*** June 8, 2009 update below the main article. Check it out!
I just installed the Pro Pad Mini-Beast Air Horn on my Harley Davidson Electra Glide and all I can say is this little beast is truly LOUD!
You can check out the Mini-Beast Air Horn at the Pro Pad website by clicking here now.
This self contained unit will fit on most Harley Davidson motorcycles, and can be fitted to metric and other types of motorcycles. The most unique feature of this air horn which sets it apart from other air horns is the fact that the air compressor and horn are all contained in a stainless steel cover that is not much bigger than a stock Harley Davidson cow bell horn cover. This horn uses the stock horn button, which is to be expected on any aftermarket horn! I would never buy or install an aftermarket horn which did not use the stock motorcycle horn button.
Other types of air horn systems require you to mount trumpets or some other sounding device on the motorcycle somewhere, and then run an air hose from the trumpets to an air compressor. You then have to find a place on the motorcycle to mount or hide the air compressor, which is a hassle.
The Mini-Beast air horn is self contained in the stainless steel cover. Easy!
The other systems I looked at were also much bigger and take up too much room on the bike. I like the fact that the Mini-Beast not only fits in the stock horn position, but it actually compliments the looks of the big V-Twin engine in the Harley.
You may ask why I decided to put an air horn on my Harley; simple; stock motorcycle horns are basically worthless, especially at highway speeds. A loud air horn gives motorcyclist a LEGAL way of getting a cagers attention even with their windows rolled up, and even when they are on the phone. This is a way of getting noticed without having deafening and illegal loud open pipes on your bike.
I will tell you what, at 128 decibels this Mini-Beast will not only legally get cagers attention; it will shock them! Did I say this thing is loud……….
The installation of the Mini-Beast Air Horn was basically no problem at all because everything I needed to install the horn was contained in the package. The package contained the horn itself, which was pre-mounted in its own stainless steel cover, a wire harness, and large and small tie wraps.
The wire harness itself contains an in line fuse, and a relay, which prevents any damage from being done to the motorcycle if the horn shorts out or goes bad. The relay and the fuse are already connected right out of the box. All of the connections are made with a spade connector, so you could disconnect the relay from the harness if you wanted to. There is no reason to do this unless you wanted to put the relay in some weird position. I installed the small relay into a position in front of the battery. There was plenty of room.
/>The installation process was a snap. I started off by flipping the engine kill switch on the handle bars, and removing the seat. I then removed the stock horn, and disconnected the two spade wire connectors that lead to the stock horn. I then proceeded to route the wire harness along the frame to underneath the gas tank to the stock horn wires.
The only issue I had with this part of the installation was that I wanted a clean look without any wires showing. The way I accomplished this was to jack up my Electra Glide with a motorcycle jack, so that I could get to the bottom of the gas tank, and route the wiring harness, so that it would not be too close to the Engine, and so that it would follow the lines of the stock horn button. Jacking up the bike is not necessary for this install, but I am a stickler for details. With the bike jacked up it is easier to look underneath and to work. I loosely tie wrapped the harness at strategic locations using the supplied tie wraps.
Once I got the harness where I wanted it, I then loosened the bolts on the battery just enough to slip on the u-shaped slotted connector for the positive and negative part of the harness that connects to the battery. I then re-tightened up the bolts, making sure that the wiring harness connectors did not slide off of the battery connection bolts when tightening them back up. It was real fast and easy. I did not have to completely remove the battery cables to install the horn wires; they just slip on the bolt, once the bolt is loosened.
I then made the 4 electrical connections necessary at the horn. The connections are from the two wires that are hanging after you remove the stock horn, and from the two in the Mini-Beast Harness. All of the connections are plug in spade connectors, except for one which uses a round male, female connector from the harness to the horn. It was all plug and play with no crimping or anything like that required; just the way I like it.
Once the connections were made, I mounted the Mini-Beast loosely onto the motorcycle.
I tie wrapped the two wires that come from the Mini-Beast Harness, to the stock horn wires, with small black tie wraps that were included in the kit.
I then took the 4 wires that connect together in back of the mini-beast and individually wrapped them with electrical tape, and then taped the whole bundle to together and stuffed it behind the Chrome Mini-Beast Cover. I probably went a little overboard here, but with electrical connections, I want to make sure that water will not get in and cause a short or something.
I then slowly lowered the motorcycle from the jack, flipped the kill switch on the handlebars to the run position, and fired her up. After a few seconds I hit the horn switch and WOW; the horn worked and was LOUD!
After ensuring that the horn worked, I cut the engine off, and tightened up the horn so that it was solidly mounted on the motorcycle. I then fully tightened and trimmed the tie wraps, and re-installed the seat.
I then took the motorcycle on a little spin through my neighborhood raising hell with the horn. I went up to the mountains, and rode around to ensure that the horn was solidly mounted and to ensure that the harness stayed in place.
This particular horn is a little bit bigger than stock, but it does not interfere with riding at all. In other words, I could not feel it against my leg in a normal riding position. If I purposefully pressed my knee into it, I could feel it. I could also do the same thing with the stock horn.
I have heard that earlier versions of this horn had problems with the mounting bracket breaking. This problem has now been fixed. I have the latest version of this horn and the bracket looks solid to me. There is a very large black plastic spacer that screws onto the stock Harley mounting stud, between the motorcycle and the horn. This thing looks like it will absorb lots of vibration. The horn has a 1 year warranty.
This horn does not sound like a big rig truck, but it is very loud. It sounds more like a car horn on steroids.
If you want to see a video of what the Mini-Beast sounds like click here now. Please note that the Mini-Beast in the video looks like it using the old mount and is slotted differently then the new mini-beast. The video does not do justice to the loudness of this horn. It is louder than what you hear in the video!
You may also click here to hear the horn without video. You may want to check the volume on your computer, especially if you are at work. 🙂
I give this horn thumbs up at least for now. Obviously time will tell if it will hold up for the long run. I do many long distance runs in the worst conditions. Only after a few of my 800 mile jaunts will I know for sure whether the Mini-Beast will hold up to extreme highway conditions.
If you are contemplating buying an air horn for your motorcycle, I would highly recommend the Pro Pad Mini-Beast as a great solution, for a low price.
*** June 8, 2009 Update: I received the following email and picture from a Biker Law Blog member. I wish to thank him for updating us on the new and improved Mini Beast Air Horn, and sending his picture of the new Mini Beast Air Horn he installed on his motorcycle.
My Mini Beast Air Horn works just fine since I installed it, but if I ever have to replace it, I will buy a Mini Beast. I like the new style! Thanks Chief. Chief’s email is posted below.
Just wanted to let you know that your info on the Mini Beast Air Horn led to me finally
purchase the new “Mini Beast 2” for myself. They have made a bunch of improvements to the horn, the brace, and the cover. I purchased the chrome cover, and it looks great on my 2008 Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic. Was the perfect fit, and sounds great.Anyone thinking about a horn would be smart to read your blog and think seriously about this Air Horn. Thanks for your info and to the other riders that posted to your blog about issues they had. I can say that the new Mini Beast 2 will be worth the price and the time to put it on the motorcycle. Mine sounds great…
Gerald “Chief” Major
Corpus Christi, Texas
USN Retired
By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007
Welcome, my name is 
got the new horn friday and installed it in abt 2 hours.Not only is it loud it is really sharp looking/tnks agn Norm u the man
looks like a great little air horn
just bought a pro pad mini blaster horn.i felt ripped off when isaw the cover was plastic. do you know of any decent looking covers that will replace it?for the money the cover should have been metal. now i woder if they cut corners on any of the rest.if nothing else i would like to replace the cover and hope the horn will last.let me know if you find a replacement cover for it,, thank you,,, tom baxter
i recently bought a mini blaster horn for my road king. i wasnt too happy about the cover but it did save me from what could have been a bad accident. i got the attention of a van puling into me on the highway and avoided a wreck. just that one time made it worthwhile to me. i feel safer with this horn on my bike. tom
Looks like a great solution for bikers. Most of the standard kits wont fit onto bikes because they’re too big!
Thanks for the very detailed review.
Thanks to it I decided to order one and I did.
Hope to be able to install the air horn ok. Wish me luck.
Mr. Fernandez,
Loved your post about the horn. I just installed mine yesterday, and absolutely love it. The plastic “chrome” cover bites, but I can understand why it is plastic, this thing is already 3 pounds right? Anyway, it is a small price to pay for being alive. I have been waiting on this horn for FOUR YEARS. When I bought my bike, I asked the guy if he could stick a really loud horn on there. His response was, “Man, you should just get out of the way!”
Needless to say, they went out of business.
Anyway, thanks for the info. I am sure it will keep man folks alive. I put a video together to show before and after
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SApGy9xA1XMI bought this horn about a year ago and had the plastic chrome cover break off and then the metal bracket that holds the horn broke and the horn was just hanging there by the wires. This is all from normal wear and tear. Waiting to see if my warranty is still good so I can get the horn replaced. If it is not then I will buy a new air horn but not this one. I can not afford to replace the horn every year at $135.00 a pop.
So as a lawyer you advocate splitting lanes, which by the way pisses most people off. (The rest of this post has been edited out, due to bashing)
I was appreciative to read Mongo’s post. I purchased my mini beast back in Jan of 08 and took about a 5,400 mile ride with it here in July. I was greatly disappointed in that during my trip the galvanized bracket broke as Mongo described. I’m in the process of seeing if the Manufacturer’s Warranty is going to hold up. I like the compact nature of the horn, but, durability is what means to most to me, especially, for the $135.00 they’re asking for it.
Is the cover of this air horn made of stainless steel or plastic? Thank you very much.
I put the mini-beast on just before I left for a 2,000 mile trip. I hyad a problem with the wiring and called Pro-Pad. They were very quick with a response and one of the workers called me direct from Sturgis and took the time to explain the obvious to me and talked me through a simple project-THANK YOU!. Anyway, on the trip down south I save a car from getting crushed by a semi that was over 150 feet in front of me, the semi heard my horn and looked out his side mirror in time to swerve back to his lane and not crush the car next to him. Since then I have saved myself by scaring the bejesus out of two deer. Thing works GREAT!
I have a 2004 Xl1200R sportster. Is it possible, to install the Pro Pad Mini-Beast Air Horn, on my bike? It appears, that there is not sufficient space, in the area, of the original (beep beep) stock horn.
Thank you I’m looking forward to hearing from you…
Rhett
great reporting. Ive been looking for something louder for my Harly9663
the new cover for the air horn is now being sold
the new cover is at pro pad and looks really good
After 6 months of use on the new air horn and 6000 miles later all the terminal leads have been replaced with a heavy duty connectors. Each connector broke at different times.Saying this is just a heads up.I cant say how many times the horn has been used to get someones attention but alot/ a great safety feature tnx agn u the man.. travel mercy Chaplain Jim
thanks for the fast action taken in the exchange. the horn is much better .thanks very much. raymond
My name is Cliff, I’m over in England and I’ve just bought a nice new Harley Rocker C. The horn is so bad, I’m embarrassed to even use it….. I’ve read the articles on the Pro Pad Mini Beast and would really like to fit one to my Rocker…. I’d appreciate your opinion on this (including the fitting practicality) as well as anyone else who is suffering from ‘Girly Horn Syndrome’ if you’ll forgive the phrase…
This is great! My husband would love this for his Harley. I have to say though these things scare the heck out me.
Wow! just picked up my horn at the Laughlin River Run 2010.
It was a very easy install. It took me about 30 minutes!!
Wow!
It is loud!!!
Great product!!!!
It is and it works real well. I just got back from riding Hollywood down Sunset to Pacific Coast Highway, and then Topanga Canyon back to my office.
I had to blast the thing no less than 5 times. One idiot was about to turn right in front of me, I blasted the horn and then he saw me. He was making some kind of hand gesture at me. Oh well, its either him or me right?
Anyway the best thing about this horn is that it is plug and play with a self contained compressor and it looks good on the bike.
Take Care,
Norm
Mine is not plastic, it is metal. I have no clue about getting another cover for the Mini Beast. I would contact Pro Pad themselves to see what they say.
Norm
Thanks for the comments Tom. Every time I split lanes here in California, I have to blow the Mini-Beast once or twice. It does its job and does it well. It gets their attention every time!
Norm
The install is easy! If I can do it, you can do it!
Norm
Sorry to hear about your experience Mongo. I have done 1000’s of miles with mine and it works like a champ. If I had the same experience, I too would probably try something else!
Norm
First off Nick, if you ever submit such a bash post on the Biker Law Blog again, I will ban your I.P. I do not want to have to edit idiots like you and your comments.
Yes Nick, as a lawyer I advocate doing that which is legal. Lane splitting in California is legal. What kind of lawyer would advocate breaking the law?
You have not presented any evidence which shows lane splitting pisses most people off.
The only people lane splitting would probably piss off are cagers who are stuck in traffic.
You Nick are probably a cager.
Norm
Well I hope this is not some kind trend that is happening or something. I am not sure how many people have purchased the horn on here. Over 5000 people have directly viewed this article through web searches. I would assume that many have purchased the horn including me.
Like I told Mongo, I have put thousands of miles on my bike and the horn with no problems whatsoever. It that changes which I hope it does not, I will let everyone know.
A horn should last well more then 5400 miles!
Norm
To be frank I don’t really know. It seems like metal to me but as you can see above some guys have stated that it broke and that it was plastic. Mine has so far been just fine, and it does not feel like or seem like plastic.
Maybe there are different types? The best thing to do would probably be to contact the vendor direct.
Norm
Sounds good Terry! I know exactly how you feel!
Norm
Where is the new cover?
Norm
I will check it out!
Norm
I am glad to be of service Chaplain Jim. That is the whole purpose of the Biker Law Blog, to help people. Wait until you get to blow the horn because some cager is not paying attention 🙂
Take care,
Norm
I have had mine for over 2 1/2 years. No problems whatsoever knock on wood! I have traveled tens of thousand of miles on her, and have used the horn countless times myself. Heck I am about to ride to the Las Vegas Biker Fest.
Take Care,
Norm
Cliff this is a direct replacement for the Harley horn. I would contact Pro Pad directly if you have any questions, but you should have no problems. This horn will scare the hell out of anyone near you!
Norm
I just pulled in from Laughlin about a half hour ago. Yea the Mini Beast Air Horn is the best. Wait until you read my write up about Laughlin. We had what could have been a catastrophic equipment failure on the way there on Friday night!
Norm