STS Smart Turn System - installation

I hope Iggy doesn't mind me creating this topic under the proper product name.

In an effort to make it easier for other people to install the STS Smart Turn System on a FJR1300, in this case a 2008 model, I have prepared the following procedure.

The STS package contents.



This is not an easy or quick task, so allow several hours once you have laid out your tools, and other items as you will see below.

The hard part of this installation is finding a suitable location, that will provide a level and rigid surface to to mount the STS black box to, that also is close enough to where you will cutting and tapping into the existing wiring.



In order to do it my way you will need to remove four pieces of the fairing. The small top two left pieces (console and inner panels) around the glove box, the large side fairing piece and the inside front piece below the left headlight.

All the existing wiring that is cut or tapped into is on the wiring harness from the left handlebar switch to a block connecter below the fairing glove box in the front top side fairing (upper cowling assembly). You will need to cut the black sheathing on handlebar harness from the block connector up about 3" to 4". No need to cut the second sheathing farther up. When you cut, cut in straight line so that when back in place the cut is facing down. That would allow any water that gets under the fairing to be shed away from the new connections. In order to get working access to the harness, disconnect the harness below the glove box and pull harness back up to over glove box lid area.

Wire sheath cut and wires exposed.



The supplied taps



Taps in place and taped up.



Connections made.



Below the front cowling in the very bottom left front is a solid metal fairing frame piece (stay 1?) with a screw the holds a plastic part of the fairing to it. I removed that screw and replaced it with a longer Allen screw and washer. Attaching a 2"x2" bracket from a hardware store at this location provides a solid, level, and forward facing mount perfect for the needs of the STS black box. The box needs to face forward and have the print face up. Two or three plastic tie wraps will hold the box to the L bracket firmly. The original screw is a standard fairing screw with JIS or Phillips head. The new one needs to be longer to hold the L bracket on. The L bracket itself was shortened on one leg and a new hole was drilled for locating the height within the fairing cavity.

2"x2" modified L bracket with longer allen screw.



L bracket in place looking from bottom up.



Black box zip tied in place on bracket. I added a piece of plastic to separate the aluminum black box from the steel L bracket.



Here is an electrical schematic of the installation. It is on the top left of this picture. The rest is just my other accessory stuff.



Follow the directions carefully from STS, especially noting the input and output sides.

The STS package comes with 4 pieces of foam, two large and two small pieces. Use only the two small pieces in the turn signal switch assembly. It is very easily done. Remove two screws holding the assembly on to the left handlebar. Once the two halves are apart, turn it upside down to see the two areas to insert the foam pieces. In operation the switch requires more effort to operate than without. I expect the effort to be reduced over time as the foam settles.





If for some reason you decide not to use the foam pieces, you will need to cancel as normal by pressing in the canceler as before, before using turn signal again – actually before making another turn in the same direction. Using the turn signal in the opposite direction next time cancels the previous one. Putting the foam in place will alleviate any problem, set and forget, move on down the road, your last move is history, nothing to be done.

Now, if you've read this far you're probably wondering – so is this any good, and what do you think of it? Well, it works surprisingly well, and self cancels very quickly after a manoeuvre. It will stay on at a traffic light and not cancel until it detects a manoeuvre.

If for some reason you signal and then change your mind and not want to turn, you must signal again in the same direction to cancel. Thumbing the button in does nothing in any circumstance. I have no problem with that.

If you signal early and there this is a curve before your stop, it will cancel as soon as the bike rights up, and you'll have to signal again. Again I have no problem with that, plus that happens with cars as well.

It does cancel after lane changes but a smooth lane change is not detectable for it. However it will cancel thereafter within 15 to 20 seconds if it detects no further manoeuvrings at speed. No cars I've had self cancel after lanes changes either.

I paid 89 euros, shipped to the door in the initial offering, and for me it is money very well spent. I would do it again.

Hope this helps,

John

P.S. I have no business or investment interest in this product.

Nicely done. I looked at this when I first saw it and decided I needed a new jacket more so I am still manually cancelling and occasionally forgetting to cancel. Very nice wiring schematic also.

Excellent install and write up... easy peasy.

"If for some reason you signal and then change your mind and not want to turn, you must signal again in the same direction to cancel." By this do you mean just hit the left or right again and it cancels without any movement of the bike? Like sitting at a red light?

Thanks!!

Teehaml said:

Excellent install and write up... easy peasy.
"If for some reason you signal and then change your mind and not want to turn, you must signal again in the same direction to cancel." By this do you mean just hit the left or right again and it cancels without any movement of the bike? Like sitting at a red light?

Thanks!!

Click to expand...

If you are sitting at a red light while signaling a left turn, signal left again to cancel, and go straight ahead.

Great write up John.

I think you have covered all the bases regarding how it works. We will just have to wait and see if the components inside the unit are capable of standing the test of time.

In your opinion do you feel it is a quality made product?

I would prefer to see a plug and play product where splicing into factory wiring was not necessary

Madmudder said:

Great write up John.I think you have covered all the bases regarding how it works. We will just have to wait and see if the components inside the unit are capable of standing the test of time.

In your opinion do you feel it is a quality made product?

I would prefer to see a plug and play product where splicing into factory wiring was not necessary

Click to expand...

That's a difficult question to answer Tim. I have done all of about two hours of testing so far, so we'll see about the long term performance. I would have preferred a plug and play solution myself, but a Gen 2 specific part would have to be manufactured. I don't see that happening, period. I also would have preferred an encapsulated solid state product instead of a circuit board in what appears to be aluminum can. It does not appear waterproof but the internals are probably waterproof enough. Having the black box installed in the fairing as I did would keep water off the black box.

I can see why people are hesitant cut their harnesses, but I've used taps previously and always had a 100% success rate over years of use. YMMV.

Of course any new product will be updated with a better version eventually. Evolution of technology and all. I'm sure the major motorcycle manufacturers are watching closely, and no doubt will incorporate their version of it into new models. If you want this on an older bike, I think this is a great solution.

I'll certainly post up if problems do arise. Maybe I'll do a 1000 mile and 10000 mile reliability report.

Madmudder said:

Great write up John.I think you have covered all the bases regarding how it works. We will just have to wait and see if the components inside the unit are capable of standing the test of time.

In your opinion do you feel it is a quality made product?

I would prefer to see a plug and play product where splicing into factory wiring was not necessary

Click to expand...

Nice write up

I was considering this unit back in March when I ordered my Gen III. Since the bike is still under warranty, I refuse to cut the harness in any manner. I mentioned the ST2 to the service manager at my dealer when picking up the bike and he said that the unit could be inserted into the harness by using plug and play mating connectors, and that all connectors along with pins and sockets are available aftermarket. I said to myself, hmm, maybe this project isn't dead after all. I got an email this week from ST2 offering their units for 99 euros during the month of August.

I was griping to my dealer when ordering this bike, the same issue on all versions of fjr's, that Yamaha has done so many things right on this bike, why did they do away with auto cancel signals? The bikes used to come with them some time back. I got spoiled by having auto cancel signals on my old V65, and they worked extremely well, so I know it's not a technology thing. His response was that it is a liability issue, so I guess we have the litigation lawyers to thank for it.

NTXFJR said:

"I mentioned the ST2 to the service manager at my dealer when picking up the bike and he said that the unit could be inserted into the harness by using plug and play mating connectors, and that all connectors along with pins and sockets are available aftermarket. I said to myself, hmm, maybe this project isn't dead after all.

I like this idea. I say hmm too.

NTXFJR said:

I was griping to my dealer when ordering this bike, the same issue on all versions of fjr's, that Yamaha has done so many things right on this bike, why did they do away with auto cancel signals? The bikes used to come with them some time back. I got spoiled by having auto cancel signals on my old V65, and they worked extremely well, so I know it's not a technology thing. His response was that it is a liability issue, so I guess we have the litigation lawyers to thank for it.

Click to expand...

"It's a liability thing" is usually a BS answer for a question. It basically means I don't know the answer but I still want to sound like I know what I'm talking about. I don't buy it. Honda still has self canceling turn signals on the Goldwing, but the people who are looking at Goldwings are looking for all the bells and whistles on a bike. I'm thinking Yamaha decided that nobody would choose their bike over their competitors because of self canceling turn signals. A simple cost cutting measure and there hasn't been enough demand for it to be put back in.

Thanks for the write-up John. I look forward to installing mine at Tech Day. I originally was opposed to the idea of having to push the same direction again to cancel when I'm so used to pressing center to cancel. Then it dawned on me what the purpose of this product is and I shouldn't have to do that very often. Maybe I missed this, but if I have left on and I push right, does it switch to the right signal or do I have to first press left to cancel and then right? Just thinking about a passing instance where I may be past a car and getting back over before it has time to cancel.

If you have left on and push right, then it signals right. You only time a cancel is required is if you want to proceed straight ahead. To cancel a left push left. To cancel a right push right.

DesignFlaw06 said:

NTXFJR said:

I was griping to my dealer when ordering this bike, the same issue on all versions of fjr's, that Yamaha has done so many things right on this bike, why did they do away with auto cancel signals? The bikes used to come with them some time back. I got spoiled by having auto cancel signals on my old V65, and they worked extremely well, so I know it's not a technology thing. His response was that it is a liability issue, so I guess we have the litigation lawyers to thank for it.

Click to expand...

"It's a liability thing" is usually a BS answer for a question. It basically means I don't know the answer but I still want to sound like I know what I'm talking about. I don't buy it. Honda still has self canceling turn signals on the Goldwing, but the people who are looking at Goldwings are looking for all the bells and whistles on a bike. I'm thinking Yamaha decided that nobody would choose their bike over their competitors because of self canceling turn signals. A simple cost cutting measure and there hasn't been enough demand for it to be put back in.

Thanks for the write-up John. I look forward to installing mine at Tech Day. I originally was opposed to the idea of having to push the same direction again to cancel when I'm so used to pressing center to cancel. Then it dawned on me what the purpose of this product is and I shouldn't have to do that very often. Maybe I missed this, but if I have left on and I push right, does it switch to the right signal or do I have to first press left to cancel and then right? Just thinking about a passing instance where I may be past a car and getting back over before it has time to cancel.

Click to expand...

The dealer told me that, then a month later I ran into a St Louis regional Yamaha sales rep in Jasper Arkansas that told me the same thing. They seem to have their story well rehearsed. Fwiw, I agree with your take on it.

I considered it a plus for my FJR not to have self-canceling turn signals. My GL1800A had them, my F800S has them. Nuisance in both cases. Spend more time pushing the button again and again to keep them on than I ever do on the FJR turning them off.

I start signaling when the signal is useful to other drivers and not confusing in my intent. Often that is farther than self-canceling signals will stay on. Perhaps if they were smart enough to know to stay on as long as I am decelerating, but they are not that smart. The GL1800A worked better than the BMW as it has an angle sensor in the steering stem and recognizes turning gestures. But still had to keep turning it on after it canceled prematurely.

N4HHE said:

I considered it a plus for my FJR not to have self-canceling turn signals...Nuisance in both cases. Spend more time pushing the button again and again to keep them on...Often that is farther than self-canceling signals will stay on. Perhaps if they were smart enough to know to stay on as long as I am decelerating, but they are not that smart...

Click to expand...

My '85 Honda had 5 sensors, 3 of which had to be made to cancel the signals. Time-out was never an issue. One of the sensors was a steering angle sensor. The signal canceling worked just about as good as a car.

John d said:

Wire sheath cut and wires exposed.

Click to expand...

Does anyone have a part number for this connector? I may try to make a plug 'n play harness before Tech Day. I don't have the bike available at the moment to take it apart.

To make a PnP harness you'll need both a male and female version of that connector.

Fred W said:

To make a PnP harness you'll need both a male and female version of that connector.

Click to expand...

I get that. If I can find one, I can find the other.

I think this is it.



https://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Connectors/090_Connectors/090_connectors.html#MT

But its a minimum order of $20 and it ships from Japan. I'd like to find something state-side if I can just to get it quicker without paying more in shipping that the part costs.

Actually, if anyone else is interested, I'll make more PnP harnesses for this thing. Gets me over the $20 minimum and I'll do it for materials + shipping.

Let me know if you pull the trigger on the order. Maybe we could double the order and split it? There seems to be some interest in this in the forum, maybe we could do a group buy.

I have very close to 1000 miles on the bike since the STS installation.

Here are a few notes on what I have observed so far.

1. In my opinion, thumbing the switch requires excessive pressure when the small foam supplied is installed in the switch mechanism. I drilled a hole through the centre of the foam to make it look donut shaped. That works good for me. A hollow punch would probably work better than drilling.

2. The STS sometimes cancels early in stop and go traffic waiting for a turn. I haven't figured out why it doesn't always do it.

3. The STS will cancel quick lane changes but can't detect smooth ones. You need to allow a least one second after signalling to change lane for it to work.

John

So I'll tack on my install to what John did and some of the things I observed. It gave me something to do during Tech Day. First of all, a big thanks to John for his initial write-up. This would have been much more challenging without it.

I ordered the 13 Position 090 MT Connector from Eastern Beaver.


I highly recommend making the harness up ahead of time. It saves so much effort and really isn't that difficult to do. Plus those vampire clips are a pain to work with sometimes and I have had them fail.

As I don't own the official crimpers, I soldered the wires to the pins and then I used needle nose pliers to crimp the pins. I usually do this even when I have the right crimpers, but anyway, that makes it solid enough.


For power and ground, I just put both wires into the pins. It made for a cleaner look and I was happy with it.


Finished product. Power & ground are really the only ones I used different wire colors. Anything not related to the turn signals just got white.


Installed. We only had to remove the lower left fairing to get access to the connectors. The left handlebar control has the male connector on the end of it. The main harness is the female. Obviously you need to do the reverse for this harness.


The mounting location John showed I didn't think was real clear, but I think I found it. My thought from his picture was that the module needed to be vertical but from STS videos, it needs to be horizontal. I bought the same bracket John did, but I found I could just cut it off and use the 1st hole without drilling a new one. The mounting location is where the headlight assembly attaches to the fairing. This picture is looking up and the bracket is going up first then left. The STS module was mounted with the arrow facing forward down the road. The label side got the other side of the velcro and then we zip tied it from there.


Everything worked right out of the gate. I also found the pressure required to operate the turn signals with the foam pieces to be too much. I drilled a hole like John suggested and that helped. I'm sure it'll get easier over time as well.

I can say it works pretty well right out of the gate. I drove it about 350 miles, but most of that was slab. Here's what I noticed.

• I only tried to push the cancel button a couple times at the start of the first ride.
• The turn signal blink rate seems to be less consistent, but that may be because I'm paying too much attention to it.
• I didn't have much luck with lane changes but I didn't expect to. I hadn't caught John's tip about signaling 1 second before the maneuver. I'll have to try that.
• It didn't take me long to get used to canceling with the same direction and I had plenty of lane changes to practice on.
• While at speed, it appears it will cancel after 20 seconds.
• It is a little sensitive to turns where the road curves before the intersection opposite of the way you're turning. BikerGeek's road had such an intersection, but no big deal. There's a Michigan Left by my house that it may have an issue with, but I've only gone around it once.

All in all, I'm happy with it. For me, considering it a safety device is a bit of a stretch. Let's be honest, we're solving a first world problem here. There are some that this will benefit more than others. And the big perk of my install is that now the only thing my dad's Goldwing has that mine doesn't is reverse. I don't see that coming so I'll have to settle with the fact that mine is faster.

I'll try to make a GoPro video of it next week to show how well it works.