traffic signal device

[quickshift]

I sat a red light today for far too long, and it's not the first time. I have heard of a bolt-on device that helps motorcycles trip traffic lights. Anyone know about it? Any experience? Thanks.

[ESokoloff]

Many claim that like deer whistles they don't work.

I picked up some Neodymium Rare Earth Magnets & installed them on my fluid drain plugs.

Seems to work but I wont swear to it. If it doesn't trip the lights at least it traps fairis(sp) metal in the fluids.

Often I wear steel toe boots. It seams to help if I place my feet above the sensor.

 

Your best bet would be to contact the proper authorities about the light(s) that give you trouble so the sensitivity can be adjusted.

 

Look here for tips on how to approach a sensor.

[Quinn]

I remember being told to flip down my side stand and put it on the cut channel to get enough metal close to the sensor wire to trigger a reaction. Don't know if it really works; it may be like whistling to keep away the elephants. The lights have always changed eventually; and I haven't seen any elephants either.

[moshe_levy]

I tested a Green Light Trigger years ago on my Sportster. See http://www.mklsportster.com/xlgreenlighttrigger.htm

 

FYI, there is a very nice article on how loop sensors work and how to deal with them on a motorcycle in this month's (May) Motorcycle COnsumer News http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/ If you don't subscribe, you should.

 

-MKL

[ShovelStrokeEd]

I usually try to roll the bike along the cut in the ground and come to a stop with my centerstand over where the wires cross.

 

If I wind up thinking the light is too long, I just take a real careful look around and then go through it. BTW, don't do this in front of a LEO, he will fail to see the humor. Better a right and a U-turn.

 

Almost all the lights in my town are controlled by these things and some, at least late at night, will not cycle the light for cross traffic on a main street unless the loop sensor is triggered.

[Jon_M]

If I wind up thinking the light is too long, I just take a real careful look around and then go through it. BTW, don't do this in front of a LEO, he will fail to see the humor. Better a right and a U-turn.

 

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that in California it is legal to proceed cautiously through a turn lane if the light goes through two cycles without changing.

[nrp]

I had a detailed discussion with the engineering dept of Traffic Controls Inc (I think that was the name) who maintained that placing as much metal as close to the search coil as possible was most likely to trip an inductor type sensor. This means that generally place the center of both wheels directly on top of a longitudinal wire cut. The coil dimenaions are given in the above referenced article in Motorcycle Consumer. Tripping should occur in less than 0.1 second if it is going to trip at all.

 

Not at the corners, nor at the inside or center of the coil though.

 

It may be possible that a kickstand or a steel-toed boot can get sufficiently closer (than your rims) that it may also accomplish the trip. Magnets don't theoretically do anything as these are high frequency (like 80 KHz) carrier systems.

 

Federal rules require that these systems be sensitive enough to trip for motorcycles and even bicycles. Unfortunately they also will sometimes trip for heavy trucks in an adjacent lane & that's why the locals turn down the sensitivity. Complain to them.

[Ken H.]

There is an article in this months MCN about this. They went out with a traffic engineer and a measuring device and tested various theories. What they came away with was that the best place to stop was with your engine casing approximately 1 ft. inside of any corner of the sensing grid’s square. Not actually centered on the grid line.

 

Instead place your bike 1 ft. to the right of the left edge and 1 ft. back from the front edge of it. Or similar to any of the corners for max. likelihood of disrupting the field and tripping the light.

[3par]

Just my two cents worth but a left turn light nearby won't trip unless you drive over the wires in the number one lane first. I don't go over the double yellows but wait until there is an opening for the left turn lane, thereby ensuring i have passed over the number one lane wire.

late at night it trips almost immediately.

[BFish]

I usually try to roll the bike along the cut in the ground and come to a stop with my centerstand over where the wires cross.

 

If I wind up thinking the light is too long, I just take a real careful look around and then go through it. BTW, don't do this in front of a LEO, he will fail to see the humor. Better a right and a U-turn.

 

Almost all the lights in my town are controlled by these things and some, at least late at night, will not cycle the light for cross traffic on a main street unless the loop sensor is triggered.

 

same issue north of ed up here in freezing melbourne. estimate that 50% pick up the moto and cycle thru normally. naturally the ones that i go thru frequently do not. i do carefully run the light.