Stoplight problems

I ride through alot of red lights for your same problem.Should they make vfrs 30 pounds heavier?Have'nt read cycle world,I would like to stop breaking the law running red lights,that bike got me a ticket.Traffic school.I try to avoid the traffic signals in my small town.

 

Isn't it legal in some places, for motorcycles at least, that if you sit thru a certain number of cycles of the light you may go ahead and procede thru as long as its safe?

 

They don't usually work off of weight, the usually have a loop, that creates some sort of magnetic field, the metal of the the vehicle interupts this, and triggers the light. Depending on adjustment, sometimes bikes, particuarly not heavy steel cruiser types, don't set off the trigger.

*note* I am no electrical god, so the above may not be technically correct, but the jist of it is accurate

Sometimes, if it is a light that you encounter often, you may notice that your placement over the sensor can make a difference. Placing you & your bike at the edge of the sensor (sometimes you can see them in the roadway), can help. Also parking over it and putting your sidestand or centerstand down, I have heard, but not tried myself, works.

The things you put on the bike are usually some sort of magnet or something similar that seeks to disrupt the field, and trigger the light.

As long as you take care, stop, wait one cycle, look both ways, etc; you should never get a ticket. Most places the law is written that you can, after exercising due care, proceed thru a non-operating traffic light. The argument being, that if it is not tripped by your legally operated and registered vehicle, it is not operating correctly. You can help your cause by calling in to your local road works department, any known, in-operative traffic lights. That way, if, and as long as you didn't zip right thru it, & a cop would really have to want to bust your chops to give you a ticket, if you did get one, you could go to court and say "I reported this light on xx/xx/xxxx." But I have never had it get even that far, and there are a couple I go thru on a regular basis.

Spike

 

I've seen some listed on ebay as well, not too expensive either

 

www.greenlightstuff.com/trigger.html

 

I have that problem with the lights around here, too. I try to line up on the center line (most of the ones around here you can see the loops in the pavement). If that doesn't work I wait for a minute or so and go through them. Seems to only be a problem mainly at night though; maybe a change in the light's program?

 

Happens all the time, I let it cycle once through then it's a look and go.

 

I looked at their website. it sounds pretty good. any chance you've used it? I wonder where to mount it on a VFR...


No need to have one, my 60 mile commute only has 2 stop lights & when I'm out & about to play I avoid any place that has stop lights. We just pick some place we'd like to go & find the most a$$ backward way to get there. I've already had 70 mile trips(the normal way) turn into 600 mile trips. Or as my main riding buddy always says That's north/south/east/west of here right, then we go that way. Never look @ a map unless we decide we might actually be lost, but you really need to care where your going to be lost!!!Seen some interesting things & little towns doing this though.

 

I have one on my aprilia scooter. the loop in the street picks up a magnetic field from a cars alternator. since the scooter is plastic and has a small alt I got one of these things. the instructions say to mount it as low as possible or on the bottom of a bicycle's pedal .it also says to stop in the corner of the loop not in the center . I think it works ,I havent had to run a left turn signal since I instaled it ,but it is just big magit zip tied to the frame