• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Opinions on three button signals?

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. I do not hate the three switch system but could live with it. The problem is the cancel feature. Right thumb cancels both left and right signal. Not intuitive, at least not for me. I am always wanting to use the horn to cancel the left signal.

I used to hit my horn a lot by accident. But I got used to it.
 
Same here, I was riding and honked a couple of corners, but I am becoming more aware of it. Everytime I honked my intentions to turn, I would make sure I waved at someone so it looked like I really meant to do it.:brow
 
I used to hit the horn almost as much as the cancel button when trying to turn off a signal. I mostly got over that after about a week. I say mostly because I did exactly that once last week, after more than 16 months of near daily riding on my RT, and not having done it in several months.

I rarely forget to turn off a signal, and forgetting to do so is not a function of button location for me. My previous bike ('82 Yamaha) had signals that self cancelled after a fairly short distance (about 0.1 mi, if I remember right). That was OK in most city driving, but cut out too soon for some highway and other country driving.

For me, it was just a matter of getting used to a different configuration.
 
Now that holiday traffic is starting to pick up (and dumb down), I'm starting to believe that the biggest flaw in my bikes' switchgear is the presence of the horn button on the left side.

I mean, it makes it impossible to use my horn, brakes, and middle finger at the same time. Whose idea was that?
 
Last edited:
Now that holiday traffic is starting to pick up (and dumb down), I'm starting to believe that the biggest flaw in my bikes' switchgear is the presence of the horn button on the left side.

I mean, it makes it impossible to use my horn, brakes, and middle finger at the same time. Whose idea was that?

That's what a throttle lock is for. right hand bird.:D

Ralph Sims
 
Other than to reduce cost (one switch versus three switches), which I bet is the main reason BMW went to the latest switch setup (no honor saying "new") or to make the K13GT more "market compliant" (which has never been a BMW standard), I can see NO gain in the single button turn signal. In fact I just see it as a step backward and in result it actually "cheapens" the bike.

BMW and Harley are the only ones who ever had it right. Now we can say that only Harley has it right.

I don't like the look of the K13GT controls, or the handlebar for that matter. I feel it looks cheap and wimpy. When I demo ride the K13GT at the dealer I work for I have to think about the stupid turn signal control, and quite often my thumbs are swishing away at signal switches that are no longer there. Nope, don't like it at all. If BMW really wanted to make the system better, why not just have the two switch system like a Harley, where a second press of the same button cancels the signal?

Also, the current self cancelling system cancels too early in many cases! When I demo ride/lead a test rider, I often have to hit the turn signal switch at least twice to make sure it stays active up to the turn. Or, I have to wait to get too close to the turn to signal. Not too close for me, but too close for a following rider to catch that I have the turn signal on! I could forsee some rider leading a group ride on a BMW with new self cancelling signals that has a following rider hit him on RH turn because the signal went off, and the following rider went straight as the lead rider turns right.
 
Other than to reduce cost (one switch versus three switches), which I bet it the main reason BMW went to the latest switch setup (no honor saying "new") or to make the K13GT more "market compliant" (which has never been a BMW standard), I can see NO gain in the single button turn signal. In fact I just see it as a step backward and in result it actually "cheapens" the bike.

When I first heard of the change I assumed it was to make way for paddle shifter levers 2-4 years down the road. :dunno
 
Last edited:
Hmmmmm....referring to Andy's post, the prior self cancel was not much longer if any. I always hit mine on my K12RS a couple times if I am leading someone. Sometimes it is not another rider but just lamebrains on the freeway, etc. The signal (new or old style) is long enough that the following rider, knowing the one ahead is leading him/her, should pickup that a change is coming. Then, more often than not, the turn signal is followed by a brake light. While I agree the new cancel seems a tad quick, I hope we are all paying enough attention on group rides that your scenario does not happen. Like Marchyman, I assume new things are coming along with the trend toward homologation to the 'world norm'.
 
BMW and Harley are the only ones who ever had it right. Now we can say that only Harley has it right.

I am on the road and unfortunately it is not on my bike, so I can check this out, but there was something else I liked about my previous Harley's turn signals. That is if you held the button in, the signals would continue to flash until you let go of it and it self canceled or you pressed the button again to stop the flashing. Is the BMW the same way, not the press again to cancel, I know that isn't the case, but the holding it in to keep it flashing? I would think yes, but since I can't check it out, I was just curious.

Ron
 
Hmmmmm....referring to Andy's post, the prior self cancel was not much longer if any.

I agree, my 1200GT I feel also self-cancels a bit too soon. Not sure oabout city speeds (it does vary according to the bike speed i believe), but at highway speeds, it does cancel too soon. I have to be very aware if there is a vehicle behind me and be ready to push the turn button a second time. Mainly, because you don't want the following vehicle to believe you've changed your mind about turning. Once you START the turn it doesn't matter, that's why I like Harleys lean-angle system. Harleys system is really great, best thing they've designed since.......well OK it's the BEST thing they ever designed:nyah

Gilly
 
Same here, I was riding and honked a couple of corners, but I am becoming more aware of it. Everytime I honked my intentions to turn, I would make sure I waved at someone so it looked like I really meant to do it.:brow

:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl
 
I'm used to the 3-button system, but prefer the one button simply because with my relatively small hands I sometimes find it difficult to cancel while rolling on the throttle.

But since this, according to my wife, is the last bike I'm ever going to have, I've pretty much got over it.

Pete
 
One thing I have never liked about any of the non-BMW (HD exception) turn signal controls, is the way I have to rotate my thumb up, and move it right or left to operate the switch. Very unnatural, and to my engineer/ergonomic mindset, simply wrong. Sure, one switch to do the functions is great, but the hand/thumb motions to move the switch is not natural.

Now, on the K13GT, BMW has done it better than the others. But it is still not a natural placement of the left hand thumb to operate the switch while also operating the clutch, which you do after almost every turn.

Not only that, but the other switches on the left cluster have to take secondary precendence to the turn signal switch. On my 94 R11RS, I have always liked the large low/hi beam switch because it is so easy to use. I do a lot of night riding, and the lo/hi beam switch is very easy to use on my BMW compared to any other bike.

In my mind, ANY controls on a bike, that take much more than a natural thought or action to operate, are simply not right.
 
It took just a few rides to get used to the BNW system and I love it. Riding other bikes makes me realize how good the three control sysyem is. Too bad other manufactures didn't go the BNW way instead of BMW going to the "dark side".+
 
One thing I have never liked about any of the non-BMW (HD exception) turn signal controls, is the way I have to rotate my thumb up, and move it right or left to operate the switch.

On which axis are you rotating your thumb? I lift my thumb, hitting the cancel with the side of my thumb. If you are twisting your thumb so the fleshy pad hits the cancel.... why? Or am I getting the wrong picture from the term "rotate".
 
call me crazy, but....

It took just a few rides to get used to the BNW system and I love it. Riding other bikes makes me realize how good the three control sysyem is. Too bad other manufactures didn't go the BNW way instead of BMW going to the "dark side".+

I've found all these posts really interesting, even though I am clearly in the minority (that's OK, I can handle it :D ).

While I certainly "got used" to the 3 button system, I find it a little awkward and contrived compared to the simple, one-button system on my Connie. Maybe it's because my first 3 bikes were Japanese, but the "left to turn left, right to turn right, push to cancel" system always struck me as simple and intuitive. The button is right where my thumb can access it. Not to mention the contoured horn button right below it, also easy to get to in an emergency.

I've never had a problem when switching back and forth between bikes, but after riding both for a year and a half there's no question which one I prefer.

To each their own! :beer
 
On my bikes that have had the single switch on the left cluster, the switch is usually near the centerline of the bar end. So for smaller hands to operate it, I have to take my thumb from below the grip, rotate it up (or rotate my hand up) and then move my thumb sideways. Not natrual at all for me. Maybe your hands are bigger than mine.
 
HD 2 button system is the best!

While it is unlikely that I will ever buy another Harley, I am willing to concede that HD has the best turn signal system in the industry. The 2 button system is intuitive: left button for left turn, right button for right turn. If you don't initiate a turn within a specified time, the signal will self-cancel. If you're stopped at a traffic light with a brake light activated, the timer will suspend until you release the brake. If you initiate a turn by throttle changes combined with a lean angle, the system senses that you are making a turn and will self-cancel by the time you complete the turn by returning the bike to vertical and increasing throttle. I find the BMW 3 button system stays on too long after I complete a turn. If I don't manually cancel, the signal continues flashing for a couple of hundred yards after the turn has been completed. Can't say I like the single button as well as the 3-button system, because the 3-button does have the same advantage that the Harley system has, i.e., if you need emergency signals the multi-button systems allow such activatin by pressing both left and right buttons simultaneously. Easy.
 
Back
Top