Bandit Alley
GENERAL MOTORCYCLE FORUMS => GENERAL MOTORCYCLE => Topic started by: b4cruz on March 10, 2006, 06:25:36 AM
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I just ran 5 reds on the way home tonight
because they woudn't change for me
i know they can adjust these damn things
its all controlled centrally from a computer right?
Does anyone know if there is a way to report
faulty lights that don't change properly?
It seems easuer to report lights in the UK
but I can't find anything for California.
I know the light right infront of my house was
adjusted. Last year it never changed for my bike,
now it sees me everytime.
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I was going to state the obvious and say ring which ever local authority is responsible for these type of things, but it is the US we're talking about and god only knows which company runs it.........
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In Louisiana we have to call the D.O.T. [department of transportation]. It also depends on if the road is state maintained or is it city maitained. I gave up trying and either run them or make a U-turn for left turns.
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If the lights are on state or federal highways, call CalTrans. If not, then what ever local city/county road dept. has jurisdiction.
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I talked to a motorcycle cop about this. Some lights are triggered by weight (obvious here why they won't change). Some are triggered by electrical impulses (again, bikes aren't cranking out enough juice to trigger, sometimes you can rev the bike). So unless the light is automatic you have problems. I've got a pesky one by my house thats weight triggered. Its in the turn lane and won't change. The cop said let it cycle once or twice then proceed with caution and you're ok. But still, thats several minutes of sitting for a cycle or two unless a car pulls up. At any rate, check local laws to see what the ruling is on this.
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Actually, most lights are triggered by magnetism. If you can see the cuts in the roadway for the sensor, try putting the bike near it. If that doesn't work, try deplying the centerstand on it (or if you don't have a centerstand, the sidestand). This is pretty much the theory the Green Light Trigger is based on... putting a large enough mass close enough to the ground to trigger the sensors.
Also, check your state's laws. Several states allow m/c's to run reds if they've sat thru a cycle without triggering. In states where right on red is legal, you can always make a few turns to get where you wanna go. Or dismount and push the bike thru crosswalks as a pedestrian...
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Or dismount and push the bike thru crosswalks as a pedestrian...
holly crap i never thought of that!
Must try the center and sidestand trick too
IF A CAR has sat for a cycle can it run a red?
i thought i'd have to do my own local research
so many different cities i drive through
its gonna be a bitch
I'll try the easy tricks first
thanks again everyone
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Also, check your state's laws. Several states allow m/c's to run reds if they've sat thru a cycle without triggering.
TN has that law, although it doens't really specify how the rider determines that the light isn't responding.
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Or buy the module! They do work!
GREEN LIGHT TRIGGER HP SUZUKI BANDIT INTRUDER MARAUDER
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4620362401&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1 :beers:
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I don't know about where you guys live but around here Texas you can usually see the sensor. It looks like a long rectangular box of thin metal almost flush with the pavement. The first time I noticed this was going from work to school. I set in the middle of the lane for a light that is only triggered by a vechile and I waited for ever until I finally just went (usually another car will pull behind me or on the other side of the road but not this time). Next time I straddled over the long end of the sensor. Here Is a picture of what I mean
@@@@@@@@@@@
@@ _________@@
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@\\|@@@@@@|@@
@@|@@@@@@|@@
@@|@@@@@@|@@
@@|\\@@@@@|@@
@@|@@@@@@|@@
@@__________@@
@@@@@@@@@@@
The \\ represent the tire placement, the other lines are the sensor and @ is the pavement. This seems to work for me everytime on either side of the rectangle however it does place you on one end of the lane instead of in the middle.
I hope this works for other people also.
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That's basically what I was talking about, ant. Years of experimentation by riders has shown that it is most effective if you put the tires just inside (or outside) the sensor line in the street. This puts your frame rail right over the sensor. By pushing the centerstand down, you put the steel pretty much on the sensor.
As for the Green Light Trigger, yes, they work... but you can accomplish the same thing with a good HD magnet. The ones I've heard that work best are the ones they put in cow stomachs. You should be able to find one at any co-op/farm supply store whenever you're out roosting the countryside... and at ~$5 they're cheaper than the GLT.
http://www.magnetsource.com/Consumer%20Pages/Carded_Cows.html
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we have the same problem here in the UK, sat at a set for few minutes my mate got realy P**sed with them and went thru, only to find they had a Red Light Camera fitted, so he got a £60 fine and 3 points!
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Something's drastically wrong if the light won't trigger for the bike, but will trigger the camera. :roll:
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Glad we do not have cameras here in Indy. I have ran the same light for the past 3 years because no matter where I put my bike in relation to the sensor it never goes off.
I will check out the cow maginet...never wanted to spend the cash on the green light sensor.
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OK you all must be watching us here in Daytona? Looks like a SUZUKE sweep again! Maybe with a Texan in front "A". Ok gettin off track. Down here when traffic is nowhere to trigger the lights cops don't give you a second look if you wait until your green but lights still red and run it!!! When i was on the BANDIT i could just lower the hard stand and it worked just fine! The side kick will shut off the eng if its switch is still working when in gear.. That DUHAMEL!! I bet that Girl friend keeps him in shape!! Don't know what i will do now i have the BUSA :lol: :stickpoke:
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5117/picture0239kh.jpg
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There's a lot of misinformation in some of the previous posts. Since I spent a half day with a local traffic engineer about a year ago let me share what he taught me. I had called the Minneapolis city engineering office and complained about a traffic light near my house that I could NOT trip, nor matter what I tried. While I could have gone through it legally I asked for help from the city to solve the problem.
He met me near the intersection where the traffic control box was located and explained the operation of the lights. Seems the coiled wire under the street surface is part of an oscillator circuit, it's the inductor, while the capacitor is in a mocule in the signal control box. This oscillator operates at one specific frequency UNLESS disturbed by a change in the inductance of the coil -- as when ferrous metal comes in proximity. Like when a car or truck drives over the coil. The mass of iron or steel acts to change the inductance of the coil and the frequency of the oscillator. A discriminator circuit detects the change of frequency, and if it's large enough, begins the electronic sequence to change the signal.
A motorcycle doesn't usually have enough ferrous metal in the frame to do this, hence no change.
In the past these control boxes had an adjustable oscillator OR discriminator circuit that could be "tuned" so that even a small change in frequency tripped the light. The newer signals use a sealed circuit, potted in some sort of compound and there's no means of adjustment. This engineer found one of the older, adjustable modules in a desk drawer and lo and behold it worked. He adjusted the module to detect my motorcycle reliably, although it took a couple of tries with me riding back and forth a few times. It's been working fine for several years now, but many other signals don't.
The MN legislature passed a law allowing a left turn on red IF no traffic is coming AND if you've waited a reasonable time. Seems "reasonable" is determined by the officer, so citing you is still possible. The state did a fairly good job of notifying people and I suspect most motorcyclists here know of the change.
The magnets that are sold work in a limited way to trip the light. They cause an induced voltage as they pass over the coil and that changes the inductance and the oscillator's frequency -- IF the speed of motion over the coil is high enough to induce enough voltage. A slow speed drive-over won't usually accomplish this. Stronger magnets help, but are NOT infallible.
You need to be going about 10-15 MPH over the coil -- not an easy task as you need to stop at the light and the coil might be too close. The height of the magnet is important as it should be close to the road surface. Depending on how it's mounted the magnetic field MAY concentrate itself in the ferrous metal frame and not extend far enough toward the road surface to be effective. Ideally, it should be mounted away from a steel or iron metal, perhaps on an aluminum surface. Since these magnets usually come with tie wraps the tendency is to fasten them to the frame instead of mounting them on the bottom of the motor where they could be more effective. More effective that is if you rode the center of the motorcycle over the edge of the imbedded coil.
One trick I've tried with limited success is to stop with the left side of my bike over the coil and put the sidestand down. One problem with that on my Suzuki Bandit is you need to be in neutral lest you kill the motor. This technique doesn't always work but it seems to be more than 50% effective.
Good luck -- maybe checking with the governing body tht maintains the signal would get an engineer to at least look at the problem, maybe switching out several sealed modules to see which might work to detect a motorcycle or even a bicycle.
I'm not at all sure that this type of signal is universal, but I'm pretty sure the older, weight sensitive signals are long gone and most are of the type described above. The city engineer I met said MInneapolis never used the weight sensitive unit as they weren't reliable in very cold weather -- makes sense to me.
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Just to add to this whole discussion. Here in Billings Montana the city has started using cameras mounted on the signal poles that see you and change the light as you approach. They work fairly well, at least when you are coming straight at them. I have had them not see me on occasion when I got into the turn lane a bit too early but other than that they work pretty well.