Deanohh_imp said:
The Spaceman_imp said:
You need to use your odometer. Reset it to "0" when you turn the signal on. When the odometer gets to "1," that's your indication that you need to turn the signal off.
careful, I was scolded harshly by the OP in post #3 for replying to this thread in a frivolous way.
careful, I was scolded harshly by the OP in post #3 for replying to this thread in a frivolous way. Well, it is nice to see there are a few crusty old farts here who actually think that everything doesn't need to be done for us automatically. Here again I've been doing this for thirty years and have had the older BMW and recent Harley setups, which are horrible. Having to use your right thumb whilst maintaining throttle position is just plain awkward and can be dangerous. Yeah, I got used to it but it was a case of "we can do it differently than the Japanese". BMW has finally got around to the same system as the Japanese bikes, not sure about Harley but I don't plan on getting another one at any rate.
Do any of our cars have self-cancelling signals? None of mine do, just a noisemaker but between the loud music and whatnot that doesn't do much good. In the first year I rode I very quickly learned to do a left-hand sweep of the thumb every 30 seconds where I press in the turn signal control to cancel it and verify the high beam is on (if during the day). I unconsciously do this all the time I am riding, every 20-30 seconds. That ensures the signal is off and the brightest light is on during daylight hours which just might keep me from getting hit. You can train yourself to do this just like you should train yourself to scan the road, the instruments, and everything else one has to do to ride a motorcycle well.
These days, cars are now being made to compensate for drivers who can't maintain lane discipline, drive whilst falling asleep, or can't seem to even watch the road or maintain a safe following distance. Honda's got a commercial out showing how their new safety system will notice if you are drifting out of your lane or following too close, or about to smash into something. There is even a camera that watches your eyes and if it fails to sense alertness, it will sound an alarm to wake you up. These systems use stereoscopic cameras and other sensors and will automatically put on the brakes or even correct steering input. Many cars these days have electric power steering and I can tell you that the brain to this system will take control or not respond to input if it thinks you are doing something stupid.
Cars these days are being built for unskilled, careless, distracted drivers who are preoccupied with texting or other such nonsense. The idea of actually paying attention to the road seems to have been superseded by the idea of building a car that is smarter than the driver.
A lot of motorcycles have ABS and traction control, many with a variety of ignition curve/fuel injection maps to select from several different engine styles. All this stuff does is give riders a false sense of security unless they really know its limitations. ABS does not help at all in a turn, for example, and an ABS-equipped bike will take longer to stop under most conditions than an expert rider can stop without it (My CB1100 does not have ABS).
A motorcycle is one of the few things left where a man or women still has to learn to think. That's the nature of the game; no airbags or computers to rescue you. Just learn to turn off the signal, it will become second nature after a while.
