magnet on street bike?

Anyone hear about the myth where you put magnets on the bottom of your street bikes it supposedly sets of the lights at an intersection? i was just curious if anyone has actually tried it and got better results..

 

that is the same myth I heard about honking 3 times if you are the only one at the intersection and the light will change to green....LOL

 

The magnet, or whatever material it might be, simply adds a mass of metal to the underside of a bike for the sensor loop to see.

 

The square ground loop in the street at the intersections sense the metal in the bike, motorcycle, car, etc. That is how the light gets a signal that a vehicle is waiting. And when the traffic is light some are programmed to change when a vehicle arrives. I know the ground loop works better when you move the metal through the field and not just sit there stationary. And the magnet "may" improve the loop sensing you are there. But it won't change the light sequence program.

 

alot of people think it is triggered by weight.

i have seen quite a few on bikes bouncing at lights to trigger it

 

I know a few people that have these and they have said more often than not they work. http://www.kjmagnetics.com/default.asp

 

ahahahahahahahahahahahaha! thats so funny id point and laugh if i saw that! on my bike i actually have done the high beam flash thing and it worked a few times but im not sure if it were luck...

 

ill second on that if you are moving it helps a lot, ive noticed if i rock the bike ontop of the crack where they have they sensors its normally works for me.

 

I avoid some intersections around here b/c the sensors wont pick up my truck and ill just sit there forever...but in my wifes mustang it works just fine...maybe I need some magnets! haha

 

I did hear that sitting directly over the loop and revving the motor will trip it. Something about EM from pulses going to the spark plugs trips the sensor. I don't know if it was just coincidence in timing but I tried it once and the light tripped for me.

If its busy I'll just make a right and a u-turn. If not, check for the law and go for it.

 

This is a cool topic. I started thinking about some Physics classes during college. Then, I decided to pull out a couple of books and then pull up wikipedia.

Induction loop is a term used to describe an electromagnetic communication- and detection system, relying on the fact that a moving magnet will induce a electrical current in a nearby conducting wire. Induction loops are used for transmission and reception of communication signals, or for detection of metal objects in metal detectors or vehicle presence indicators. A common modern use for induction loops is to provide hearing assistance to hearing aid users.

 

If you're not setting it off, try putting your kickstand down. It puts more metal in a closer proximity to the sensor.

 

yea i just figured it was worth a shot, i mean what is the worse that can happen? lol. i also have heard about the kickstand one and heard that one works pretty good.

 

The sensing loop at stoplights has a field that gets interrupted by the vehicles mass. When interrupted, it triggers the timing in the lights to change.

The idea with the magnets is to increase the field area that the mass of bike has. Because the bikes are small, they don't always interrupt the sensing field.

I put 3 strong earth magnets on the underside of my lower fairing. I had no luck triggering some intersections. The magnets were successful in picking up ferrous crap off of the road, and that's it. Didn't do a damn thing for triggering these intersections.

Right turn to U-turn, or wait for another car to come up and trigger the light is the only thing that seems to work. I don't buy the kickstand thing.

 

I think that the "loop" is a myth. I dont think they are in there. I know of tons of lights that have been there well before the technology of this magic loop was avalible. If you do silly things, long enough, yeah, the light timed out and its green and you think the ebay special for $19.95 did the trick. Their would be lines cut into the pavement where they where installed...or only NEW streets, with NEW stop lights could have it with out some sign that it was installed.

Just my .02 cents

 

Simple solution that does not hurt the bike, is to bump the starter when you get to the light. On my Ninja 636 I'll hit it once or twice.


From my experience the magnet does nothing that you cannot do without one. If you're in love with having a magnet there, rip open an old PC tower, by the CD drive there will be a very very high powered magnet - better than just about anything that you could buy on the market separate

 

An inductive loop is a myth? It is some sort of magic technology? You 'think' wrong my friend

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/question234.htm

 

Cool link! Looks like we both kinda right. Most city lights run on timers and contry roads have the "magic loop" ! lol!

 

You guys might want to check with local law enforcement... A friend of mine is a Sheriff's Deputy, and he saw me sitting(stuck) at a light, and here, if you are sitting at a light for a certain amount of time, with no traffic, look both ways before you cross the street. OR, just do what I do. Bikes weren't meant to sit at lights, unless you are chasing girls, and right turn on red, to find a new way to where you are going.

 

You could be like a firetruck and put a strobe light on the front...all the lights will change for you!!!