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Rev bombs?

ST Guy said:
PEOPLE!......put real horns on your motorcycles!! They could save your life some day.
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If I’m in a situation where I need my horn to avoid a collision, I’ve done a lot of things wrong to get to that point. There are a lot of better investments a rider can make in their personal safety than the horn.
 
tzrider said:
If I’m in a situation where I need my horn to avoid a collision, I’ve done a lot of things wrong to get to that point. There are a lot of better investments a rider can make in their personal safety than the horn.
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tenor.gif
 
I went through 2 of those Stebel horns before I gave up. The plastic rattles apart and moisture kills 'em. Went with dual Fiamm blasters on both my bikes.
 
tzrider said:
If I’m in a situation where I need my horn to avoid a collision, I’ve done a lot of things wrong to get to that point. There are a lot of better investments a rider can make in their personal safety than the horn.
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Andy,

I think you're missing out on an excellent safety device to augment what you're already doing.

There is no doubt that a good blast from a horn will, in most cases, result in a positive result as far as the motorcyclists is concerned. I've seen it more than a few times. And having a good horn doesn't mean you depend upon it to the exclusion of anything else. When I ride, I (like you I assume) am always reading the situation I'm riding into. I then will do what's appropriate. Slow, speed up, cover my brakes, change lane or lane position, check my 6, etc., etc, etc. And one of those things that I do, is sometimes cover the horn button. It's automatic and instinctual. And has saved my ass a couple times or more.

When we're riding, we try to do as much as possible to avoid being in less than ideal riding situations, but sometimes it's unavoidable. And you don't have to have done things wrong to get to that point. Let's say traffic on the freeway is slowing unusually (an accident up ahead). You slow as well. People start darting from one lane to the next and also closing in behind you. You position yourself as best as possible, eyeing those drivers around you. You have zero place to go as you're balancing the space in front of you with that next to you and behind you. There's no "out". All of a sudden, the dimwit next to you decides your lane is the one he wants to be in. Your options are to move over a bit more, assuming you have that space which you probably do but that's about it. If you nail the brakes, the other dimwit behind you will likely crawl up your ass. And you have no out in front of you. So, you nail your horn. If it's the typical stock motorcycle horn, the driver is likely not going to hear you and they'll continue their lane change into you. But, if you have something nice like a pair of FIAMM's or Bosch horns, odds are extremely good that you're going to get a reaction from the driver in the form of them jerking the wheel back and halting their move into your space.

Yes, continue doing all that you do to stay safe, but know that sometimes, there's nothing more you can do and a loud pair of horns could easily save your ass.

FYI, I've tuned my horns so they are in a dissonant minor key that sounds more angry and pissed off. And when you hit the button, the effect on those around me is instant. No waiting for the relatively slow rev of an engine and someone's slow realization that there's a engine nearby and that might mean some sort of vehicle as well. (During that time, if it happens at all, the driver can easily finish their maneuver and hit you.) Good horns are instant and "NOW" and get immediate attention.
 
awbho said:
Just wanted to see what's the opinion on BARF on rev bombing?

Is it effective? When should the bomb be dropped? What if I have a stock exhaust? Does it really make sense to get an loud aftermarket just so cars can hear you? Do people do it so cars would make space when they split?

Last week, on my commute through local roads in stop-go traffic I could hear an R1 approaching from far far away. The rider rev'd the crap out of the bike, bouncing off the limiter a couple of times, all way splitting down the street while going ~5-10mph. I personally thought it was super annoying.

I am curious what's the accepted etiquette around here.
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Loud pipes definitely save lives. That’s why Oakland cops use them.

I have loud pipes on my Softail but have never rev bombed. Seems like needless wear and tear on the engine. :thumbdown
 
Bluehot said:
If you are the douche Harley rider doing the rev bombs with open pipes and the loud radio in the morning on Kimball Ave in San Ramon setting off car alarms, go fuck your obnoxious self.

There, I feel better. I'm with EBDave, I'd like to chase that fucker down and ask WTF! How can you be so oblivious to others?
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After you chase him down what are you going to do when you see his HA patch?:rofl
 
There is actually a legit history behind rev bombing, that is no longer extant on modern machines.

Bikers would rev between gears to match rpm when shifting to save clutch and chain wear. With better components, tighter gear ratios and many bikes having slipper clutches and better flywheels this is now largely unnecessary.

In pre EVO days, Harleys were carbureted very badly, and because of the weird firing order and much bad tuning, Harleys would in many cases not idle well at stoplights. So it was necessary to feed a little fuel to keep the engine running.

BTW I have a performance car with extra pipe noise. The problem is they pipe it into the passenger cabin. PITA.:thumbdown
 
tzrider said:
If I’m in a situation where I need my horn to avoid a collision, I’ve done a lot of things wrong to get to that point. There are a lot of better investments a rider can make in their personal safety than the horn.
Click to expand...

ST Guy said:
Andy,
...There is no doubt that a good blast from a horn will, in most cases, result in a positive result as far as the motorcyclists is concerned.
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Gotta say my experience favors Andy. If you need to BLAST your horn, you've already made mistakes.

In addition, a LOUD blast from a horn from a motorcycle can cause unanticipated action from the motorist, which is NOT what we wantl
 
mrmarklin said:
Loud pipes definitely save lives. That’s why Oakland cops use them.

I have loud pipes on my Softail but have never rev bombed. Seems like needless wear and tear on the engine. :thumbdown
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Yeah why rev bomb and annoy people once in a while, when you can do it all the time.
 
WWWobble said:
Gotta say my experience favors Andy. If you need to BLAST your horn, you've already made mistakes.

In addition, a LOUD blast from a horn from a motorcycle can cause unanticipated action from the motorist, which is NOT what we wantl
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Disagree.

You can make zero mistakes and still find yourself in a compromised position. If you don't know and understand that, you are fooling yourself. There is much you have zero control over while riding. Think about it.

The usual reaction to a loud horn blast is for the person hearing it to move away from the source of the sound. Can the driver react unusually? Sure. However, the odds of the driver not reacting in favor of the rider are very, very low. The odds are way in the rider's favor.

Your arguments are weak at best.
 
ST Guy said:
Disagree.

You can make zero mistakes and still find yourself in a compromised position. If you don't know and understand that, you are fooling yourself. There is much you have zero control over while riding. Think about it.

The usual reaction to a loud horn blast is for the person hearing it to move away from the source of the sound. Can the driver react unusually? Sure. However, the odds of the driver not reacting in favor of the rider are very, very low. The odds are way in the rider's favor.

Your arguments are weak at best.
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I find you put way to much trust in your horn. I can easily say your arguments are weak as well. We all know that horn doesn’t mean someone is going to give a damn at all. I can’t count how many times I’ve laid on my horn in a car and the other driver just continues on with the “sorry” look.

Instead of being so defiant why not try to see it from the perspective of the other guy? Maybe noise is noise and that’s what we’re trying to do, be noisy.
 
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