1) They said to stop on the edge of the sensor.

The only way I've gotten things to work was to stop in the middle of it.

2) They said the engine and wheels would be a good chunk of metal to trip it.

The engine and wheels of my Bandit are aluminum and aluminum alloy, are non-magnetic, and won't trip anything.

3) I purchased one of the products for $25, which was a 'powerful' magnet with a 'flux isolation' device.

It didn't work, maybe because I was still parking on the side of the sensor.  It had 50 lbs pull strength.

I purchased two magnets from K&J Magnets.  Each one is 24 times smaller than the thing I bought earlier, and each has 40 lbs. pull strength.  ($2.25 each plus shipping)

I mounted them on the bottom run of the steel frame, with a piece of plastic rod thingy for a set of venetian blinds (my 'flux isolation device.')  They are mounted one behind the other, rather than on top of each other.

They work some of the time...I gave the other product two chances.  It 'works 99% of the time' at 14 inches off the ground.  Mine was about 8 inches or something, and I calculated that the chance of it not working 2/2 times was about 1/90,000.

I made sure that my new small magnets were mounted the same as the traffic tripper, as far as which side was N/S...don't know if that makes any difference or not.

I was pretty ticked off that the original product didn't work for me.

My 2¢

Trentor
2001 Bandit 600S

Keep us informed of how it goes as you play around with the magnets. 

Maybe secure them near the end of the side stand and use torqueman's technique.

Do a search on this forum for "traffic signal tripping". There have been several threads. One had diagrams.

nobody rides half as well as they know how.

The best way to "cure" this problem is to make note of any traffic-activated signal that does NOT trigger easily with your bike (without any of the magnets or paraphernalia that are wastes of money to get them to trigger), and call the local public works department and ask them to fix/recalibrate the signal loop at the intersection.

I've had very good luck with this approach. Of course, it pays to be pleasant and diplomatic when you talk to the folks at public works, rather than starting out with a rant. It's also a good idea to get the name of the person you spoke with, and then followup in two or three weeks, once they've had a decent amount of time to get around to the work and you've been back out to check whether anything has changed.

Just putting some doo-dad of questionable value (green-light triggers of all the various types), assuming they actually DO help at all, would at best fix the problem with YOUR bike. Calling the appropriate local agency and having the loop sensitivity fixed will cure the problem for ANYONE on a bike that uses that intersection. Plus, you're not flushing cash down a rat hole to some purveyor of a gizmo that likely makes not a whit of difference (anybody want to start a thread about deer whistles here? )

My two cents worth...

Dean in Oregon

98 Honda PC800 Pacific Coast

"It's more fun to go into a corner slow and come out fast than to go in fast and come out dead."

In the past these discriminators were tunable by the installer and could be adjusted for sensitivity.  Most circuits now are not adjustable, being calibrated at the factory and sealed.  In my area the traffic engineers can't "tune" the sensitivity any more and you're stuck with whatever the plug in circuit card or box does.

MN has passed legislation that allows a motorcyclist to pass through the light, if after a reasonable time, the light doesn't respond to the motorcycle.  You must do so with caution of course, and I suspect an officer would determine what was a "reasonable time" stopped at the light.  Still, that's a good compromise in my opinion.

Ray Nielsen, in Minneapolis and going for a ride today.