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Rev bombs?

I see the horn as just another tool in our tool box to get home safely. The main tool is our awareness of what's happening in the traffic pattern, the best way to avoid trouble is to recognize the potential for trouble and make adjustments that avoid it before the threat even develops, the second layer is to react to the threat as early in the situation as possible, the third layer is to react decisively when the threat comes at us. At some point the horn may be used if necessary to let a clueless person know that you're there, it won't work with a flaming asshole that just didn't give a fuck and is going to do what they're going to do anyways. Most people presenting a threat to us are clueless or careless and not the total flaming assholes that don't give a shit.
 
EastBayDave said:
In some area's, especially at night, a honk might get you a bullet(s) coming your way. Realize how many freeway shootings we've been seeing lately...:wow
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While the possibility exists that you might piss off some gang banger, most of those freeway shootings (at least the ones near Richmond) are gang related and targeting rival gang members, so the impression may be somewhat misleading.
 
When a driver starts an action, the usual response to a horn is to return to their previous state. Stop that lane change. Stop pulling forward from the stop sign. This is especially true of louder horns. If the horn sounds like a Vespa, only the small subsection of people who can both hear the horn and have respect for other motorists will stop.

If you swap out to a louder horn, you increase the number of people who will hear it. So now you are reaching a larger segment: well-insulated car drivers, drivers who lost their hearing because they don't use earplugs on their motorcycles, etc. You also increase the perception: many who hear a Vespa-like horn will laugh, mostly because they don't respect a small vehicle. Whatcha gonna do 'boudit? When you sound like a larger vehicle, their reflexive response is more cautious. Where is that beast that could hurt me [my car]. Where is it? MOST people react differently to a train/semi horn versus a Vespa horn.

If Entoptic's experience is that drivers give zero fucks about motorcycles and their beeps, perhaps that experience is strongly influenced by the anemic horns manufacturers put on the motorcycles. In my case, I have factory pipes so I'm betting against anyone hearing the bike even if I revbomb.

I'm not making the argument that drivers will always act in a manner that we want. That is true regardless of the horn/jacket/helmet/headlamp we use. I am arguing that when we have more tools immediately available, we have more choices. Let's say a driver is changing lanes into me on the freeway, even though I did everything else right. I've decided my best course is to accelerate, and I'm also hoping to get the driver's attention. I can't revbomb and wheelie for safety at the same time, but I can twist the throttle to the stops and give a blast with my left thumb (assuming I don't cancel my turnsignal to death instead. I'm not perfect.)
 
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MapleRoad said:
When you sound like a larger vehicle, their reflexive response is more cautious. Where is that beast that could hurt me [my car]. Where is it? MOST people react differently to a train/semi horn versus a Vespa horn.
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:thumbup I had an airhorn on a few bikes; sounded like a cross between a pickup truck and a big rig horn. Worked incredibly well, although evasive maneuvers work better.

Rev bombing is a good way to get unwanted attention from the police. Especially when one of those police lives near a busy street and is regularly awoken by bikes roaring by in the middle of the night and now has a good reason to cite 27151 VC :nchantr
 
MapleRoad said:
When a driver starts an action, the usual response to a horn is to return to their previous state. Stop that lane change. Stop pulling forward from the stop sign. This is especially true of louder horns. If the horn sounds like a Vespa, only the small subsection of people who can both hear the horn and have respect for other motorists will stop.

If you swap out to a louder horn, you increase the number of people who will hear it. So now you are reaching a larger segment: well-insulated car drivers, drivers who lost their hearing because they don't use earplugs on their motorcycles, etc. You also increase the perception: many who hear a Vespa-like horn will laugh, mostly because they don't respect a small vehicle. Whatcha gonna do 'boudit? When you sound like a larger vehicle, their reflexive response is more cautious. Where is that beast that could hurt me [my car]. Where is it? MOST people react differently to a train/semi horn versus a Vespa horn.

If Entoptic's experience is that drivers give zero fucks about motorcycles and their beeps, perhaps that experience is strongly influenced by the anemic horns manufacturers put on the motorcycles. In my case, I have factory pipes so I'm betting against anyone hearing the bike even if I revbomb.

I'm not making the argument that drivers will always act in a manner that we want. That is true regardless of the horn/jacket/helmet/headlamp we use. I am arguing that when we have more tools immediately available, we have more choices. Let's say a driver is changing lanes into me on the freeway, even though I did everything else right. I've decided my best course is to accelerate, and I'm also hoping to get the driver's attention. I can't revbomb and wheelie for safety at the same time, but I can twist the throttle to the stops and give a blast with my left thumb (assuming I don't cancel my turnsignal to death instead. I'm not perfect.)
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Well said.
 
Entoptic said:
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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How do you know how much trust I put into my horn? The thing I trust the most is my ability to avoid getting into a funky situation in the first place. And once in a funky situation (not necessarily of my own making), I trust my skills and ability to get out of it. Years of experience riding and commuting. And lane sharing. Etc. The horn is an excellent tool if you call upon it as long as it's loud and obnoxious. The pathetic little single horns on 99% of motorcycles aren't going to do shit so unless you've spent time riding a motorcycle with really good horns, you don't have the experience to say they aren't worth much. In my early days of riding, I only had the piece of shit horn that Suzuki put on my bike. And my experience using it was much as others hear have said.....horns don't do shit. However, I decided to put some dual FIAMM's on my bike and after finding the place to put them and not have it look like crap, the first time I used them I was a believer. Like MapleRoad said, invariably the first reaction of a driver to a horn is to stop what they're doing and return to their previous state. If they're starting to move from a stop sign, they jam on the brakes. If they're in the process of moving over a lane, that quickly reverse their move and go back into their lane. Fact. Does it work that time 100% of the time? No. But it works that way the vast majority of the time and that's why it's an excellent tool to have in your toolbox (so to speak).

And think of this.....It's probably happened to you where there's a slow poke driver front of you who's taking way too much time at a four way stop to get their ass going. You're pissed, frustrated, whatever and decide to give them a blast of your car or truck horn just as they start moving. The instant they hear the horn they jam on their brakes. They stop what they were doing and return to their previous state.
 
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I use my horn to tell the texters that the light has turned green and it's time to drive.
 
Climber said:
I see the horn as just another tool in our tool box to get home safely. The main tool is our awareness of what's happening in the traffic pattern, the best way to avoid trouble is to recognize the potential for trouble and make adjustments that avoid it before the threat even develops, the second layer is to react to the threat as early in the situation as possible, the third layer is to react decisively when the threat comes at us. At some point the horn may be used if necessary to let a clueless person know that you're there, it won't work with a flaming asshole that just didn't give a fuck and is going to do what they're going to do anyways. Most people presenting a threat to us are clueless or careless and not the total flaming assholes that don't give a shit.
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dravnx said:
I use my horn to tell the texters that the light has turned green and it's time to drive.
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Lol that’s about all a horn is good for these days.
 
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