Installing Loud Horn... Choices... What Pitch?

Went to Canadian Tire; found a whole shelf full of these:



They are all 115dB, 12V and $45-$50. So I figure I'll pick one up; and install it on my bike. Problem is they stock these notes:

A High
B High
C High
D Low
E Low
F Low

I want something that's extremely noticeable, but not irritating, or painful.

Is it better to go high pitch, or low? any particular note most of you guys use?

 

These are all you need they look way better than whatever you have in that Pic are less expensive and put out 136db!!! hehe Now thats loudness and looks all in one. Oh and the price isn't bad either..

http://www.bikerhiway.com/stebel-magnum ... p-280.html

 

Or if you want 139db you can get one of these in either black or chrome but they don't look as nice.

 

Get a LOUD High Frequency.

Cars and SUV are loaded with sound deadening to repel tire-roll and exhaust noise. A Low-freq won't penetrate through the ambient low-frequencies that fill the air on-the-road.
Harley-Pipes
Trucks
Cars with Bad exhaust systems
Out of balance tires.
Noisy tire roll.

Hit them with what IS NOT present in ambient noise.
A loud, high frequency.
Get their attention and save your self from getting crunched.

 

or just keep what you got and leave well enough alone.

 

Not that you have Autozone in Canada... hey, you might, I don't know.

But $20 USD @ autozone gets you a "Highway blaster" made by Blazer that I can hear on the highway, 6k RPM, wind noise out the ---. I have a half helmet, so I get ALL the wind noise.

Hear it clear as day.

Don't know what $50-$60 canadian is, but if it's close to USD... I'll ship you a Blazer for cost of shipping and horn. lol.

 

Now that I look at it, those Biker highway horns really are the way to go.

Dual horns with TWO tones is the way to go. For sure.

Done that in every car I own. Sounds like a train coming.

The High pitch is to penetrate the cars, as Rick said.
The low pitch is to make the high pitch less annoying, and make it seem way cooler. Seriously, like a flippin TRAIN.

 

I have seen at my local C.A.P. auto parts store a dual tone 136db horn that is all enclosed unit that wont fit exactly in the stock location but all you need to do is run the wires to it. all black and its only $25. I'm gonna put one on sooner or later.

 

How hard is it to put in one of those linked above from biker highway? just use the included relay and do a direct power from the battery right?

 

Not sure the need for the relay? I've just spliced off the first horn to the second.

 

hey I just bought one of those two tone air horns last weekend and installed last sunday. It is freaking loud!! advertised 139db. I removed my air box this winter, went to pods, so I had a big hole to fill under the seat the only thing better than filling it with a super loud horn would be two 2 1/2 lb nos bottles, but that costs more than 30 bucks. mabey next winter!

-that pic you have looks like the old model anyway the new one much smaller

 

Usually a dual horn setup is for 2 frequecnies that hate each other...
that dischord really stands out

 

just plug the male connectors from the horn into the female connectors on the bike?

 

I like a B flat, or an E. :roll:

 

moon,
The horn I have came with a relay the horn wires only power up the relay to let full battery voltage to the horn.

 

That way you get


MORRRRR POWAHHHHHHHHH lol.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

I have the Highway Blasters (Blazer brand) on my Yamaha. I have both the high and low tone, so I cover the entire spectum of being heard. They ROCK! Pure and simple. They are very loud and will get anyones attention. I acidently it the horn button in the shop when my gal was out there and she said, "Thanks, now my ears are ringing!". Need I say more.
I did use a relay to power them, so I get the full power blast. They are worth every penny ($25 for the pair)

 

The horn pictured looks like a Stebel Nautilus. That's gonna be pretty big for putting on a bike. They sell a smaller version called the Nautilus Compact, A.K.A., Wolo Bad Boy. I have one, and it's loud, but I can't find a decent place to mount it on my bike. I'd go with the Stebel Magnum Blasters in the link to Biker Highway. I have a set of Fiamm El Grande horns which I bought from Can Tire a few years ago. Frankly, for the price, they are a much better deal than the Wolo, which I might just sell or put in my car. The single bolt mounting of the Bad Boy also sucks. I can't put this on a bike with any confidence it will stay put. You might try looking for a set of Hella Supertones, but I haven't found any supplier local to me. I still say the Fiamms are the best bang for the buck, although they did squat for the minivan which merged directly over onto me on the highway offramp today. I guess making the ramp was more important than allowing me to live. I was riding right alongside the van with horns blazing while she blissfully drove along right beside me.

BTW, if you live near a Princess Auto, they have Fiamms on sale for ~$13 each in their current flyer.




http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle- ... supertone/

 

Hey Mac,

For the Hellas, try Mike at No Limits Auto Parts, 613-822-6226.

 

stick a set of trainhorns on the down tube that will wake up anyone

 

I have a set of "train horns" on my blazer right now along with my regular horn. I think I'm gonna pull them and put them on my bike instead. I have the bobber look going on so a pair of red horns mounted to the downtubes will fit perfectly with the bike, might even paint them flat black... or maybe not.

 

What Lowlifexj said

The point with a new horn is to use heavy gauge wire straight from the battery. This will give you the most volume, and pass less power through the stock horn button.

The relay for that reason is the way to go... the way it works is that there is an electromagnet and a switch. You run the full battery power across the switch, to the horn, and then back to ground. You connect the OEM wiring to the electromagnet. When you press the OEM horn button, the magnet flips the switch in the relay providing full strength battery power to the new horn... clever setup

 

Thanks. I've shot off an email to them. They're just around the corner from me at work. I think I might have enough space next to my battery to slip in one there for a totally invisible install, which leaves me lots of room to put an oil cooler on my GS1100.

I see by your signature we have similar taste in bikes. I have had a 900 and currently have an XS650 waiting on a few bits to get road ready. That was a hell of a deal for that 900! I still dream of building one up with the turbo gear on it.

 

GS1100... Suzuki or BMW? I have a friend with Suzuki GSes.

As for the 900, I'm really happy with it so far. Bought it sight unseen from a guy in Mtl who didn't have time to put it on the road. One of the members on here really helped out a lot with the transaction... Thanks Ken! I'm in the process of synching and setting the mixtures. After that it's fork seals and it should be ready for safety. Can't wait to get it on the road!

On the subject of my taste in bikes, it mostly runs toward CHEEP. :wink: The XS I picked up for $200, $450 for the 900 and my boxes of '83 Maxim 750 were free!

Now, when you mention a 900 with Turbo gear, do you mean the bodywork, a la Jon Fife, or turbo'ing the motor?