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Stebel air horn saved my a**


Gary N.

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http://www.trainhorn.org/Kleinn-Direct-Drive-Air-Horn--2-trumpet_p_115.html

 

I'm thinking on these.. with a compressor like that, i imagine they would be quite LOUD :)

 

i've got a pair of stebls, one low tone, one high tone. they pulled so much juice that on my 82 GS if i hooked them both up and the bike was just at idle, it killed it. but they are holy CRAP loud with 12 gauge wire! :D

 

Klein rates this horn at 132dB. TwistedThrottle rates the Stebel at 139dB? Have you heard the Klein? Is it louder?

 

This site has some interesting train horns. They say their loudest is 154.2dB. That's at least twice as loud as the Stebel. Is it 3 times louder (15dB difference)?

 

Dave

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Every 3 dB doubles the sound pressure.

 

A dB reading without listing which scale and the distance it is measured at, is meaningless but can look great on paper to someone that does not understand what they are looking at.

 

I used to work for Prime Mfg that manufactured real train horns for real trains.

 

The sound spec for a true train horn is 125 dBA at 100 yards.

The Prime Mfg horns use 125psi at 20cfm. That is a lot of air.

 

If you want to know how your horn compares, try doing a measurement at 20 yards, that is about as close as it will matter to a cage. Anything less than 20 yards and there is probably not enough reaction time left to matter.

 

Most of the "train" horns sold on the internet while very loud, do not come close to a real train horn in volume.

.

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Every 3 dB doubles the sound pressure.

 

A dB reading without listing which scale and the distance it is measured at, is meaningless but can look great on paper to someone that does not understand what they are looking at.

 

I used to work for Prime Mfg that manufactured real train horns for real trains.

 

The sound spec for a true train horn is 125 dBA at 100 yards.

The Prime Mfg horns use 125psi at 20cfm. That is a lot of air.

 

If you want to know how your horn compares, try doing a measurement at 20 yards, that is about as close as it will matter to a cage. Anything less than 20 yards and there is probably not enough reaction time left to matter.

 

Most of the "train" horns sold on the internet while very loud, do not come close to a real train horn in volume.

.

I remember seeing your earlier posts on this. I further saw that the Stebel is 139 dBA at 4" and it dissipates very very quickly. FOUR INCHES.

 

Dave

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It's true you need to know the distance being measured to get the ratings. And while the Stebel horn may look puny by the numbers it's still one of the best bets going to increase sound on our bikes. I won't go into conventional air horns but those generally require a lot more room to mount, not to mention higher costs.

Larry

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Do you use the orig. horn button or is there a different one. I'm looking into getting this horn along with the carbon one bracket and wiring harness.
As mentioned the original horn button can and should be used but it is necessary to hook a fused relay to the original horn circuit that uses the button to energize it. Without the relay the horn button contacts and wires are too small to operate a high output horn. The relay makes a direct connection from the horn to the battery for full power.
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As we all know, there are a lot of "statistics" and "measurements" claimed in manufacturer advertisements that count on the lack of consumer education to generate sales. This has been called "lies through statistics".

 

If you're interested in sound level measurements, this should give you enough of a taste to let you know there's a lot more to it than some number of dB:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel

I have a few books on the subject, but they're more useful for designing sound systems than for purchasing a horn.

 

So, since most folks looking for a loud horn have zero interest in getting a thorough education in sound level measurements, an easier way to find the loudest horn is to hear them side by side, or to ask others who have heard them side by side.

 

I can share my experience. I've accidentally beeped my truck horn in my garage, and it was unpleasant. I accidentally beeped the Stebel horn on my previous bike while in my garage, and it was painful, with my ears ringing for quite a while afterwards. Now I wear earplugs whenever working on the Stebel, just in case.

 

Part of that is the frequency. The Stebel is a mix of medium and high frequencies, like a group of people shrieking at the same time, only louder, where car horns are usually more of a low/medium frequency, which carries farther outside due to the longer sound waves, but isn't quite as obnoxious, and a train's horn is at an even lower mix of frequencies, and can travel for miles.

 

Since the Stebel's primary use on a motorcycle is for things happening relatively close to the motorcycle (within 100 ft), rather than a block or a mile away, the medium/high frequencies are extremely effective, based on personal experience.

 

If someone made a horn as loud as those on trains for use on motorcycles, I'd guess most of us would have one just for the added fun factor to let cagers know they've done something stupid. Unfortunately, with today's technologies, that would be too heavy and not cost effective, where the Stebel is light, inexpensive, and very effective.

 

:)

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I agree they are GREAT horns as mine also saved my but a few times also. \unfortunately I went to use it one day last year and it sounded like a dying cow so I had to hook up old horns and you can hardly hear them over my exhaust while idling(have Vance@Hines on Roadstar) so am saving up to get another for my bike before it goes on the road again.

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I'm not sure if you've done this yet, but I'd recommend checking the ground connection to the Stebel. From what I've read, corroded ground connections are the most common culprit for faulty Stebels. I use dialectric grease on most bike connections as a preventative measure.

 

just a thought

 

:)

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