My break out is a 2016 I love it I'm 6ft5 I like drag bars their kool but I have few baggers with 12" apes heard some guys can get away with stock cables and put on 12" inch apes anyone help me so I don't get my hopes up thanks for reading
We have spoken often here about the awful stock horn on the breakout that has two big issues: it's too quiet, and it also sounds so wimpy when you use it that you sort of feel humiliated every time you do so!
Rocker B has previously mentioned that he replaced his stock horn with the Arlen Ness horn, part number 70-204. Inspired by his success, I bought one too and just completed the installation. Because the installation was mostly straightforward - pretty much a "plug and play", but also because there are a couple of wrinkles, I figured I'd post here so that others could benefit from my actual experience with the install.
This horn is MUCH LOUDER than the stock one, and, unlike the stock one, actually sounds "authoritative". It's not in the same league as an air horn obviously, but it definitely is much louder and will get an errant driver's attention.
The Ness horn is also far more attractive and the quality is entirely on a different planet than the stock one. When installing it, you even notice its much greater weight than the stock horn's weight.
Best of all, it is plug and play in the factory location and with the factory wiring (but see caution below) and does not interfere with the ABS module on a Breakout equipped with ABS.
Note though that it is also much larger than the factory horn. THis photo shows you the comparative size:
It's not outlandish, but definitely larger.
Here's a photo of it without the distraction of the factory one:
Note the mounting.
Here is a photo of the stock horn that is removed and also the stock horn bracket that is removed, along with a reminder to use blue Loctite:
This photo, because of its perspective, greatly exaggerates the relative size difference of the 2 horns, so do NOT go by this photo. Look at the previous photo.
The factory horn mounting bracket in this photo cannot be re-used, because it depends upon the stud permanently mounted in the stock horn. The Ness horn does not contain such a stud. But that is fine, because the mounting hole in the Ness horn aligns perfectly with the mounting hole on the bike frame that is used to mount this stock bracket, so you mount the Ness horn there DIRECTLY versus via the bracket. This also makes for a much stronger mount, which is good because the Ness horn weighs so much more than the stock one.
The Blue Loctite is important to use, since using a lockwasher would be visually unattractive in this situation.
The correct mounting hardware and supplies to use are as follows:
- 1 of M8-1.25 x 20mm metric stainless steel Hex Cap screw (nice appearance and no rusting, the 20mm length is necessary for a clean and easy installation through the THICK Ness mounintg ear and the factory frame mount)
- 1 of M8-1.25 stainless steel nut
- 2 of 8mm stainless steel washers (1 under the nut and 1 between the bolt head and the Ness horn)
- one of the wire zip ties provided by Ness (Ness provides multiple zip ties in case you are doing a custom bike install)
- Blue Loctite
The factory wiring connectors will work just fine with the ness horn. The length of the factory wiring is "just enough" to work without applying any strain to the factory harness, once you remove the TWO factory zip ties securing the factory wiring to the left frame downtube. You will need to install one of the Ness zip ties to resecure the factory wiring to the left downtube, just below the horn.
The Ness kit comes complete with a wiring harness that includes a relay, connectors that allow intercept of the factory horn wiring, and wiring sufficient to reach the battery with ring terminals already installed. The instructions say that this kit should be used with all 2011 and later Softails that have CANbus factory wiring, which obviously includes the Breakout. However, this was not disclosed on the Ness website nor in the dealer ads, at least not obviously, and I was not interested in doing any horn replacement that requires altered wiring, and especially any horn replacement that requires yet another connection to my bike's battery (already have a GPS connection and a heated seat connection, so NO MORE!). To ME, not disturbing and not unnecessarily complicating any factory wiring is a "never break" rule.
So, I could have simply returned the kit once I discovered the Ness wiring harness and the instructions, but instead I did a simple experiment. I connected the horn to the factory horn wiring terminals, turned on the ignition, and pressed the horn button. It worked fine. I tested multiple times, and it continued to work fine.
Now here is the important caution part:
I believe that the Ness horn almost certainly draws a bit more power than the factory one, as it is notably louder. This means more current through the wiring, which means more heat, and more current through a circuit breaker. I suspect that Ness wants to ensure that pressing the horn button does not pop a circuit breaker, and also if someone presses and HOLDS the horn button for a PROLONGED period, the wiring does not get too hot.
My little experiment shows that pressing the horn button with the Ness horn installed does not pop a breaker. So, the only remaining caution is that HOLDING the button down for a PROLONGED period COULD start heating up the factory wiring, IF the factory wiring is marginal for a more powerful horn.
Now I never apply the horn on a motorcycle or car for more than about a second. I never use it as a "prolonged deterrent" or as "audio punishment for a careless driver". If YOU do, and want a louder and more authoritative horn when doing so, your testing should probably include a prolonged blowing of the horn,just to make sure that the wiring does not get really hot.
I did check with Rocker B on this too. He has run this setup for a long time already, and has not experienced any problems. But, like me, he is a horn "tapper" and does not do prolonged horn blasts.
So, you can draw your own conclusions and make your own decisions.
I am delighted in everything about this horn except its price (It cost me $169.50 shipped, from Amazon, which seems like an insane amount to spend on a horn, but man, that factory horn sucks). I like its loudness, its authoritative tone, the ease with which it installs on our Breakouts, the removal of the eyesore factory horn bracket, its quality, and its appearance. On the appearance, I get an extra bonus on my bike - the "beveled" styling of this horn pretty much perfectly matches the pattern on my accessory HD clutch cover.
One other thing: The only part of the installation that goes anywhere beyond "dead easy" is getting the washer and nut onto the M8 bolt. You want the nut and washer on the REAR of the mount, that people don't see, so the nicer looking bolt head can be on the front that people see. It is a little hard to get your hand in between the mount and the engine's front cylinder head, especially if you have large hands like I do. But, it still only took me maybe a minute, and one dropping of the nut.
[QUOTE=MTC_1964;15205740]Bumped the back tire to the Metzeler ME 880 260, lowered it slightly, added an under fender custom LED brake light, moved the license plate to the swingarm, swapped to the one-up Harley seat (wish there was a LePera for this model), changed the headlamp to a little different design, SE tuner, V@H pipes, Kuryakn intake, RSD grips, levers (fit kind of loose, a little disappointing / too much play), RSD pegs, RSD brake cylinder covers, Derby, timer, so on and so forth.....little stiff after the drop, but getting used to it, just need to take it easy around sharp corners so I don't grind the case...
Mike in Korea....
Nice Bike! Quick question what license plate mount did you use? Did you add a light?
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Feb 13, 2015, 01:41 PM
