Air horns

[Aitch]

Why are bike horns so pathetic? Why not fit airhorns so that even if the car driver can't see the bike, he'll bloody well HEAR it!?

[Coyote]

Or what about those novelty horns!! The ones with those 3 red siren thingees!!

[Aitch]

Do they play la cucaracha?

[Coyote]

Do they play la cucaracha?
I need something I can 'rumba' too

[Holy Roller]

Why are bike horns so pathetic? Why not fit airhorns so that even if the car driver can't see the bike, he'll bloody well HEAR it!?
Several here have some fitted or have had them on their bike. I fitted some twin air horns on my GPZ just make sure they are wired through a relay.

[bugjuice]

if you take the backs off and have them pointing backwards, do they work when you go reeeeeeeeeeally fast...?? could be funny..

[woody68]

I had some on a bike once Bloody good to make the idiots shit themselves. :2thumbsup

[FEINT]

how about a Yoshi pipe and just REV.. ?

I have air horns on the car and they are real loud. The air horns just take up alot of space on the bike. You need space to mount the horns and the air pump. Mine air horns tend to blow fuses on the cage as well. I wonder if they will do the same for the bike.

:ride:

[saiko]

I bought 2 sets of air horns years ago, so I could run one set of horns, with 2 compressors on my VF. It did the trick, my mate could hear me coming, as I came around the corner from his work & tootled it. But... the lights would dim, and revs cut away whenever I tooted. Still a second battery fixed that, although fitting all that crap under small fairings was a bit of a challenge.

[Sniper]

I could imagine. Any idea on the current used to run an air horn pump?

[Wolf]

I used a standard electric horn from a Triumph Herald and it was a definiter improvement over the standard bike horn - a loud, lower pitched "bellow" rather than a pathetic, high-pitched "strangled fart".

Not as loud as an air horn but it was certainly loud enough to be heard inside a cage at a reasonable distance and make them take notice.

If I went for air horns I'd want the full-on 24-volt truck horns - something that reaches into the cager's primitive hindbrain and flicks the ancient synaptic "switch" that's labelled "There's a fucking great truck bearing down on your arse".

I have a suspicion they'd do a little more than just dim the lights and make the engine miss, though.

[inlinefour]

Had the running gear for all the siren and lights. I hooked up a massive halogen lamp and put it on top of the headlight. I also put some rather large air horns and compressor on it that I think came out of a small truck. Made a blardy loud noise and I allways made sure I was wearing my helmet when setting it off...

[Wolf]

I also put some rather large air horns and compressor on it that I think came out of a small truck. Made a blardy loud noise and I allways made sure I was wearing my helmet when setting it off...
Too bad about the other poor bastards within six blocks.

What'd you do, mount 'em on the back where the radio used to sit?

[Hitcher]

Do they play la cucaracha?
Or Greensleeves...

[Zed]

Why are bike horns so pathetic? Why not fit airhorns so that even if the car driver can't see the bike, he'll bloody well HEAR it!?Yes I agree, the standard microphone type horns fitted to bikes are ridiculous, the only time I use my rude sounding one nowadays is when I toot someone goodbye!

I used to sell air horns - they are a great idea for a motorcycle if you can find space to fit them? If you're daring you can go the whole hog and get musical ones...the Cavalry Charge, Dixie (Dukes of Hazard), Stranger in the Night, and Bridge on the River Kwai were some of the tunes that used to be available :whistle:. Personally I'd stick with the twin or triple single blast ones :Punk:.

[StoneChucker]

I guess it depends on your bike. Mine is about as loud as my car, I don't have any issues with it. Back in SA, I fitted a triple airhorn system into my car. It was pretty loud, but airhorns are also pretty big. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want one on my bike. They are also normally constructed out of cheap plastic, or I haven't seen any decent looking ones.

It boils down to safety I guess. If your horn is really quiet, then yeah go for a louder one. Doesn't necessarily have to be an air-horn.

[geoffm]

The RD350 has air horns, which were on it when I got it as the standard budgie had died. Work well, but only if the motor is running due to the tiddly battery. Beemer has a good horn, being a refugee from some BMW car.
Most of them are just enough to get a WOF and no more.
Geoff

[2_SL0]

I heard of a funny thing that hapend to someone with airhorns on a bike.
A driver of a car was turning in front of him or somethin along those lines, so he hit his horn. She turned looked straight at him and carried on her way. He crashed into her. When the lady was asked later why she didnt see him, especially as he had tooed his horn. The reply was " I turned and looked for the TRUCK, but couldnt see it"
The rider removed the airhorns.

[pritch]

The horns mentioned in this item are electric but some are reputedly authoritative. Of interest was the mention of a pre assembled wiring loom for the horns. I absolutely want something better than what came standard.

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

[pritch]

www.webbikeworld.com/t2/horn-relay/motorcycle-horn-relay.htm

[pritch]

www.easternbeaver.com/Home/Main/Products/Horns_Kit/horns_kit.html

That URL's a bit long, you may have to cut and paste it.

[Silage]

Any idea on the current used to run an air horn pump?

I bought a cheap ($24) twin set at Cheap Auto or whatever and direct wired it without the relay cos I was cheap and cos it draws the same current either way. Bought a switch capable of handling current and it works fine.

How much current? It was OK a number of times on a 10amp fuse, but then it blew. Now on a 15A and seems OK.

Mounted only the short horn as far back on the front forks as it would go but have discovered the horn hits the mudguard on big bumps and heavy braking. Otherwise it is certainly louder than the original.

[Ixion]

I put air horns (the cheap ones) on the Beammer, but I was rather disappointed.They were quite loud compared with a lot of bike horns but not the primal mountain crumbling noise that I wanted. But the combination of air horns and the standard (very loud) BMW horns is not too bad. It is possible that they are a bit munted because I had to seriously extend the length of the airhoses. The compressor is in the top box, the trumpets are mounted on the carshbars.

Incidentally the musical ones are illegal here . No probs with the current drain but BMWs have 700 watt alternators

[inlinefour]

Too bad about the other poor bastards within six blocks.

What'd you do, mount 'em on the back where the radio used to sit?

The compressor was out the back and the horns was up the frount. Never actually let em rip late when they could have woken someone up (except for shift workers like me). Generally only used them out on the open road and if I had have kept the bike I could have quite easily removed the horns and put another halogen on the bike instead. :cool: