Turn Signal Self Cancel

[TX slide king]

Has anyone had experience with these? Are they just a plug in item? do they work? Have you experienced any problems?

"The Kisan signalMinder gives you self-canceling turn signals, and turns your signals into low-intensity running lights. Simple plug-in replacement on most bikes, module installs in minutes"

Thanks - Slide

 

[Happy Dog]

I'm waiting for this thread to develop. I bought the signal minder and when I read the destructions, it scared the cute little thing right back into the package.

 

[Bike Effects]

My FJ1200 had self cancelling signals. You have to wonder why they did away with them.

 

[Happy Dog]

My XS750 did too. Why DID they do away with that?

 

[user 1521]

My XS750 did too.  Why DID they do away with that?

My Harley has self cancelling signals, and it's the one mod I would really like to make, making them non-cancelling.

Problems I have with it:

a. they turn off when I don't want them to. I have to exit a fairly major dual carriage way (70km/h limit, up to 120km/h quite common) into a small lane at more than 90 degrees over a hump and down a steep hill. I like to indicate very early to warn the cages, and set myself up for the turn as quickly and smoothly as possible. Even then, some don't notice I'm slowing and turning, but the signals have a habit of turning off just before the turn making it even worse, as I have enough to do setting up for the turn and watching my mirrors for bull dozers, without watching the signals to make sure they're still flashing.

The circumstances are pretty specific I know, and for the most part they work quite well.

b. when I get onto a different bike (my FJR) that doesn't have self cancelling signals, it takes time to get back into the habit of cancelling them. This is basically dangerous.

 

[yamaholic]

If I'm not mistaken ( and I could be, so do some research), the kissan isn't optimal. Sure, they turn off the signal for you, but you have to manually turn them off again before you can activate another turn operation. So you'll end up not cancelling them and they won't work the next time you use them. Where's the benefit?

Why not just get into a habit of pressing the cancel button as you ride? No wires..no potential issues..and it's free. This is course coming from someone who has never had them! And also someone in the habit of pressing that cancel button.

 

[SkooterG]

My XS750 did too.  Why DID they do away with that?

My Harley has self cancelling signals, and it's the one mod I would really like to make, making them non-cancelling.

Problems I have with it:

a. they turn off when I don't want them to. I have to exit a fairly major dual carriage way (70km/h limit, up to 120km/h quite common) into a small lane at more than 90 degrees over a hump and down a steep hill. I like to indicate very early to warn the cages, and set myself up for the turn as quickly and smoothly as possible. Even then, some don't notice I'm slowing and turning, but the signals have a habit of turning off just before the turn making it even worse, as I have enough to do setting up for the turn and watching my mirrors for bull dozers, without watching the signals to make sure they're still flashing.

The circumstances are pretty specific I know, and for the most part they work quite well.

b. when I get onto a different bike (my FJR) that doesn't have self cancelling signals, it takes time to get back into the habit of cancelling them. This is basically dangerous.

+1

Just say "NO" to self cancelling turn signals!!!!

 

[RonBB]

Another opinon: Had them, liked them & wish the FJR came with them stock. I had to get in the habit of hitting the cancel button between gear shifts in the lower gears!

 

[PLCGuy]

I had them on my magna, tooks months on the FJR to remember to turn them off

 

[markjenn]

There has never been a self-canceling system for a bike that works well enough to take the place of canceling them manually. People come to such a system with expectations that they'll work as well as they do in a car, but this is impossible given that there is no way to accurately sense steering input on a single-track vehicle.

The systems that are out there monitor distance and/or time and are all designed to be a "safety net" to keep you from leaving them on for miles after you forget to cancel them - something all of us have done. The better systems use both inputs and cancel when both a defined distance and time have transpired - both conditions have to be met. The distance constraint avoids them canceling while waiting for a light and the time constraint avoids them canceling in too short a distance while at speed.

As a safety net system, I like them and wish the FJR had them.

- Mark

 

[Bike Effects]

There has never been a self-canceling system for a bike that works well enough to take the place of canceling them manually.

The ones on the FJ1200 worked just fine. I had no complaints about them. There are other FJ1200 owners/former owners here, what were your experiences?

 

[dcarver]

The self-cancelling module on my Ultra is bad.. only $120 for the module (gack)... For a freakin' turn signal module? At least it still works manually..

I agree.. manual turn signals for my bikes, (if any signals!) and manual windows for my trucks...

hmmm. where to order manual windows for the Dodge?

 

[SkooterG]

As a safety net system, I like them and wish the FJR had them.
- Mark

Ack!!!!

I totally disagree. But I must say - that was an excellent rationalization Mark. :haha:

One of the main reasons I don't want them is that they are unsafe - I would rather have them on when I don't need them, than NOT have them on when I do need them.

C'mon folks. All it takes is just a few cells of that gray matter between your ears. Not that difficult. I feel confident saying this as I am assuming most of you have the brain power to operate the throttle, clutch, brake, gear shifter..........

Surely adding the task of remembering to turn off your turn signal 99% of the time is not is not too big a burden.

 

[ock913]

I feel confident saying this as I am assuming most of you have the brain power to operate the throttle, clutch, brake, gear shifter..........

Ouch ..... I think Scooter just slammed all those 06 AE waiters ....... :assasin:

 

[ionbeam]

There has never been a self-canceling system for a bike that works well enough to take the place of canceling them manually.

I have had several Honda VF1100 V4s and they all had flawless self canceling turn signals. Worked just like a car in terms of reliability, repeatability and user function. They handled time, distance and cornering just like a car would. After >25 years of hand signals and canceling my own signals they took some time to get comfortable with. But, learn to use them I did, with no worries about their function.

I had a real hard time the first week or so with the FJR having to push my own buttons <_< If there was a reasonable way to graft the Honda system onto my FJR I would, but some of the Honda system is part of the steering head and can't be practically moved. For the 'hands on' type you could still cancel your own signals and leave the auto-off as a backup. I feel like a newbie when I look down and see the ol' signal light flashing away :angry:

 

[markjenn]

There has never been a self-canceling system for a bike that works well enough to take the place of canceling them manually.

I have had several Honda VF1100 V4s and they all had flawless self canceling turn signals. Worked just like a car in terms of reliability, repeatability and user function. They handled time, distance and cornering just like a car would.

How did these old V4's handle corner detection?

Notwithstanding a mid-80's bike having a sophisticated lean angle gyro, sorry, I don't buy it. I watched this issue for some time (and done some work lean angle gyros for motorcycles) and AFAIK, there has NEVER been any system designed for any bike that could directly detect when a motorcycle started and ended a cornering maneuver. Every self-canceling system has used time and/or distance. Which is a terribly imprecise and error-prone way of infering when someone completes a corner and needs to cancel.

- Mark

 

[Geezer]

I have self cancelling turn signals on my '83 Midnight Maxim.

I do get annoyed with them turning off too soon sometimes but I learned to deal with that whem it was my every day bike.

My biggest gripe with them is that they do not have the push-in to cancel feature and they are very difficult to cancel manually. I find myself pushing the switch too far the other way when trying to cancel. Worse with gloves on.

 

[ionbeam]

AFAIK, there has NEVER been any system designed for any bike that could directly detect when a motorcycle started and ended a cornering maneuver

Nor does your car, the car only knows when the wheel was turned back toward center. When you turn on the signal you are mechanically setting a prawl switch, nothing to do with starting a corner. The auto system lets the wheel turn freely in one direction but upon turning back the other way it mechanically releases the switch without regard to your having actually ended the cornering maneuver. It just blindly releases the prawl switch after a predetermined and fixed number of degrees of steering wheel rotation which is mechanically fixed.

I've had this discussion with someone in the past. Posted pages out of the service manual showing the Honda steering stem angle sensor. There were 3 conditions that had to be met for the signals to cancel. To your point, the system did use time/distance as part of the conditions, in addition to the steering sensor. From the time the system detected angle change it would use time/distance to cancel. In some unusual situations the signal would time out before completing the turn but it was extremely rare. I've had my car signals fail to cancel more frequently. I have misplaced the technical pub that described how the system worked (been years since I last saw it) -- will ask the V4 group, perhaps someone will reply.

Because I couldn't provide 100% of the exact technical details, the person I was discussing this with flatly said 'it has to be time/distance only' end of discussion. Even though I can't (yet) provide all the details of exactly how it works, I can say that there are thousands of V4s that self cancel very, very well. Hard to argue with real world results regardless of how it is explained.

The Harley system is reported to work very well, how does that system function? Same with the old Yamahas, how did they work?

:wacko: :blink: :eh:

 

[Geezer]

... Same with the old Yamahas, how did they work?

My old Yamaha (1983) is simply a time and distance mechanism. It frequently times out prematurely at a traffic light and turns itself off when signalling for an exit ramp so it seems to use whichever comes first, time or distance.

Edit: Just dug out my Haynes shop manual on my '83 Maxim and it says that the signals are supposed to be cancelled after 10 seconds and 150 meters are traveled. SUpposed to be BOTH, not either. It doesn't seem to work that way for my bike, but it could be caused by age; the bike's - not mine. :lol: