Back in June we were touting a tiny monster horn from Wolo called the Bad Boy. ONE hundred and eighteen dB’s of bliss-breaking noise… and life was good.
Today I saw a post from Dudel in Seattle mentioning the 12v Stebel Nautilus Compact Dual-Tone Air Horn which generates a whopping 139 dB’s of tire-screeching, heart-attack inspiring, pedestrian pants soiling, audio waves for your defensive driving enjoyment. She appears to be a very popular option for the 2-wheeled crowd and would definitely get someone’s attention.
Steve Morris over at the ModernVespa forums was kind enough to document the step-by-step installation process as it pertains to his Vespa LX150. Looks like a pretty painless job. You can even go to Steve’s site and listen to a wave of the Stebel Nautilus in all its teeth shattering glory.
TwistedThrottle has ‘em for about $36 if yer interested and on their site they say:
These horns are really freakin’ LOUD….…Keep this in mind: sound energy doubles for every 3 points you go up in the decibel scale. It means that the Stebel Nautilus horn, which produces 139 dB of sound, puts out 800% of the sound energy of the more expensive FIAMM Freeway Blaster, which only produces 130 dB of sound energy.
You will not be dissapointed – just make sure you wire the included relay properly, as replacement horns used without a relay don’t get enough electrical current to be fully effective.
Fun for the whole family!
14. February 2007 at 4:47 am
Viola, the Hummer of the scooter horn world: more than you need, more than anyone could ever possibly need, more than enough to annoy everyone else.
Here are a few interesting facts about the decibel scale:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/question124.htm
According to them, this little air horn rates 30 dB higher than a normal car horn, hence 1000 times more intense and audible from over 30 times further away.
Is that necessary? Logic says you wouldn’t have to be any louder than an average car to be heard, and louder sounds are not easier to locate. Punch the button on this little sucker and motorists for three blocks will be asking, “What was that noise?” but they won’t necessarily see or avoid you.
Whatever you do, don’t honk this baby with your head near it. It’s approximately as loud as a gunshot and “any exposure to 140-dB sound causes immediate [hearing] damage (and causes actual pain).”
Driving is still a mainly visual activity, so if you really want safety some retroreflective day-glo is almost certainly a better investment.
14. February 2007 at 2:30 pm
Steve,
I have one of those on my 2002 Honda Silver Wing and it is honking LOUD! It has already paid for itself several times.
Ed in Baton Rouge
24. February 2007 at 10:40 am
Hrm… interesting stuff.
I’m been trying to think of ways myself to make my scooter or person more visible in the day time.
There’s got to be a way to make your whole scooter flash brightly without looking like you’ve strung Christmas lights all over it.
Maybe in the future we’ll have a holographic projector mounted to our scoots. When it’s turned on it looks like a big dirty Mack Truck is coming down the road.
10. July 2009 at 8:34 pm
Until holograms are practical, Steve, you might want to try what I'm planning: go to your local electronic supply and buy/build an LED flasher circuit. Get 2-4 of the biggest bright-white LEDs they have and mount them facing forward in your plasticwork. Mount a momentary pushbutton by your left thumb, and at every busy intersection or guy sliding blithely out of a sidestreet, give 'em something they can't miss!
10. July 2009 at 8:55 pm
NVanWendy! I think you're on to something. Can you keep us posted on your project? I'd love to see the outcome!
2. December 2012 at 9:50 pm
Put a Stebel on my GTS300ie. Darn right it is loud! Tractor-trailer/Big-rig loud. Hands over your face loud, I’m dead loud. Once I see it’s only a scooter I’m very, very pissed loud. But, I am still a live loud.