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Many years ago, when I had my beloved AW11, I installed 2 upgraded disc horns that were rated at 118db each (stock is 110db for reference). That was not loud enough for my liking, as my AW11 was largely invisible.

So... I got a pair of these and installed them.

https://www.aerostich.com/ear-cannon-air-horn.html

They're rated for 140db. To translate that into real world usage, if you lay on the horn, 2 standard home blocks in every direction will know that a horn was active.

So, I had 2 118db, and 2 140db horns, compared to the original 2 110db horns. It was absolute overkill, and it was glorious!

There was 1 instance where I needed to use that amazing wall of sound. I was making a right (2 right turn lanes) from the outside right turn lane, and there was a lady in the inner right turn lane. Well, we went and she immediately began crossing over into my lane, so I laid on the horns. Her reaction was to steering so hard to the right that she nearly hit the curb. I just kept going. Hopefully, next time she'll pay attention and not illegally swerve into the wrong lane.

So, I'll be getting these horns again.

 

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Appreciate the pictures my guy!

When I did the install of my ear cannon horn, I was forced to use the relay due to amperage draw of that horn. Admittedly, I would've used a relay regardless, and I'll explain why.

I would always suggest using a relay for devices like this. If you use power from the factory wiring, as the wiring commonly goes like this:
power from battery, horn fuse, horn button, horn.

That path, due to its length, introduces voltage drop along the entire path. While 12v is the standard for horns, with a long power run you could only be getting 9.5v or similar at the horn(s). The result is a horn that is not at 100% volume when you hit the horn button.

Getting power from the primary power source (battery OR massive positive lead under the red cap), then to the relay, then the horn (the horn button triggers the relay, but does not supply power to the horn) is a far shorter electrical path with a lot less power loss. You will likely get 11.5v or 11v of actual power at the horn(s). The result is a noticeably louder horn.

Another detail. If you know the amperage draw (not volts) of the device, you'll want to get wiring that is rated to handle that much amperage, and a bit more if the price isn't significantly more expensive.

Cerrowire Resources - Ampacity Charts

Ampacity is the maximum current that a conductor can carry continuously under the conditions of use without exceeding its temperature rating. Cerrowire's ampacity chart helps calculate the load requirement for a circuit.

www.cerrowire.com

This site shows the wire gauge and amperage it is rated to handle. Be careful of CCA (copper clad aluminum). If you have CCA, you need to use the aluminum rating, and not the pure copper rating.

If the horns only pull 5amps each, then 14 gauge cable would be fine.

if you're crazy and run this ear cannon, it comes with a 30 amp relay, you'll want to run 10 gauge at a minimum or 8 gauge (which I did) for a bit of extra electrical headroom.

Ear Cannon Air Horn

This is a full-power railroad locomotive/ocean liner type compressed air horn squeezed into a bike-mountable package. Totally overkill, until you need to wake up some lethal driver.

www.aerostich.com

 

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I didn't use the relay with the Supertones I recently installed. They are working just fine. What would be the risk of not using the relay?

The worst that could happen is the horn fuse pops. That would only occur if the amperage draw is higher than what the fuse is rated for, which I do not believe is the case with Hella disc horns.