TOPIC:

The 24-year-old horns on my KZ1100 are wimpy and need to be upgraded to something louder. I put a JC Whitney upgrade on my CB500 years ago and it still works well. I was going to get another JCW for the 1100 but I found this Fiamm RoadThunder that looks like a winner. I am trying to avoid air horns and all the wiring mods that go with them (had air horns on the KZ400; they worked well but were a PITA to install).

Anyone have any experience/opinion about the RoadThunder horn?

Much obliged,

I went ahead and ordered the RoadThunder horn and will post the results once it is installed.

I will definately be following this thread.
Thanks for being the proverbial "guinea pig."

Our horns were wimpy when new! New horn is 124 decibles, what is a stock KZ horn I wonder?

The RoadThunder horn arrived this week and is installed. I have to admit, I'm disappointed. Using a dB meter, the original horns registered 108 dB. The RoadThunder registered 118. The web site claims 134 dB at 4 inches. I didn't accurately measure the distance, but the meter was roughly 4-6 inches away from the horns for all the readings. The new horn is certainly louder than the old stock horns, but does not appear to be as loud as advertised.

I then measured each of the stock horns individually. The high note was far louder, 111 db vs. 101 for the low note. So I removed the low note horn from the stock bracket and installed the RoadThunder in its place. The combined volume of the RoadThunder plus the stock high note is 119 dB.

The RoadThunder is larger in diameter than the stock horns, so things look a little odd under there if you look closely.

Installation could not have been easier. No drilling or cutting necessary.

The RoadThunder costs $31.95 with shipping. For that I got an 11 dB increase in horn volume. Not as much as I would have liked, but any increase is a good thing when dealing with soccer moms on cell phones in SUVs.

tj, I have to agree that ANY decible increase is good, but like you I feel that an 11db increase isn't worth the $32 cost.
Hell, a strong blip of the throttle will give you 11db!, not to mention a smile!
Thanks for the product review. It's just too bad that it cost you unnecessary $$$$.
At least you performed your KZ civic duty by trying a new (and needed) product and sharing your opinion.
Good job man.

del