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Self cancelling turn signal? It can be a safety issue from what I've seen

J

John2023

Active member
Joined
Oct 27, 2023
Location
California
Moto(s)
Ninja Z
I'm not sure why some moto brands stopped adding the self cancelling turn signal feature to some of their bikes over the years except probably for the greed and profit over safety reason. I remembered even my cheap 70s Yamaha moto had it. I think it was around the 90s that some brands stopped adding it to some of their models. Even my 2019 Z400 doesn't have it.

I say it can be a safety issue because I've witnessed riders almost getting hit by cagers over the years. Basically the rider forgot to turn off the blinker and other motorists thought the rider was turning so they turned right in front of the rider.

Sure there are $80-100 aftermarket modules available for conversions out there but it should be standard on all motos IMO.
 
Self cancelling signals aren’t trivial to implement on a motorcycle. They exist, but most of them have issues in certain situations. The cancel switch is pretty reliable though.

At the risk of sounding like a Luddite, riders are probably best off being deliberate about communicating their intentions to other drivers, both for initiating a turn and indicating when it’s complete. I’m generally not a fan of automating things on motorcycles.
 
I have owned exactly two bikes with self cancelling turn signals of the 25 total that I've owned. I still found myself hitting the cancel button (pushing in the switch) even when riding those. I think it's better to have the habit of cancelling your own turn signals. I often hit "cancel" multiple times after it's already cancelled, just to be sure.

Last summer I loaned out my XR650L for a ride to a friend whose F850GS was in the shop. His bike has the self-cancel feature. I rode behind him for probably an hour watching the turn signal blink the whole time wondering if it was going to wear out the relay. We finally stopped and I explained to him that he had to cancel. There was still a part of that trip on the way back home where it was on for a while.

A photo from that ride:
bnEN1bl.jpg
 
BMW GSs have self-cancelling turn signals that depend on speed-distance variables. In practice (my own experience, and from others on ADV Rider) it's hard to tell when it would actually cancel (or not), so we mostly cancel it manually.
 
Gary856 said:
In practice (my own experience, and from others on ADV Rider) it's hard to tell when it would actually cancel (or not), so we mostly cancel it manually.
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I can't say I've ever had a problem with my canceling signal on my GS.
 
I had self cancelling turn signals on my 1982 Seca 650. I thought they worked great.
 
As @Gary856 and the others point out, BMWs (all of the newer ones, I think, not just GS's - my 2008 K1200GT has them) have self-canceling turn signals based on time/distance after you start signaling. It can lead to the turn signal canceling before you make the turn if you start signaling 'too early', but in real terms, I've never had that problem. I normally manually cancel after the turn anyway, but I have no doubt there have been cases where I forgot to manually cancel and it did it for me - I know I've accidentally ridden my non-BMWs for miles with my turn signal still going... :)

As a cager, I generally assume that if a rider has their signal on, I should assume they're going to turn or change lanes, but not necessarily - especially if they're on the freeway. But then I assume that about other cagers (especially Toyota Corollas). Except for BMW cars - you just gotta stay the fuck away form them, because they WILL change lanes with no warning :)
 
Wow, I had no idea that my 2018 R1200RS had self cancelling turn signals. I wonder if they are deactivated or I've never noticed them.
 
Somehow it feels like the need for self-cancelling turn signals and lack thereof is a self-correcting problem. :laughing
 
First self canceling turn indicator from me was '83 Yamaha Vision. I missed it for the years until I got newer bikes that had them. I feel the riders who leave their turn indicators on forever are more of a hazard.
 
My Harley has a self canceling turn signals, and a few prior harleys I've owned have it too. Harleys are also unique in that they have left turn on the left handlebar and right turn on right handlebar. you press to turn on, and press to cancel. It auto turns off based on lean angle and can sense when you lean and when you straighten back up. I've found the self-cancel feature to be pretty darn reliable and has always canceled as intended.

That said do I feel it should be a standard on a sport bike? For me it's eh, I'm one of those people that is very purposeful when I signal and press the cancel button on the handlebar a lot even when It's not even on just out of habit
 
R6Elmo said:
My Harley has a self canceling turn signals, and a few prior harleys I've owned have it too. Harleys are also unique in that they have left turn on the left handlebar and right turn on right handlebar. you press to turn on, and press to cancel. It auto turns off based on lean angle and can sense when you lean and when you straighten back up.
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This is new to me.
I've spent some time on a friend's Road King and was told the self-cancelling turn signals went off the odometer.
 
R6Elmo said:
My Harley has a self canceling turn signals, and a few prior harleys I've owned have it too. Harleys are also unique in that they have left turn on the left handlebar and right turn on right handlebar. you press to turn on, and press to cancel. It auto turns off based on lean angle and can sense when you lean and when you straighten back up.
Click to expand...
Not sure if that is going to work on many of the Harleys that I've watched out riding, because they don't seem to lean them much at all. I've been behind a few groups where they could have had training wheels on the bikes and there wouldn't have been a difference in lean angle.
 
on the more advanced new Triumph bikes the self cancel turn signals actually have two modes... the first being a quick push of the turn signal switch gets you 3 flashes then the signal goes out... and the second being a longer hold of the turn signal switch (a second or two) gets you a more normal 5-10 second flashing on time (maybe even distance dependent - not fully sure) signal... kinda nice feature - I think.
 
VroomVroomVroom said:
on the more advanced new Triumph bikes the self cancel turn signals actually have two modes... the first being a quick push of the turn signal switch gets you 3 flashes then the signal goes out... and the second being a longer hold of the turn signal switch (a second or two) gets you a more normal 5-10 second flashing on time (maybe even distance dependent - not fully sure) signal... kinda nice feature - I think.
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I hate that feature on the two cars that I own that have it. If I hit the turn signal switch and then change my mind, because a head check showed a car in the lane I want, or for some other similar reason, instead of blinking just once, which could easily be interpreted as "I didn't mean to do that", it blinks three times which telegraphs my intention to move over anyway.

My own opinion is that three flashes is never the correct number. Never.
 
I have that feature, and I like it.

But when I make a mistake, and try to turn it off (you can't turn it off), I go the other direction. So, now my other blinker is on for a short time instead. Mildly annoying, but overall I like the feature more than not.
 
R6Elmo said:
My Harley has a self canceling turn signals, and a few prior harleys I've owned have it too. Harleys are also unique in that they have left turn on the left handlebar and right turn on right handlebar. you press to turn on, and press to cancel. It auto turns off based on lean angle and can sense when you lean and when you straighten back up. I've found the self-cancel feature to be pretty darn reliable and has always canceled as intended.

That said do I feel it should be a standard on a sport bike? For me it's eh, I'm one of those people that is very purposeful when I signal and press the cancel button on the handlebar a lot even when It's not even on just out of habit
Click to expand...
The Harley turn signals work with both lean angle and timing. They will time out if appropriate lean is not recognized.
Frankly, I thought all motorcycles had this. I mean if Harley does..........................................??
 
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