So my horn switch went bad on my 01 Sportster 1200 and I couldn’t find any info about this at all on Google so I figured I’d post a quick guide for shits and giggles.

Short answer: Yes, you have to cut and solder the new one in.

Long answer: I used a multimeter to determine that there was in fact no voltage being sent to the horn. After checking a wiring diagram and the fuses, I determined that there was voltage going to the switch (the power to the left turn signal switch is the same power as the horn). To get to the switch you just unscrew the two torx screws holding the two halves of the clam shell for the horn and high-beam assembly together. Then one more screw to separate the switches from one of the covers. I stripped a little bit of the two wires going to the horn switch and bridged them and sure enough, the horn worked. You have to replace the high-beam switch as well. Just cut and solder the new one on. The shrink wrap they give you seems awfully big so I used my own that was about two sizes smaller. I didn’t cut any of the wire off the new switch so it was pretty tight getting it back together.

Three screws, 5 solder joints and $45 later and I have a working horn again. Of course you still have to be over 2,000rpm to get the proper tone, but my father’s 05 does the same thing and it’s nearly brand new so I’m assuming that is normal…