[ We also need to realize that the blue haired or soccer mom cage jockey on the cell phone while drinking a cup of coffee can react to a horn blast unprodictable ways.
yeah, like peein' in her pants when she realizes she's about to cut off a emi truck with airhorns.. :o)
I know this post is about loud horns, my GL-1800 stock horns are lound enough for the most part. However, with that being said... with regards to the "Safe Driving" aspect of some of the comments, there are only 3 basic rules and one word of wisdom that pretty much cover "Drive Alive" ...
Rule 1: Don't run into any stationary objects; ie. parked cars, parked trucks, buildings, bridges, stationary trains, trees, sign posts, people, fences, boats, planes, etc.
Rule 2: Don't run into, or get run into by any moving objects; ie. cars, trucks, trains, other motorcycles, people, boats, planes, dogs, deer, cows, bicycles, UFO's, etc.
|Rule 3: Pay attention to, and obey all the regular traffic laws, rules and signs/signals; ie. stop lights, stop signs, yield signs, traffic signs, stripes on the road, etc.
The First Two Rules Are The MOST IMPORTANT!!!
Finally, one would do well to remember that there are no stop lights, stop signs, yield signs, etc. that will really stop a car unless it is on a really big pole and in the car's path!!! Drive like every car/driver either has the right-of-way, or could really give a hoot whether they do or not... and they are coming through!!!
I use my Wolo air horns, which are extremely loud, to get a driver's attention when they are not looking my way. I do this well in advance of the danger area where it is too late to stop or avoid the vehicle. If I get no response from the driver, I move away or finally, just stop.
I guess if you drive safely and can determne what each car will do in each instance, then you don't need a horn.
A lot of good points raised in this thread but i think best of all is that no device is a substitute for vigilence.
In my younger days riding happily in the infamous Washington D.C. metro area traffic there were a few miscreants who thought nothing of cutting off or nearly squashing the long hair on the Panhead chopper until they were surprised at the next stop sign or traffic light by the long hair poking a hole in their windshield with a handy piton hammer (souvinuer of time spent in the arctic while in the Army) he kept holstered to his ape hanger bars. Got their attention better than any horn.
I don't recommend this approach, for obvious reasons, and if anyone tells my (now riding) son about it I'll deny it ever happened.
But the looks on their faces... bet ya' they never did that crap again.
I did rig up an airtank with a 22" air horn off of a Peterbuilt on a 'Wing I used to ride. It'd get your attention fast. Illegal as heck in the "Peoples Republic of Northern Virginia" but I WAS an inspector then so getting my sticker wasn't a problem. Judicious restraint about pressing that button when law enforcement was about kept the issue from reaching the citation stage. Better safe than legal sometimes... better smart than ticketed always.
Wayne, with the judicious restraint advice in mind, your rig is perfect for this type of setup. A couple of big truck horns with a tank mounted in the chair and a simple solonoid valve will give the biggest bang for the buck. Skip getting a pump and just charge the tank from your home or local gas station compressor. You'll have plenty of air for several blasts. Simple and cheap. Just don't blast any of them dark blue Crown Vics in Marion county.
For what it's worth Stebel has a new horn out, it isn't any louder but it 95% chrome, guy on E-Bay has them, there the same louder than S*** horns, I wonder if the WoLo horns are the same horn under a different name or maybe the patent run out and they copied the Stebel because there both the same, just different colors all though the advertised Honk factor is lower in the WoLo, maybe there reject Stebels Honk wise.
Bob wrote:
>>>In my younger days riding happily in the infamous Washington D.C. metro area traffic there were a few miscreants who thought nothing of cutting off or nearly squashing the long hair on the Panhead chopper until they were surprised at the next stop sign or traffic light by the long hair poking a hole in their windshield with a handy piton hammer (souvinuer of time spent in the arctic while in the Army) he kept holstered to his ape hanger bars. Got their attention better than any horn.<<
Bob I am shocked....lol. A real piton hammer? Wow. A small hatchet cut and ground to a large tapered point worked well too. If it wasn't cut right or used right it could get stuck in the windshield though...pretty embarrrasing and not cool. (uh, or so they tell me).
Claude wrote:
>>>A real piton hammer?<<<
Yup, a shore enuf mountain climbers hammer. (That four sided pointy end worked real nice and never got stuck.) Used to think dangling from a rope high on the side of a mountain was fun. Right up there with doing 600 or so easy miles on a rigid Pan.
And why do I suspect that when another Army vet had a slightly modified hatchet at hand he was riding a similar Panhead?
Originally written by Bob Madigan on 6/3/2007 9:41 AM
In my younger days riding happily in the infamous Washington D.C. metro area traffic there were a few miscreants who thought nothing of cutting off or nearly squashing the long hair on the Panhead chopper until they were surprised at the next stop sign or traffic light by the long hair poking a hole in their windshield with a handy piton hammer (souvinuer of time spent in the arctic while in the Army) he kept holstered to his ape hanger bars. Got their attention better than any horn.
This reminds me of an old guy I knew who carried a golf ball in the smokes pocket of his old jacket. One chucked over his shoulder would solve tailgating problems quickly. At one time, he said he was accused of launching one, but swore he saw it hit the pavement in front of him and bounce over his bike into the windshield of the offending auto. The officer believed him, even though they were in an agricultural area, far from any buildings or backyards capable of hiding an errant duffer.
He was on a 1961 Pan with a tank shifter (yes, a ex police bike).
He wishes he still had it
He then thinks that maybe it is best he doesn't.
Piton hammer...wow.
Pick ax....carpet tacks...battery acid...but a piton hammer.wow
The final word here. My son just finished mounting one chrome Stebel compact Nautilus horn on the Valkyire. When he tried it out, I was on the phone talking to my sister, who has a hearing problem. She heard the horn even though the Valk was in our backyard garage and I was in the living room facing the street. I checked it out with a Radio Shack meter which it pegged on the "A" scale at plus 126 db at 6 inches. Output at 20 feet was 110 db. I didn't mount the second one, I'll put that on my CRV.
Wayne
Mine was a '62 pan, an actual Dallas Tx. police bike, still had the siren.
It was rumored to be one of the bikes in the Kennedy motorcade. I never quite believed that story (I brought the bike home in milk crates in my VW Bug with the frame sticking out the sunroof) but the guy I sold it to said he verified the that EVERY Dallas P.D. bike was in the motorcade so that proved (to his satisfaction) that it was true.
I really didn't (still don't) see any real historic significance, I mean if there had only been 1 bike or it was the bike in the Zapruder film, well then maybe... I think it's only real historical significance is that I rode it in the first Rolling Thunder Run to the Wall.
He restored it to it's Police glory, discarding my hand made girder front end and that beautiful 4' sissy bar. He later gave me back my 22" apes which I mounted to my Schwinn trike with the tool box carrier on the back I used on airports to haul my stuff from airplane to airplane.
Still got the piton hammer. I'll bring it to the RDV. Let ya hold it...
Sorry, Wayne. Got a bit off track here didn't we? Claude and I are known to do that sometimes....
Ball bearings tossed over the shoulder were also popular in some cultures. They bounce nicely off the pavement and seemingly come from an anonymous source.
For some Red And White patchholders others a simple ball peen hammer still suffices (so I've heard).
Lonnie (Old fart)
Northwest Sidecars
Heh, heh! Can I put it back on track by saying my first motorcycle had a very weak horn, "neep! neep!. It was a 1935 Harley 45 cubic inch flat head. The bike was well worn, had the "suicide clutch and hand shift, no front brake. If some one follewed too closely I didn't use golf balls, ball bearings, or piton hammers. I simply pumped up the Coleman lantern style oil pressure plunger on the gas tank and covered them with tons of 90 weight blue smoke!! Those were the days. It's a wonder that I'm still here. Thanks for the memories and THAT brings this thread full circle.
Wayne
a spark plug in your muffler with an extra coil attached makes a neat flame thrower out of your muffler.tailgaters are sure to back off when they see the flames shooting out of your pipes!!
