Horn Upgrade?(OOPS posted in wrong forum earlier)

[Guest GuzziLee]

Any ideas on louder replacement V11 horns? This happy girly horn sound has to go.

The entire rest of my Ballabio is just AWESOME

Lee

[mznyc]

I got the Fiamm's.Very impressive ,cars will know your there!Just dont hit it by accident leaving your house early on a Sunday morning,your neighbors wont be happy!

Here's a link, http://www.fiammamerica.com/HornsIntro.asp

[Guest ratchethack]

May I highly recommend Fiamm Highway Blasters. 2-tone, 130 db and 5 A each (just looked it up).

 

Wired directly off the battery thru a stout relay, they will rattle the back teeth of any sleeping slab slug who may be inadervently trying to rub you into a grease spot in the tarmac simply because he's/she's too lazy to look over and/or signal for a lane change -- and/or the conversation on the cell phone at the moment is more important to the doofus than your life is.

 

I do b'lieve mine have saved my hide several times.

[Guest GuzziLee]

May I highly recommend Fiamm Highway Blasters. 2-tone, 130 and 132 db (from memory).

 

Wired directly off the battery thru a stout relay, they will rattle the back teeth of any sleeping slab slug who may be inadervently trying to rub you into a grease spot in the tarmac simply because he's/she's too lazy to look over and/or signal for a lane change -- and/or the conversation on the cell phone at the moment is more important to the doofus than your life is.

 

I do b'lieve mine have saved my hide several times.

 

Excellent, forgot all about Fiamm We ride on country black top as much as possible and I have never once needed a good horn for a cow! However our fellow brain dead 4 whellers, Harley riders and our president , require a wake up blast on many occasions.

 

MZNYC thanks for the Link.

Lee

[docc]

Check out this lengthy thread: Serious Horns

 

 

On the back roads I find that its the dogs that need the encouragement.

 

"I had a bad experince with dogs . . ."

[Guest ratchethack]

CORRECTION to my previous post above -- that's Fiamm FREEWAY Blasters, not HIGHWAY Blasters.

 

These are quality horns, IMHO, but the beauty of acquiring them is that they're cheap, (~$16 USD as I recall) and they're avaliable anywhere lots o' real cheap, shoddy stuff for cars are sold.

 

Oh yeah -- Not only run 'em thru a separate relay direct off the battery, but also fused separately.

[Guest GuzziLee]

CORRECTION to previous post above -- that's Fiamm FREEWAY Blasters, not HIGHWAY Blasters.

 

These are quality horns, IMHO, but the beauty of acquiring them is that they're cheap, (~$16 USD as I recall) and they're avaliable anywhere lots o' real cheap, shoddy stuff for cars are sold.

 

Oh yeah -- Not only run 'em thru a separate relay direct off the battery, but also fused separately.

 

Sounds like voice of experience with the fused links. I just checked out the Freeway Blaster and they only pull 5 amps. Is there an issue with the V11 electrics to prevent with just a swop?

[Guest ratchethack]

Sounds like voice of experience with the fused links. I just checked out the Freeway Blaster and they only pull 5 amps. Is there an issue with the V11 electrics to prevent with just a swop?

Yeah, I b'lieve there is. I wouldn't use the stock wiring loom. I think the thread linked above refers to lower amperage for the stock squeakers. I just checked my bike. I've used a 10 Amp fuse for the Blasters, and wot looks like 8 or 10 gauge fine-stranded copper wire straight off the battery in concert with a heavy extra ground strap that I linked to everthing in the headlight/instrument region of the wiring loom.

 

As I recall, I'd over-engineered the horns' power input a bit to ensure optimum sound pressure output. I do b'lieve I got wot I was after.

 

EDIT: FWIW, my approach was to retain the stock squeakers connected to the stock horn button for use as a friendly greeting, "Hi! Neighbor!" kinda horn. The FREEWAY BLASTERS are not so friendly, more like a, "HEY! There's either a BUICK, or something substantial already occupying the lane you're moving into, Pal!" kinda horn activated by a momentary on toggle switch added under the left-hand switchgear housing where it's in an ergo-friendly position and can be accessed very quickly and effortlessly by extending the thumb. If it weren't for such an excellent location for an additional horn activation swith, I'd have done away with the squeakers altogether and just used the stock horn button. But I find having "dual purpose" horns is an advantage.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

[Guest GuzziLee]

Yeah, I b'lieve there is. I wouldn't use the stock wiring loom. I think the thread linked above refers to lower amperage for the stock squeakers. I just checked my bike. I've used a 10 Amp fuse for the Blasters, and wot looks like 8 or 10 gauge fine-stranded copper wire straight off the battery in concert with a heavy extra ground strap that I linked to everthing in the headlight/instrument region of the wiring loom.

 

As I recall, I'd over-engineered the horns' power input a bit to ensure optimum sound pressure output. I do b'lieve I got wot I was after.

 

EDIT: FWIW, my approach was to retain the stock squeakers connected to the stock horn button for use as a friendly greeting, "Hi! Neighbor!" kinda horn. The FREEWAY BLASTERS are not so friendly, more like a, "HEY! There's either a BUICK, or something substantial already occupying the lane you're moving into, Pal!" kinda horn activated by a momentary on toggle switch added under the left-hand switchgear housing where it's in an ergo-friendly position and can be accessed very quickly and effortlessly by extending the thumb. If it weren't for such an excellent location for an additional horn activation swith, I'd have done away with the squeakers altogether and just used the stock horn button. But I find having "dual purpose" horns is an advantage.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

When you are not seen you need to be heard. So I am going to order either the dual AM 80 Trumpet from ridesafer.com (as I have no Pep boys near) or the the blasters. Seems to be only 5 db between them with similar frequency's and not really sure if the 5 db is going to be a huge difference.

Right good info thread above

Lee

[Guest ratchethack]

. . .not really sure if the 5 db is going to be a huge difference.

I think you're right, GL. It won't sound much different, but the actual difference in sound pressure level is surprisingly large. I had to brush up on this.

 

The sound pressure level between 125 db and 130 db is not on a linear scale. It's logarithmic.

 

Now my Physics Lab days came & went long ago, but IIRC, (and some Physics Lab Whiz will be sure to correct me if I state this incorrectly) there's a doubling of magnitude in sound pressure level in a 3 dB differential -- but a PERCEIVED doubling in a 10 dB differential.

 

But then, it seems that we can't detect much difference in sound levels of less than a few dB output signal strength.

 

From the Free Web Dictionary:

 

decibel

 

The decibel (dB) is a measure of the ratio between two quantities, and is used in a wide variety of measurements in acoustics, physics and electronics. While originally only used for power and intensity ratios, it has come to be used more generally in engineering. The decibel is widely used in measurements of the loudness of sound. It is a "dimensionless unit" like percent. Decibels are useful because they allow even very large or small ratios to be represented with a conveniently small number (similar to scientific notation). This is achieved by using a logarithm.

 

Under controlled conditions, in an acoustical laboratory, the trained healthy human ear is able to discern changes in sound levels of 1 dB, when exposed to steady, single frequency ("pure tone") signals in the mid-frequency range. It is widely accepted that the average healthy ear, however, can barely perceive noise level changes of 3 dB.

 

On this scale, the normal range of human hearing extends from about 0 dB(SPL) to about 140 dB(SPL). 0 dB(SPL) is the threshold of hearing in healthy, undamaged human ears at 1 kHz; 0 dB(SPL) is not an absence of sound, and it is possible for people with exceptionally good hearing to hear sounds at −10 dB(SPL). A 3 dB increase in the level of continuous noise doubles the sound power, however experimentation has determined that the response of the human ear results in a perceived doubling of loudness for approximately every 10 dB increase (part of Stevens' power law).

[Guest GuzziLee]

I think you're right, GL. It won't sound much different, but the actual difference in sound pressure level is surprisingly large. I had to brush up on this.

 

The sound pressure level between 125 db and 130 db is not on a linear scale. It's logarithmic.

 

Now my Physics Lab days came & went long ago, but IIRC, (and some Physics Lab Whiz will be sure to correct me if I state this incorrectly) there's a doubling of magnitude in sound pressure level in a 3 dB differential -- but a PERCEIVED doubling in a 10 dB differential.

 

But then, it seems that we can't detect much difference in sound levels of less than a few dB output signal strength.

 

From the Free Web Dictionary:

 

decibel

 

The decibel (dB) is a measure of the ratio between two quantities, and is used in a wide variety of measurements in acoustics, physics and electronics. While originally only used for power and intensity ratios, it has come to be used more generally in engineering. The decibel is widely used in measurements of the loudness of sound. It is a "dimensionless unit" like percent. Decibels are useful because they allow even very large or small ratios to be represented with a conveniently small number (similar to scientific notation). This is achieved by using a logarithm.

 

Under controlled conditions, in an acoustical laboratory, the trained healthy human ear is able to discern changes in sound levels of 1 dB, when exposed to steady, single frequency ("pure tone") signals in the mid-frequency range. It is widely accepted that the average healthy ear, however, can barely perceive noise level changes of 3 dB.

 

On this scale, the normal range of human hearing extends from about 0 dB(SPL) to about 140 dB(SPL). 0 dB(SPL) is the threshold of hearing in healthy, undamaged human ears at 1 kHz; 0 dB(SPL) is not an absence of sound, and it is possible for people with exceptionally good hearing to hear sounds at −10 dB(SPL). A 3 dB increase in the level of continuous noise doubles the sound power, however experimentation has determined that the response of the human ear results in a perceived doubling of loudness for approximately every 10 dB increase (part of Stevens' power law).

Interesting this sound stuff isn't it. The human ear along with the above db range processess the sound waves which are actually what we can hear considering no hearing loss in particular ranges between about 20 hertz and about 20khz. With the human voice being around the 1khz range (and also : that tone that makes you buy stuff at KMart is at 1 khz) makes the FIAM AM 80 trumpet at 480hz not unpleasureable just loud because of ..your right..the spl.

As a live on the road sound engineer for 15 years and several feedback squeeks of 2k at about 120 db from rock and roll guitar players monitors, even I need a good horn once and a while!

As my old boss Arlo Guthrie says "If you remember the sixties..You weren't there!

[Guest ratchethack]

As my old boss Arlo Guthrie says "If you remember the sixties..You weren't there!

Your old boss?! Would that also make you a sometime acquaintence of Alice, her husband Ray, and Foucher the dog, of Stockbridge, Mass?

 

With no disrespect to Arlo, those're words of somewhat questionable wisdom.

 

After all, Arlo also said, "I don't wanna pickle, I just wanna ride my moooo-oooo-oooo-ooooo-oooo-ooootersickle. . ."

[Guest GuzziLee]

Your old boss?! Would that also make you a sometime acquaintence of Alice, her husband Ray, and Foucher the dog, of Stockbridge, Mass?

 

With no disrespect to Arlo, those're words of somewhat questionable wisdom.

 

After all, Arlo also said, "I don't wanna pickle, I just wanna ride my moooo-oooo-oooo-ooooo-oooo-ooootersickle. . ."

You need to finish the all important line of the Motorcycle Song

"And I don't want to die,

I just wanna ride

on my motorcy...........cle!

Alice is still alive and well on the cape.

[docc]

I seem to remember reading those lyrics were based on some truth of arlo crashing his bike. A Triumph was it?

[Guest GuzziLee]

I seem to remember reading those lyrics were based on some truth of arlo crashing his bike. A Triumph was it?

Sure enough was a dump on a Triumph that inspired the tale and a great song. Arlo took my Lemans IV for about a block around the church and returned (upright thank god ) with a huge grin, not really sure he ground his way even past third though, but loved it.