Can't get left turn arrow!

Message

aaronH · #1 Unread post by **aaronH** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:27 pm

I don't know what traffic lights are like in other states, but I assume they are like the ones in Pennsylvania, where there are sensors under the road to tell whether a vehicle is waiting in a particular lane. I have been having the problem of not being able to trigger the left turn arrow at intersections when I am the only vehicle waiting to turn left. My Ninja 500 weighs around 400 pounds, maybe this is not enough to trigger the light. Anyone have suggestions on how to trigger the left turn arrow?

Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:28 pm

bike in neutral, kickstand down, lean on it. I hear it works. I'm not %100 convinced its what works here or not.

flynrider · #3 Unread post by **flynrider** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:52 pm

You need to put your steel (aluminum won't work) sidestand right smack on the outline of the sensor. The wire is just inside that crack they dug into the asphalt. No guarantees for other places, but I haven't found a light yet here in my town that won't change if you put the sidestand directly on the sensing wire. For most lights, you need to put the stand down and leave it there. Otherwise, the sensor will think that a vehicle was there, then drove away.

Just watch the lights to your left or right and be ready to snap that sidestand up, hit first gear and ride away when it's your turn.

dieziege · #4 Unread post by **dieziege** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:58 pm

I've usually had luck as long as the bike itself was directly over the cuts for the sense wire.

#5 Unread post by **MrGompers** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 8:42 pm

If there is one available and its close enough you can go hit the walk sign button. That will make the lights cycle.

ofblong · #6 Unread post by **ofblong** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 12:09 am

what happened to the weight sensors they used to put in the road?

camthepyro · Fri Jun 09, 2006 5:14 am

I have this problem too, but the thing is, I can't put down the kickstand with my foot, I have to use my hand (the little piece of metal that sticks out for your foot broke off), so it's a little more difficult to put the kickstand down at a light. I just wait, eventually it changes.

The Grinch · Fri Jun 09, 2006 5:54 am

what happened to the weight sensors they used to put in the road?

Almost all sensors use burried coils that sense changes in a magnetic field to trip the lights, not weight.

The key is to position the bike right over one of the burried sensor wires. You can often tell where these are by looking for rectangular or circular lines or cutouts on the street surface. If the sensor lines are not visible, you can probably assume that they start a few inches back from the limit line.

Fri Jun 09, 2006 8:00 am

MrGompers wrote:If there is one available and its close enough you can go hit the walk sign button. That will make the lights cycle.

I guess it's better than just sitting there eh?

ofblong · #10 Unread post by **ofblong** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 10:20 am

XM23 wrote:
what happened to the weight sensors they used to put in the road?
Almost all sensors use burried coils that sense changes in a magnetic field to trip the lights, not weight.

The key is to position the bike right over one of the burried sensor wires. You can often tell where these are by looking for rectangular or circular lines or cutouts on the street surface. If the sensor lines are not visible, you can probably assume that they start a few inches back from the limit line.

hmm odd cause when I took drivers ed 12 years ago they said if you are on a moto and stop at one of these lights your moto might not weigh enough to trip the sensor. They never said anything about metalic that it had to do with weight. Maybe thats just in michigan? or it could be it was what they started with and then changed to magnetic reading?