Correct horn position

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Aug 5, 2017
Messages
1,399
Country flag
Hi all. on a 72 Mk1v what was the correct positioning of the horn please... mine in currently mounted on a bracket which looks genuine, this is bolted to the front of the battery carrier, directly in front of the battery

Thanks
 
Not sure if that original position, but that where I put mine .... good spot , out of the way and you can hear it ....
Craig
 
The horn (and bracket) bolts to the underside of the battery tray.

Factory manual, Section J, Fig.J7.
Correct horn position
 
I believe the horn was the first component placed on the assembly line and the rest of the Bike was built around it...
 
When I built mine I started with battery tray first ... next several steps are blurred with time , but I do remember mounting that tray first
Craig
 
Apparently in 1966 Dr. Stefan Bauer said to John Favill, Bob Trigg and Bernard Hooper "We need to make sure these horns continue to work reliably as Atlas buyers are complaining that vibrations are shaking their horns to pieces, and the warranty claims are killing us" , And "In all my years at Rolls Royce we have never had a horn fail". For them this was like a project from heaven, as until then they had been developing (amongst other things) a stepped piston two stroke and a twin rotor Wankel which had no horn problems at all. So they went to their drawing boards with vigor and came up with the idea of hiding the horn deep in the bike, facing it backwards to avoid road grime and also rubber mounting the engine to isolate it from vibration. It was in fact a very innovative setup (which later won many awards in the industry for horn mount design), and placed it at point "B" in this drawing below. As you can see the horn is mounted exactly on the axis of the the rocking motion between the rubber mounted engine and the rear wheel spindle, which by transmitting higher frequency vibrations out through the rear tyre was also part of the vibration reducing system. During prototype road tests by the likes of Frank Damp and his brave colleagues (see video of horn mount testing below (for secrecy disguised as frame testing)) a fortunate byproduct of this system was noticed. Incredibly you could still feel the handlebar grips after a 50 mile ride, and hence were able to test the horn whilst in motion! The NV board were delighted, and commisioned Wolff Olins to to use this as a marketing feature. They produced the famous Green Globe emblem which is in fact in the shape of a horn emitting sound waves and cleverly christened the system "Hornelastic". However, it seems that unfortunately something very similar to the "Hornelastic" name had already been used by a product advertised in magazines normally found in some newsagents, (but beyond the reach of children and wives). It was extremely fortunate that one of the chief executives on the NV board came across one these adverts and averted what would have been a very embarrassing episode in Norton's history. By way of a thank you the Norton board took his initials I.S.O. and the rest, well we all know....

The Commando was born !! ;)


Horn location..



Horn testing..

 
Last edited:
My '74 *50 has it nestled below and behind the swingarm pivot on a triangular plate hanging off bolts through battery box above....same bolts attaching to rear fender support bracket.
 
In fact mine is mounted on front of battery tray in the threaded bush for battery bracket strap maybe , used a rubber washer and turned it in , after market horn and it faces forward
Craig
 
Apparently in 1966 Dr. Stefan Bauer said to John Favill, Bob Trigg and Bernard Hooper "We need to make sure these horns continue to work reliably as Atlas buyers are complaining that vibrations are shaking their horns to pieces, and the warranty claims are killing us" , And "In all my years at Rolls Royce we have never had a horn fail". For them this was like a project from heaven, as until then they had been developing (amongst other things) a stepped piston two stroke and a twin rotor Wankel which had no horn problems at all. So they went to their drawing boards with vigor and came up with the idea of hiding the horn deep in the bike, facing it backwards to avoid road grime and also rubber mounting the engine to isolate it from vibration. It was in fact a very innovative setup (which later won many awards in the industry for horn mount design), and placed it at point "B" in this drawing below. As you can see the horn is mounted exactly on the axis of the the rocking motion between the rubber mounted engine and the rear wheel spindle, which by transmitting higher frequency vibrations out through the rear tyre was also part of the vibration reducing system. During prototype road tests by the likes of Frank Damp and his brave colleagues (see video of horn mount testing below (for secrecy disguised as frame testing)) a fortunate byproduct of this system was noticed. Incredibly you could still feel the handlebar grips after a 50 mile ride, and hence were able to test the horn whilst in motion! The NV board were delighted, and commisioned Wolff Olins to to use this as a marketing feature. They produced the famous Green Globe emblem which is in fact in the shape of a horn emitting sound waves and cleverly christened the system "Hornelastic". However, it seems that unfortunately something very similar to the "Hornelastic" name had already been used by a product advertised in magazines normally found in some newsagents, (but beyond the reach of children and wives). It was extremely fortunate that one of the chief executives on the NV board came across one these adverts and averted what would have been a very embarrassing episode in Norton's history. By way of a thank you the Norton board took his initials I.S.O. and the rest, well we all know....

The Commando was born !! ;)


Horn location..



Horn testing..



Helluva story, Cliff. Thanks for filling in the blanks of this obscure history. Belongs in the archives!;)
 
Cliff, that's the best story I've read since the pigs ate my big brother. Or is that et?
 
Thanks Mr. Rick & DogT. Actually there is more to the story, but I’ll save that for later.
 
Apparently in 1966 Dr. Stefan Bauer said to John Favill, Bob Trigg and Bernard Hooper "We need to make sure these horns continue to work reliably as Atlas buyers are complaining that vibrations are shaking their horns to pieces, and the warranty claims are killing us" , And "In all my years at Rolls Royce we have never had a horn fail". For them this was like a project from heaven, as until then they had been developing (amongst other things) a stepped piston two stroke and a twin rotor Wankel which had no horn problems at all. So they went to their drawing boards with vigor and came up with the idea of hiding the horn deep in the bike, facing it backwards to avoid road grime and also rubber mounting the engine to isolate it from vibration. It was in fact a very innovative setup (which later won many awards in the industry for horn mount design), and placed it at point "B" in this drawing below. As you can see the horn is mounted exactly on the axis of the the rocking motion between the rubber mounted engine and the rear wheel spindle, which by transmitting higher frequency vibrations out through the rear tyre was also part of the vibration reducing system. During prototype road tests by the likes of Frank Damp and his brave colleagues (see video of horn mount testing below (for secrecy disguised as frame testing)) a fortunate byproduct of this system was noticed. Incredibly you could still feel the handlebar grips after a 50 mile ride, and hence were able to test the horn whilst in motion! The NV board were delighted, and commisioned Wolff Olins to to use this as a marketing feature. They produced the famous Green Globe emblem which is in fact in the shape of a horn emitting sound waves and cleverly christened the system "Hornelastic". However, it seems that unfortunately something very similar to the "Hornelastic" name had already been used by a product advertised in magazines normally found in some newsagents, (but beyond the reach of children and wives). It was extremely fortunate that one of the chief executives on the NV board came across one these adverts and averted what would have been a very embarrassing episode in Norton's history. By way of a thank you the Norton board took his initials I.S.O. and the rest, well we all know....

The Commando was born !! ;)


Horn location..



Horn testing..




Cliffa...Many thanks .. I'm lost for words
 
Mine was in the stock location until one of the spade connector failed. After spending half a day completely disassembling the bike I now have an attractive after market horn attached to one of the bolts on the coil bracket.
 
Ha, got my 45 yr old horn to make a honk....all it needed was a fully charged 12V battery... the note is OK but volume not nearly as loud as the Fiiam Freeway Blaster II I just fitted to the bike two days ago. I guess I'll see if the oem is of value to the market place...
 
I remember the last time I tried my OEM horn it was pretty pathetic. But then I was looking at a young bear going up a tree after I'd stopped anyhow. I was just trying to get it's attention.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top