I bought the horn plus the installation kit, and printed out the wiki references to this project. I will say that everyone's installation, from an LX to a GT, were well written and very helpful.
I followed the guides, while verifying the wiki instructions with those in the kit.
I am glad I bought the kit, for no other reason than a comprehensive diagram and instructions that are different from our wiki. The first thing that jumped out at me was that the kit instructions said to place the relay no more than 8" from the battery. Of course, all of our reported installations mounted the relay behind the horncast. The kit was good and I'm glad I bought it, except I still had to buy #14 red wire because the 3' in the kit isn't enough for a scooter. Another issue was the ring terminal was too large for the Vespa battery terminal, so I had to buy a smaller one...on Saturday in a small town... all I could find was a Hootchie Mama of a big ass plastic assortment of enough connectors to last a lifetime. So, that one ring terminal cost me $15.29!
OK, the nitty gritty of my post, and I want to apologize for not taking pictures other than one when it was all buttoned up. I didn't even think of it until I was almost finished and didn't want to start taking stuff apart just for a photo op. My bad.
I have read just about every entry covering Stebel installations and one thing always bothered me and that was the method of mounting. Some used tie-wraps and others used hose clamps. Neither one appealed to me.
Once I had everything apart, I looked and looked for a way/place to mount the horn that would be a clean installation. The LX cavity is fairly snug. I can't imagine how it is in the GT/GTS.
Following the wiki, I removed the old horn. It was attached to a formed bracket that nested beneath a welded platform. On top of that is a zinc plated bracket that holds a fused terminal gizmo with a few wires coming out of it.
I noticed one thing right away; the welded platform has an almost vertical surface underneath it. On my scooter, there is some kind of heat sink mounted on it with two 5 mm screws. Right below the heat sink was an area that looked suitable to mount the horn. It even had a 5mm tapped hole in it, right in the center.
Looking at the Stebel horn, the back of it has a mounting lug that has an elongated half hole, that accepts a special 8mm square head bolt and nut, both of which come with the horn.
Looking at the hole in the vertical platform, I considered drilling and tapping it to accept the Stebel mounting bolt, but realized it wouldn't have enough room to swing the horn around to tighten it.
So, the answer was to drill the hole out to clear an 8mm bolt. I was able to use a 5/16" drill, wiggled slightly to "Chicago" the hole. A better choice would have been a letter "O" drill, which I didn't have.
Once drilled through, (be careful because the steering column is not too far behind it) I used a small mill file across the back surface to remove the burr. I accessed it through the area vacated by the previously removed glove box. The throttle side of the scooter gave the best access. It took a bit of time to get the burrs off, but it was worth it.
I assembled the bolt to the horn and inserted it through the hole. The bolt was a bit too long and would hit the steering column before the nut was tight. I took the bolt and threaded the nut on, then I cut about the thickness of a flat washer off the threaded end of the bolt. then I removed the nut, which chased the threads as it was unscrewed.
I found the best way to mount the horn was to put the bolt through the hole in the frame, screw it into the nut which was being held on the back of the mounting pad, a couple of turns just to hold it. Then, slide the horn mounting lug down over the bolt head. The head is square and thin and fits into a groove under the lug. That prevents it from turning while you tighten the nut. Once in place, use a small end wrench to tighten the nut. A used 1/2" works well, again, the throttle side gives the best working space.
The horn is a perfect fit and has a bit of room all around. It even cleared the heat sink which was then replaced. One thing I found out, identify the + and - terminals on the horn and slip on the wires and connectors before mounting. I left them long enough to connect later in the installation. The + goes to the relay and the - goes to ground. I used the mounting screw that held the old horn bracket, which now is used to hold the relay. I took the eared bushing and washer off the old horn and left the rubber grommet in place. A 5mm screw and washer inserted from the back, followed by another washer in front, then the relay and finally the nut snugged up and you are looking good. Again, I found it easier to connect the wires to the relay before mounting it. That way, you can see what you are doing.
The rest of the installation is pretty much wiki to the letter.
All in all, I am very satisfied with how it turned out. It absolutely looks like a factory job. BTW, I even snapped the little plastic snorkel on the intake of the horn. You know, that funny looking thing that fell out of the package when you opened it?
I don't know if all LX's have that platform. If so, strange that nobody ever attempted to use it. In fact, the pix I have seen of the horn area on other LX's don't show the heat sink.
OK, there you have it. Sorry about the pix, but if you review the wiki and look at your own scooter and the horn, you ought to be able to figure it out.
