The two of us spent quite a bit of time trying to find a good location to mount the Soundbomb horn on the BMW F 800 S. We tried to mount the horn behind the fairing and also in front of the exhaust pipes, on the side of the engine and even towards the rear, but nothing worked. The horn won’t fit behind the exhaust and you don’t want to get these plastic horns near the exhaust anyway (as we learned to our chagrin). The horn has a higher pitch “European sports car” sound than the Stebel Nautilus horns or the Fiamm Freeway Blasters (review) or the Stebel Magnum horns (review) now mounted on the 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS (Blog), which sound like a loud car horn. Denali Soundbomb .mp3 The Soundbomb horn used in this review is the single unit version. There’s also a version with a separate compressor canister that can be remotely mounted.

A high-value alternative, one that’s really handy when space is absolutely at a premium, is the DENALI SoundBomb Mini Low-Tone Horn. Far more powerful than horns on most powersports vehicles, the SoundBomb Mini sill puts out 113 decibels of attention-getting sound but fits into a space less than 3.5 inches square and 2.5 inches deep. Moreover, the Mini is quite power efficient, meaning that many vehicles can handle the needed 5-amp load without needing an external power relay. And if that’s not the case for your application, a Plug&Play harness is also available. Twisted Throttle also sells a wiring harness for it and various length/configuration coated steel attachment parts. I acquired all the kit I needed from TT, and the install went smoothly. All of the Nautilus horns were mounted using a high-quality relay harness and each horn failed almost immediately. You can hear the sound of a dead Nautilus in the linked .mp3 sound file library below.The Denali™ SoundBomb was designed for those who want to be heard, but still want to maintain a stylish look. The hardest part of dealing with the Nautilus or Soundbomb is mounting it on the motorcycle. These are big horns and most motorcycles have very limited spaces underneath the fairing or around the engine for mounting such a monster.

So we cut a longer (18 cm) length of aluminum, drilled the two holes as noted below and re-installed the horn, this time in the correct orientation. Motorcycle manufacturers should definitely be doing better, or they should at least sell an accessory horn that has some guts. UPDATE (August 2015): We initially mounted the horn shown in the photo at the beginning of this review and with the aluminum bar oriented as shown in the photos above. Fitment Note: Add our BMW wiring adapter ( DNL.WHS.10100) for plug & play installation to BMW motorcycles. But, using the Extech dB meter, we measured 118 dB at three feet for the Soundbomb, a good showing.

The SoundBomb Original is Loud

For best results, the Denali horn should really be mounted so that the dual trumpets point forward, not to the side. This complicates the process of finding a suitable mounting position, because it means the widest part of the horn must face forward. When I opened up the fairing, I saw that the tech connected the horn directly to the OEM horn wiring. When I installed the wiring kit, voila! It worked like a charm. So much for professional installation! Producing a massive 113 decibels of sound, the SoundBomb can be over twice as loud as a standard motorcycle horn! Original equipment motorcycle horns are notoriously awful, with a wimpy “meeep-meeep” type being way too common. Designed to be a direct Plug & Play upgrade from your factory horn, requiring no additional relay or wiring harness *.

The first failed due to our fault — some melting damage due to our mounting experiments, while the second failed after the third short beep, just like the other Nautilus horns we have tried over the years. I have Clearwater Glenda lights (review) on my bike, and with a little wiring, soldering, and Clearwater’s instructions, the Glendas go to maximum power if the horn is hit. A nice feature which is standard on the larger Clearwater lights, but not the Glendas. The instructions note that “the horn should be mounted so that the cylinder is vertical with the horn facing down. There should be no more than a 25 degree variance from the vertical position.”

The clamp is said to be more resistant to vibrations, which helps to improve overall reliability of the horn. Although the Soundbomb looks very similar to the Nautilus, the construction appears to have more plastic than the Nautilus. But, so far it has proven to be much more reliable than the Nautilus in our experience. In other words, it works.

A motorcycle horn is not just a federally mandated accessory or a nice-to-have. And a horn loud enough to get the attention of errant and careless drivers is not just a luxury. For daily riders, touring fans, and city commuters, an attention-getting horn is much, much more—it’s a necessity. We wanted to locate the horn far enough away from the exhaust but as close as possible to the engine. This wouldn’t work on the right side of the F 800 S, due to the exhaust location. Securely attach the SoundBomb Mini to the chosen location on your motorcycle. Ensure that it is positioned in a way that maximizes sound projection while avoiding any interference with other components and potential direct spray from road spray.

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The first replacement part on any bike I own is the horn. And I always install an air horn. I have owned this Denali horn, installed on an Aprilia 850 V-twin, for about a year now. At 113 decibels, the distinct low-tone sound from the DENALI SoundBomb Mini is over twice as loud as a typical 100 decibel disc horn.