V100 "horn"...

Technical V 100
1

Having had a chance to “come down” from the euphoria of my test ride, I’ve got to say that the least attractive aspect of the bike has got to be the “horn” (quotation marks quite intentional).

If there is one thing that proves that Piaggio have got their fingers in the scooter manufacturing pie, this is it.

What a “peep-peep”! It would have difficulty scaring a field mouse, let alone warning braindead car drivers of my presence!

So what will fit? I’ve got a pair of PIAA slimline dual sport horns that should do the trick, but I was just wondering if other people had their own solutions to this dilemma?

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I fitted a pair of Fiamme twin horns on my breva, operated via a relay
however, you need to check wether your new machine has cambus fitted, if so then its a dealer job or risk destroying some technology and your warranty

3

New V7 850 is exactly the same! Sounds like a squeaky toy! I put this on:
Vehicle Wiring Products - Compact Horn 12V

Seems quite good. Has an ‘authorative’ tone. Virtual like for like replacement. :smiley:

Actual appearance may differ.

Compact Horn 12V - VWP
Compact Horn 12V - VWP600×800 87.9 KB

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Hi Mike thanks for this.

Got any idea what sort of current it’s pulling?

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Hi Raphael

Thanks for your reply. :+1:

What difference does the canbus make?

I can only see it being a problem if the current drawn is grossly different to the original?

But I stand to be corrected.

S23

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On a conventional wiring system, you have a main earth direct to the frame, and links to other metal parts, then the supply from the battery/alternator is fed via a fuse board, these wires then run , some via the ignition switch and some direct to the various switches and buttons to operate lamps, horns, starter etc
problem being lots of wire, lots of joints, and resistance building up in odd places

modern motorcycles and cars, have much more power in the ECU ( the brain) and it needs to talk to the ABS control, the ignition control, and general voltage control
so they do this by having essentially one or two live wires running around the bike, and each section of the machine is allocated a little chip, that signals its location and status to the ECU
result much fast signalling
less power loss
and the ability to detect and rectify faults while running
problem is, you go joining stuff in, and the 5v or 1 volt rails that do the electronic chit chat get fried
some one I know, who is an idiot and knows it all, decided to install an alarm on his nearly new BMW RT, in spite of me telling him to send it to a specialist, he blew the main ECU, the voltage Control circuit, the ABS module and the ignition computer, plus all the instruments
the machine was written off
just because he did not want to pay a professional to do the job, I am not sure wether the insurance settled out on that because its classed as self inflicted ?

I am a sparkie by trade, but I come across this sort of technology more and more, interconnecting with it needs the correct components

another point, if your machine is Canbus, you need a different battery charger, as it talks to the brain and is told what to do

people knock this sort of technology, but it is very efficient and works well
most aircraft now flying use this system
saves weight, speeds up decisions and allow faster fault finding

How it works: CAN bus | Institute of The Motor Industry.

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You are, of course, correct but my reasoning is that if a “dumb” 12V device (such as a horn) is already on a circuit then replacing it with something similar won’t upset the applecart (too much).

If the new device is going to draw too much current, then I just route its power via a relay fitted with a diode to dump any back-emf type spikes that might upset the electronics.

I had an FJR1300 that had an (admittedly fairly crude) canbus system, and it supported the PIAA horns previously discussed and a few other devices hooked up via a switched powerblock.

All seemed to work well.

But I understand what you’re saying… :+1:

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Its scary stuff, you also need to consider EMF , some louder horns generate a great deal of electronic noise, thats instant death to Can bus
it may even have a data chip in the horn to indicate that it is working
I know many modern cars do
Sometimes I long for the old fashioned machines of my youth
then I recall riding a friends one a few years ago
never again

9

None of that canbus stuff applies to the general wiring of the V7 850, the wiring diagram is virtually identical to the foregoing V7 III; there are no ‘2 wires and little chips scattered about the place’. There are 2 wires with 1/4" blade connectors for the horn, it runs directly off the horn button, nothing the least bit exotic; swap the horn, proper job. :grin: Sorry don’t know what the current draw is but it works.

The only difference I have noticed so far between the V7 III wiring diagram and what’s actually on the V7 850 is that the OBD2 connector is 6 pins instead of 3, and only 4 of those are actually used. For everything else, even the wire colours are the same. :slightly_smiling_face:

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The poster is talking about his new V100, not a V7
that is why I urged caution
it is a very modern motorcycle with lots of high end technology,
here is a little of what I picked up when first reviewing it and why I suggested leaving it to a dealer

When it comes to tech, the standout features are the 5-inch colour TFT screen and full-LED lighting that comes with a couple of extras including DRL and nifty ‘bending lights’ that, as the name suggests, improve visibility around bends.

Further features include a ride-by-wire electronic throttle, 4 riding modes and cruise control. The inclusion of all this helps to bring the brand right up to date as they enter their second century on the market.

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A friend of mine was up in front of the magistrate many years ago in our youth, the local constabulary had him charged with riding a motorcycle without a horn. The magistrate asked if the accused was mute? When my friend answered that he was not, the magistrate dismissed the case as a waste of his time because my friend could shout in an emergency!

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Hmm. I suspect that approach would not wash in this day and age.

I don’t know though…I could always ask the bloke with the red flag walking in front of me* to shout a warning to other road users.

*you might as well have one, in these brave times of 20mph speed limits…

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Sorry I forgot we are talking about V100. My mistake I’m following about 3 different topics about V7 850 I thought it was another one of them! :blush:

Anyway I’d be interested how it is wired up.

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Blimey got me worried now reading this. I have bought the new Honda NT1100 (still got the 1200sport) and fitted a fiamma horn to replace the pathetic one fitted by honda. I just fitted the horn and connected the 2 wires from honda horn to it. This was a few months ago and everything seems fine. The horn is far louder now. I dont understand this canbus thing. Have I done the right thing.

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Well if it ain’t gone “pop” yet, I think you’ve likely got away with it. :+1:

PS: Still going to do same (new horn) when V100 is finally in the grasp of my hot, sticky, little fingers…

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I want to fit a new horn to my v85tt but I’ve been reading reviews of some Denali products and they need a lot more current than stock item, and also people say the mountings are badly designed and break.

Anyone swapped their v85 horn and if so what with?

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Would that be the mounting point on the Denali horn or the mounting point on the bike?

I’m not too impressed with Denali kit - I had a Powerhub that had to be rebuilt when it fell apart after 6 months owing to too much flux on the soldered joints where the power leads were joined onto the circuit board.

I’ve used the PIAA slimline horns with gret success in the past. There’s also lots of disc horns similar to OEM but a lot louder about.

These look alright as well…rated at 1.3A* so probably won’t need a relay. 102 dB of loudness…

ETA: * just looked at my own link - it appears that each horn is rated at 1.3A so 2.6/3A for the pair?
I reckon we’re now in “thinking about a relay” territory…

Or these, but louder, 118dB need more power, they are rated at 5A* so might need a relay?

ETA: See above *

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There were multiple complaints on the denali website about the denali designed mounts snapping and dropping the horn into the gap between the fork and frame, with potential to cause an accident. Also complaints about the horns themselves not lasting very long. They are not cheap so I’m wary of buying one if they have reliability issues.

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I would be tempted to counter-steer away from them :slight_smile: given what you’ve said and my previous experience - I’d give those Hella ones a bash - they aren’t that expensive and they will fit straight on.

Makes you wonder what the longevity of the Denali lights are, as well. Hmm.

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OK having researched the issue of canbus/horn problems, it would appear that IF there is a problem, it will be due to the relay coil NOT pulling the same current as the OEM horn.

Solution is to wire a 27 ohm resistor across the relay coil to increase the current draw and fool the canbus into thinking the OEM horn is still fitted.

ETA: I’d probably go for something a bit meaty like a 2W resistor.

Note the use of the word “IF”.

Has anyone with a V100 actually tried fitting another non-OEM horn yet?

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