2008 Sportster 1200L Harley Evo Sportster Discuss 2008 Sportster 1200L in the Harley Sportster & Buell forums; I would like to make myself more noticeable in Florida traffic, especially with all the snowbirds headed South. Any suggestions on what I could do to make the bikes exhaust ...

[chuckd1947]

I would like to make myself more noticeable in Florida traffic, especially with all the snowbirds headed South. Any suggestions on what I could do to make the bikes exhaust louder?,

Any suggestions for an air horn? The 2008 is mounted up front now.

[shovelmike]

Some slip ons would help, Rush's worked for me, 1.5 " baffles sound good without being obnoxious.
Regarding air horns, google Stebel. I got mine for $39.95 including the relay and wiring, very loud...it will wake drivers from their precious cell phone conversation.

[Hammerhead Pat]

Chuck1947, I don't have any input on a horn, but my suggestion would be to stay off US19 During spring training, fuggetaboutit!

[paelo man]

i have installed a set of piaa's on the crash bars.....run the lights all the time....i think it helps me stick out a little more....i find that with the single sportster headlight sometimes you just seem to get lost in the lights of town during the dawn/dusk hours of the day......i chose the piaa 005 set they are a 35 watt each light so i dont overload the sportster altnator....Paelo/earlyman

[JCourneyaP]

Paelo- you run the wires on the inside of the bars?

[paelo man]

yes....i drilled a 1/8 hole in the bar centered underneath each light....then drilled a 3/8 hole in the center top of the bar underneath....ran wires up and under gas tank over to battery box.....no wires visible on crash bars....looks clean and functions well...mounted piaa relay behind battery box cover......mounted on/off switch on clutch lever housing....sweeeeeet.....paelo/earlyman

[JCourneyaP]

Paelo- Good deal! Do they give you anymore visibilty or light on the road in the dark back country or are they just typical running lights to make you stand out a tad more?

[paelo man]

yes.....they give off much more light.....the piaa's are 35 watt=85 watt each....so the only draw 3 amps....but give off 85 watt light each.....so in other words...each light only draws around 3 amps each....total draw on alternator is 6 amps....for a total of 170 watts of light output.....i found that the stock sportster alternator is good for about 22 amps of service...when running down the road with the headlight/tail light and piaa's on i have a draw of about 12 amps on the charging system....well under what the alternator is rated for.....i have found that the lights on the crash bar are a good choice for me at night on some of the backroads i run....i know some sporster guys have stepped up the headlight bulb to a 65/110 watt....to get better visibility....but the stock sportster wiring cant handle the ampacity....in other words you will burn the wiring harness to the headlight...i will try to take some pics and post later.......paelo/the early man

[JCourneyaP]

Sounds good. Get them Pics out here.

[Majicbringer]

Even upgrading to LEDs in place of the standared bulbs helps.