[jdlmkl]

I love my Burgman but am very curious if anyone knows why Suzuki would build such a great motorcyle with all the electronics but not have self cancelling L/R turn-signals.
Does anyone know why it is so?

 

[NormanB]

I guess they figured they saved the rider so much effort having to change gear, they left this minor task of cancelling the turn indicators to keep them awake and alert.

 

[carewser]

A long time ago I owned a 1983 Kawasaki LTD550 which was the only bike i've ever had that had self-cancelling turn signals. The only problem was they often didn't work because turning on a motorbike is not like turning in a car, in a car the wheels alone determine the turn whereas on a bike sometimes you don't turn the wheel at all to make a turn you just lean so it wouldn't trigger the cancelling feature, thus they wouldn't work. The feature only worked on really slow turns that involved turning the front wheel.

 

[Turboburg]

NormanB. I am hunting the (like) button here. LOL

 

[29534]

A long time ago I owned a 1983 Kawasaki LTD550 which was the only bike i've ever had that had self-cancelling turn signals. The only problem was they often didn't work because turning on a motorbike is not like turning in a car, in a car the wheels alone determine the turn whereas on a bike sometimes you don't turn the wheel at all to make a turn you just lean so it wouldn't trigger the cancelling feature, thus they wouldn't work. The feature only worked on really slow turns that involved turning the front wheel.

I've had self cancelling turn signals on 4 motorcycles with one being my current V-Star 650. They don't cancel based on turning. They cancel based on time and distance. If you turn the signal on early, they will cancel before you turn (both BMW and Yamaha seem to work the same). I find that I seldom find the signals cancelling themselves as I normally cancel them before they do it themselves because they continue to blink after you turn until the prescribed time and/or distance has passed.

 

[Rusty J]

Honda had a good self-cancelling system on the (late, lamented) PC800s, and they might still have the patent on it (but not want to license it out cheaply).

It sensed speed, distance, and the steering going past center (initial countersteer, crossing center again to hold the turn, then back to center once the turn was complete), with a shutoff delay based on speed and (I think) distance.

I wish I knew more about hobbyist microcontrollers, because I could explain what needs to be done, but have no idea exactly how to make it happen.

 

[Rustydust]

Honda had a good self-cancelling system on the (late, lamented) PC800s, and they might still have the patent on it (but not want to license it out cheaply).

It sensed speed, distance, and the steering going past center (initial countersteer, crossing center again to hold the turn, then back to center once the turn was complete), with a shutoff delay based on speed and (I think) distance.

My 1995 PC800 has those self canceling turn signals and they work as good today as they did when I bought that bike new almost 19 years ago. Trouble is, whenever I ride my KLR 650 or my Burgman I keep forgetting that they are not going to turn off by themselves and ride down the street with them still flashing.

I wish they all had them. I mean, when was the last time that you saw a car or truck that made you turn them off manually?

 

[qualt]

If a motorcycle doesn't have self canceling turn signals then they should have some kind of turn signal indicator light, mounted in a very conspicuous location to the rider, or at the very least make the "clicker" loud. Either of those would be easy to do.

 

[David Wilett]

Installed a loud beeper on the 2004 400 Burgman that worked with the turn signals. Was annoying because it was very loud. However, you didn't forget to turn them off. My 1999 Harley-Davidson are self-canceling. Controlled by time and distance. After ridding the Harley, then get on the scooter, I sometimes forget to cancel. I would gladly exchange the folding mirrors for self-canceling turn signals.

 

[Liamjs]

If a motorcycle doesn't have self canceling turn signals then they should have some kind of turn signal indicator light, mounted in a very conspicuous location to the rider, or at the very least make the "clicker" loud. Either of those would be easy to do.

Not sure why you would resurrect a year old thread for this, but most, if not all, bikes I've ridden have a visual, blinking light of some sort to indicate the turn signals is on; many, like the Burgmans, have two.

Personally, I don't like the self canceling signals, they lead to inattentiveness. Learn to turn them off manually. It's part of learning to ride the bike properly, it works on every bike every time, and you never have to remember which bike you're riding.

 

[cliffyk]

^this...

Just get in the habit of turning it off. I always punch the button coming out of the turn, sometimes a few times sub-consciously well-after the turn--you don't "forget" to turn it on do you?

 

[Duster]

...when was the last time that you saw a car or truck that made you turn them off manually?

Got a new Mack dump truck in April of '92...it had 'manual'
turn signals. Drove that truck until May of '07.
There are a number of 'large' trucks that still have 'manual'
turn signals.

 

[Limey]

I think the Honda self-cancelling system uses an angle sensor, not a steering position sensor. The whole "counter steer" thing is actually a bit of a misnomer as the steering does not actually turn the opposite way, it simply feels like it does. The counter PRESSURE you put on the bars actually causes the bike to lean in the direction you want to go due to gyroscopic precession!

I see there are aftermarket turn signal cancelling systems and I have often thought about building one - but I would include a GPS sensor. That way you could use time, distance and change of direction as factors to determine when to turn the signals off - but it would probably be too expensive to be a retail success!

 

[Chatman128]

...The counter PRESSURE you put on the bars actually causes the bike to lean in the direction you want to go due to gyroscopic precession! ...

Common misconception from the early days of 2 wheel lore. There is very little gyroscopic effect associated with steering. In fact there is a video floating around where a bicycle had two counter-rotating wheels, one above the other, to create a steering system with zero gyroscopic characteristics. It is still dynamically stable and will stay upright on its own.

The lean results when you steer the wheels out from under the bike during counter steering. The actual process is pretty complicated and is determined by virtually every aspect of the steering geometry: rake, trail, wheel diameter, tire profile. All of it comes in to play but the counter-steering into a lean part is attributable to steering the tires out from under.

Next we'll address why it is that the Bernouli principle has little to do with keeping planes aloft.

 

[Limey]

Common misconception from the early days of 2 wheel lore. There is very little gyroscopic effect associated with steering.

Then try this: Hold a bicycle wheel by its axle and spin it. Then try to turn it left and right.

Now tell me again how gyroscopic effect has no effect on steering - and also remember a bicycle wheel has less mass than any scooter wheel. Please also explain how one, or two, wheeled vehicles remain upright?

Then tell me why the cyclic on a helicopter is 90 degrees out of phase with the motion of the helicopter.

Finally tell me what happens to the center-of-gravity of the bike and rider when negotiating a turn (Newtons Laws and a knowledge of both centrifugal and centripetal force may come in handy) and why the bike doesn't fall to the outside of the turn.

Oh, and Bernoulli's theorem applies to flow through a NOZZLE. It may not be applicable to a wing, but it certainly applies to a jet engine - which is what makes a lot of aircraft fly!