Low tone horns may give a high dba reading but frequency is also critical if a horn will be heard or not by typical car drivers. Modern cars are very well insulated against sound.
A super loud low tone horn will scare the crap out of you if you are standing next to the bike. But the real test is how well this sound penetrates.
Human hearing likes a sharp, upper register in the upper mid range, like
5K to 8K hertz. The little stock Jap horns aren't really LOUD .... but that mid to high frequency tends to cut through car windows, traffic noise, et al.
I have a Fiam horn on my DR650. It's just OK, a bit louder than stock, no relay required ... but a relay is always better. I heard a horn on a guys R1 Yam on Sunday. I was 20 meters away and it made me JUMP! LOUD and a very sharp tone. Never did find out what it was. Loudest bike horn I've heard. I'm still looking.
It would be nice to not only measure dbA but also frequency spread and to see what frequency the the peak dbA falls at. Without a relay I don't think the DR would power a good horn very well. What 'ya think Frank?
Patrick
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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!
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