I'm a new rider and I can't get the traffic lights to turn for me.  I have to wait until someone else comes up and then they will turn, and I have the same problem in gated communities.  Getting in isn't a problem, how the gate won't open when I leave.  Does anyone have any advice on this problem?

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2475

I face the same problem and usually end up jumping the light if no cops are around. I was told that a light which doesn't turn green after 2-3 cycles can be interpreted as defective and hence shall be treated as blinking red (stop and go). Don't know how much currency this argument will have in the court. There were some tips about cranking the starter motor to produce electro-magnetic disturbance and so on but I never tried those myself.

you can always do what i do if you need to.  hop off the bike and run to the crosswalk to hit the walk button.  then run back to your bike, start it again, and get ready to go.  not the most manly thing to do, but i have more important things to worry about than my manliness.

I almost never have problems. When you approach the lights, you will notice some black stripes in the tarmac. Those are the lines that "sense" you. When you ride right over them, the lights will almost always work right.

Watch out with hard braking over the lines, especially when it rains. They're slippery.

I agree with Lars, I try to place my front tire just inside of the left loop.  Sometimes I stop where I can lower my sidestand over the front left corner of the loop.  Tis true that these are magnetic disturbance detectors.

To be more manly, I'd Ride my motorcycle over to the crosswalk button, press it and ride back to the loop .

I just have a magnet under mine  and it works great.. come to a decent stop over the loop and it will detect you.. but then there are ones that wont detect you unless your a tank...

Thanks, for all the advice, I will give it all try.

Another thing that I have done is put the kickstand down on the ground, while in Neutral.  There is usually a small square patch in the road that you have to hit too.

A strong magnet on the centerstand worked for me too. I bought one at Sears for 2-3 bucks. There is one stoplight near mt house that I could never trigger. Now it detects me without problem. It also stabilizes the centerstand "sticking" it to the stop bracket, which is metal for my V&H.

Just wanted to mention that i tried this trick and it works great for me too. Bought the strongest magnet the local hardware store had (apparently it can hold up to 100lbs, came with nice mounting holes, and cost ~6 bucks). Now the two lights that i remember being notorious for not picking up my bike bow down! Like the little biatches they are.  :mrgreen:

in minnesota they just made it legal for motorcycles to go through the lights if it wont turn for you. its really nice, just wait 5 seconds make sure traffic is clear and go.

um, ok, this may seem silly, but if a magnet is that strong isn't it going to be pulling on nuts and bolts and internal bike bits?
if the magnet is the trick tho, I think I'll got get one for my bike and my friends gxxr, the lites are horrid in some intersections here, even without sitting at them on a bike.

Quote from: ladybridum, ok, this may seem silly, but if a magnet is that strong isn't it going to be pulling on nuts and bolts and internal bike bits?
if the magnet is the trick tho, I think I'll got get one for my bike and my friends gxxr, the lites are horrid in some intersections here, even without sitting at them on a bike.

Yes, but for it to throw anything off it would have to be MUCH stronger than anything you could buy. For it to cause problems it has to apply enough force to overcome the cushioning effect of the oil or to tear out the bolts. Even a electromagnetic crane probably couldn't generate that kind of force so you need not worry  

well my magnet is placed on teh center cross bar of my center stand.. so its far enough from things.. and even though its powerful, i havent seen any ill effects with it .. i have had for almost 2 years.. no problems here..

Plus with a really strong magnet you can hope it will pick up any change on the street underneath ya.  

I have finally gone the magnet route, and I have documentation (pictures)!

My local home center didn't have any monster-sized magnets, so I picked up 2 small ones.  They measure 2" x 3/4" x 3/8".


I put one under each side of the frame.  They almost seem like they belong there:


They worked great today on a nearby light that's been ignoring me since it was put in a couple years ago.

EDIT: Changed links from sisna.com to bbburma.net

I'm going to try the magnet thing on my bike.  I didn't know magnets that small would work!  I got ones a little larger than Kerry's today at the hardware store.

another little trick to do with magnets is to get a few small ones and stick them on your gas tank (underneath) and they will grab most of the rust that is floating around in there.  and you can glue one to the top of your oil drain plug to grab all the metal particles that float around in your oil.

and for the question of such a powerful magnet hurting the engine, no it wont the only ill effect that could happen is if you get it to close to the magnetic pickup on the ignition.  and heres some magnet theory,  When you place the magnet on the bar 90% of the flux lines will be shorted out on that side because they are grabbing the metal but the lines on the side facing the ground will be looping towards the ground.  So it would take one heck of a magnet in the wrong spot to get internal damage to the engine.

WELL ON SOME OR ACTUALLY MOST STOP LIGHTS HAVE A LITTLE MAGNETIC STRIP IN THE ROAD. WHAT  I DO IS JUST GET RIGHT ON THAT STRIP AND THAT USAUALLY DOES THE TRICK . TRY IT IT WORKS FOR ME