After having my Savage for 2.5 years, I finally got it completely legal Monday, getting it tagged.  Now I just have to scrounge time to ride it. Little errands when the wife is home so she can watch the kids (motorcycle not exactly being a family transport , riding to work in the morning, and then back home after work to pick up my truck so I can go pick up the kids from the babysitter (again with the family transport inadequacy).

So, I've only put a little over 14 miles on it since I tagged it (8 of them today with the to and from work), but I have found that I will either need to route myself around the low-traffic areas that have induction triggered signals, or pick up one of the many green light triggers on the market. Unfortunately, where I work has a gate that closes on a timer and then opens via induction, so I will either have to get off the bike and trigger the gate via the security keypad everytime, or get a green light trigger sooner than I may have expected. Is there any trigger that is better than the others, or are they all about equal?

Another observation I've made is that wind may be a factor for me. About half my drive is at speeds of 35 mph or less, but the other half is 55+. Couple that with the often prevalent Kansas winds of 20+ mph, some sort of wind deflection may be in order, eventually. I either feel like I'm trying to be pulled backward off the bike (riding into the wind) or I'm fighting to keep from weaving all over my lane (riding across the wind). I could see that there probably isn't much to do about the crosswind aspect, but it might be nice, especially if I get to use my Savage as I want to, to have some sort of front wind deflection.

Neither one of those items was initially near the top of my wish list, though. Such is life

With that said, however, I am very much enjoying getting to really ride where I want, when I want, rather than either with another licensed rider (IP) or round and round in circles (MSF course) .

Good weather and great riding to y'all

Hi!  I had to laugh reading your post - because I do the same thing:  Take my car to drop my young kids off down the street at the babysitter's, and then return home to switch to my bike.  Go to work and back, and then switch back to the car to pick up the kids.  Yet, I drive 50 miles each way to work.

Anyway, I have never had problems with traffic light triggers.  Maybe I've been lucky, or other cars are around me???  Or, perhaps in Ontario, the triggers are less difficult to operate with a little bike(?)

Also, I put a Memphis Shades windshield on my savage to block some of the wind = makes a big difference.  I don't like riding in high winds, but lately it doesn't seem to bother me as much.  I guess I'm more used to the bike and have more confidence in my abilities on it.

Have fun riding!!!

Diane S

Aviler wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:06:

The controllers for the green light triggers are adjustable for sensitivity.  If you find a trigger that does not respond to the Savage you should (1) run it unless it is controlling a gate and (2) notify the authority in charge of adjusting it.  I don't know about the the guys that maintain the signal controls, but I have been known to chastize my customers with "I can't fix if if you don't complain!"

The consensus in that "green light triggers" mainly work to take money from those who do not practice the above.  Even if they did work they do nothing to fix the actual problem.

The wind is an interesting subject.  You have many varibles between what you can tolerate, what you wish to tolerate, your speed, and the wind speed.  The push of the wind goes up with the square of the speed.  The wind at 65 mph has twice the force of that at 46 mph.

Many people find riding at 65 mph no problem with no wind protection other than goggles.  For others, such as myself, a tiny nine-inch flyscreen blocks just enough.  Others prefer more blockage provided by a larger screen, or even a full fairing.

Last month, coming home from the desert, I ran into a steady 20 mph headwind.  The windforce at 65 mph was 70% heavier and quite tiring, but 45 mph on I-10 was not a risk I cared to take.

   Try putting your kick stand down on the steel lines in the pavement some times that will do the trick!  

Ditto hugging with the knees and relaxing with the arms.  Using the throttle to push against the wind.

Great to read all these responses... here's my .02: State by state, laws are changing to allow motorcycles to turn or re-start when they try, and fail, to trip the signal. The current American Motorcyclist magazine has a list of these states.

I recently picked up a National Cycle #125A windshield (discussed elsewhere here). Great fit and finish, made in USA, installed easily. But - a bit small for everyday high-speed riding. If you purchase a fairing, you MAY want more coverage.

I used to ride in crosswinds on the central California coast (lived in Santa Cruz for years). They're kinda fun!