Lightweight horn alternative

Bitza · 25-11-2021, 07:11 PM

Hi All, OK it struck me the other day that the horn on my heap only gets used once a year.... at Mot time, and for the rest of the year I take it out for rides. So is there a lightweight alternative to satisfy the legal requirement?
Bitza

Dukedesmo · 26-11-2021, 09:19 AM

Mark64 · 26-11-2021, 09:56 AM

Does it come with matching big red shoes?

slob · 26-11-2021, 10:11 AM

Not MOTable, can't produce a continuous tone.

Given your CF/Ti throttle quadrant manufacturing success, I can see an opportunity for you there ;-)
First stop: local mc breakers, take your kitchen scales to find the smallest/lightest donor item to start from.

crawsue · 26-11-2021, 11:36 AM

Bummer about the single continuous note regs....I was going to link the squeeze bulb on the horn to the water squirting flower on my lapel.....hey-ho...

Mr Gazza · 26-11-2021, 12:34 PM

I've no idea how loud a cab buzzer would be?
https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co...?search=buzzer
VWP is a good company to deal with and have an interesting catalogue of useful looking stuff. One for the favourites bar.

You would probably need to mount it on something that would resonate to amplify it a bit and possibly make a lightweight carbon horn of some sort? (Take the top off a coke can and mount it in the bottom?)
At least you could put as many as you liked on your bike as the weight is listed as 0.00kg.

I've gone the other way on the Commando and mounted two horns, a hi and lo.
Thinking about putting some mega horns on the Monster too, as I am sick and tired of 2@s pulling out in front of me.. Something to hopefully burst their eardrums or shatter their windows..

Bitza · 26-11-2021, 01:48 PM

Well the squeeze horn idea takes me back to the late 70's, at that time I lived/worked SW London and the best place to get an MOT was Mac Motors around Mitchum way as I remember. Anyway if your bike was a little iffy then the drill was to wait for a rainy day, then park the bike out on the street in front of the shop forecourt, go in buy a bulb horn and ask for the MOT, which simply involved telling Mac the registration number and paying the fee. Things seem so much more involved these days.

Cab buzzer seems like an idea, I'm going to try out a plastic alarm horn 125Dbs, 266gms max saving on this one.

slob · 26-11-2021, 02:19 PM

266g!

this one claims to be under 100g
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorcycle-...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

The cab buzzer will probably be 80-90dB and about 30g

"An audible warning must be loud enough to be heard by other road users.
For vehicles first used on or after 1 August 1973, the sound emitted must be continuous or uniform."

Mr Gazza · 26-11-2021, 03:25 PM

Would the noisy bit of a smoke alarm be usable? There might be a voltage issue but not unresolvable. No idea how they work, nor if they can be made to sound continuously.. Bloody loud though!

Dukedesmo · 26-11-2021, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slob

this one claims to be under 100g
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorcycle-...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

That looks like the one on my Monster, I bought it because it was slimline (and cheap), sounds a bit squeaky but loud enough and does the job at the MOT station. Can't say I've ever used it in anger...

Bitza · 26-11-2021, 03:35 PM

Well that would save a cool 175gms, pretty goods saving in terms of gms/£. I'll let you know how much the plastic one weighs next week, this thread really is riveting.

slob · 26-11-2021, 05:51 PM

I also almost never used the horn and was in the habit of blipping the throttle and using unbaffled Remus/Termignoni alert others of my presence, until I read the material for a basic maintenance course I was asked to teach, which pointed out that: if you blip the throttle to alert some myopic twit pulling out on you and they knock you off anyway, witness statements are more likely to say “I heard the bike revving hard…” etc.

Mr Gazza · 28-11-2021, 09:46 AM

It was a couple of the little waterproof horns that I put on the Norton.
I weighed them yesterday and can confirm that they are 100g each. Interestingly the stainless bolt, nut and washers weigh in at 26g. I have used a few aluminium bolts on the Monster in low stress areas and they work fine for a fraction of the weight of stainless or Ti.
I also use aluminium nuts on them and sometimes nylon, which are never going to corrode.

The little horns and alloy brackets replace the original structure on the Commando, there was also another Altette the other side. not sure how much this lot weighs as my scales do not read in Solar masses! (It was held together with 12 5/16" bolts and nuts and another 4 to hold it on the frame!)

I've also replaced the two coils with a twin output one which is an unintentional weight saving, but something to think about on a Ducati if it would work? Don't know if you might even have 4 coils on a twin spark motor?
The new bracket is made from alloy channel and doubles as a heat sink.

Bitza · 28-11-2021, 04:47 PM

Neat job Gary. Re coils I'm using Magnetti Marelli ones basically due to the plugs on the harness, and the fact that I couldn't find plugs to suit the Beru coils which lok to be far better. The M M coils do weigh a lot. Something for the future maybe.

slob · 28-11-2021, 08:29 PM

696/796 have much smaller coils than 620/800, might be worth looking at what the 1100(s) uses

25-11-2021, 07:11 PM	#1
Bitza Bronze Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Poole Bike: M900ie Posts: 470	Lightweight horn alternative Hi All, OK it struck me the other day that the horn on my heap only gets used once a year.... at Mot time, and for the rest of the year I take it out for rides. So is there a lightweight alternative to satisfy the legal requirement? Bitza __________________ Bitza

26-11-2021, 09:19 AM	#2
Dukedesmo Registered User Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Leics Bike: M900 Posts: 2,842	__________________ M900, 916, LeMans II.

26-11-2021, 10:11 AM	#4
slob . Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: East London Bike: Multiple Monsters Posts: 9,710	Not MOTable, can't produce a continuous tone. Given your CF/Ti throttle quadrant manufacturing success, I can see an opportunity for you there ;-) First stop: local mc breakers, take your kitchen scales to find the smallest/lightest donor item to start from. Last edited by slob; 26-11-2021 at 10:25 AM..

26-11-2021, 12:34 PM	#6
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,806	I've no idea how loud a cab buzzer would be? https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co...?search=buzzer VWP is a good company to deal with and have an interesting catalogue of useful looking stuff. One for the favourites bar. You would probably need to mount it on something that would resonate to amplify it a bit and possibly make a lightweight carbon horn of some sort? (Take the top off a coke can and mount it in the bottom?) At least you could put as many as you liked on your bike as the weight is listed as 0.00kg. I've gone the other way on the Commando and mounted two horns, a hi and lo. Thinking about putting some mega horns on the Monster too, as I am sick and tired of 2@s pulling out in front of me.. Something to hopefully burst their eardrums or shatter their windows.. __________________

26-11-2021, 01:48 PM	#7
Bitza Bronze Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Poole Bike: M900ie Posts: 470	Well the squeeze horn idea takes me back to the late 70's, at that time I lived/worked SW London and the best place to get an MOT was Mac Motors around Mitchum way as I remember. Anyway if your bike was a little iffy then the drill was to wait for a rainy day, then park the bike out on the street in front of the shop forecourt, go in buy a bulb horn and ask for the MOT, which simply involved telling Mac the registration number and paying the fee. Things seem so much more involved these days. Cab buzzer seems like an idea, I'm going to try out a plastic alarm horn 125Dbs, 266gms max saving on this one. __________________ Bitza

26-11-2021, 09:56 AM	#3
Mark64 Bronze Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Hondon de los Frailes Bike: S4r Posts: 285	Does it come with matching big red shoes?

26-11-2021, 11:36 AM	#5
crawsue Bronze Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Glasgow Bike: M1100evo Posts: 256	Bummer about the single continuous note regs....I was going to link the squeeze bulb on the horn to the water squirting flower on my lapel.....hey-ho...

26-11-2021, 02:19 PM	#8
slob . Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: East London Bike: Multiple Monsters Posts: 9,710	266g! this one claims to be under 100g https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorcycle-...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== The cab buzzer will probably be 80-90dB and about 30g "An audible warning must be loud enough to be heard by other road users. For vehicles first used on or after 1 August 1973, the sound emitted must be continuous or uniform." Last edited by slob; 26-11-2021 at 02:29 PM..

26-11-2021, 03:25 PM	#9
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,806	Would the noisy bit of a smoke alarm be usable? There might be a voltage issue but not unresolvable. No idea how they work, nor if they can be made to sound continuously.. Bloody loud though! __________________

26-11-2021, 03:35 PM	#11
Bitza Bronze Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Poole Bike: M900ie Posts: 470	Well that would save a cool 175gms, pretty goods saving in terms of gms/£. I'll let you know how much the plastic one weighs next week, this thread really is riveting. __________________ Bitza

26-11-2021, 05:51 PM	#12
slob . Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: East London Bike: Multiple Monsters Posts: 9,710	I also almost never used the horn and was in the habit of blipping the throttle and using unbaffled Remus/Termignoni alert others of my presence, until I read the material for a basic maintenance course I was asked to teach, which pointed out that: if you blip the throttle to alert some myopic twit pulling out on you and they knock you off anyway, witness statements are more likely to say “I heard the bike revving hard…” etc.

28-11-2021, 09:46 AM	#13
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,806	It was a couple of the little waterproof horns that I put on the Norton. I weighed them yesterday and can confirm that they are 100g each. Interestingly the stainless bolt, nut and washers weigh in at 26g. I have used a few aluminium bolts on the Monster in low stress areas and they work fine for a fraction of the weight of stainless or Ti. I also use aluminium nuts on them and sometimes nylon, which are never going to corrode. The little horns and alloy brackets replace the original structure on the Commando, there was also another Altette the other side. not sure how much this lot weighs as my scales do not read in Solar masses! (It was held together with 12 5/16" bolts and nuts and another 4 to hold it on the frame!) I've also replaced the two coils with a twin output one which is an unintentional weight saving, but something to think about on a Ducati if it would work? Don't know if you might even have 4 coils on a twin spark motor? The new bracket is made from alloy channel and doubles as a heat sink. __________________ Last edited by Mr Gazza; 28-11-2021 at 09:50 AM..

28-11-2021, 04:47 PM	#14
Bitza Bronze Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Poole Bike: M900ie Posts: 470	Neat job Gary. Re coils I'm using Magnetti Marelli ones basically due to the plugs on the harness, and the fact that I couldn't find plugs to suit the Beru coils which lok to be far better. The M M coils do weigh a lot. Something for the future maybe. __________________ Bitza

28-11-2021, 08:29 PM	#15
slob . Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: East London Bike: Multiple Monsters Posts: 9,710	696/796 have much smaller coils than 620/800, might be worth looking at what the 1100(s) uses