Mini Indicators are very very stupid

[Supervox]

Originally Posted by Sholay

One of the 'advantages of riding through central London every day is seing the stupid things that people do to their bikes. The last few days I seem to have seen a lot that Have got me worked up a bit.

The ones I really don't understand are mini indicators. Indicators are there for ones own benefit, so that other road users can know what you are doing and avoid getting you into problems. People who have indicators which are so small, so dim or so close to the number plate (or all three) that you can't see them unless you are very close, must be completely insane.

It is a bit sad that some people are quite happy to damage the ears of the rest of the world because they want us all to know they have a bit of a problem with their brain. But hey, that's life.

I can uderstand that people want to have number plates that are impossible to read, so that they can get away with breaking the law without being identified. I wish the police would do their job and do something about them. If one of them kills me at some point, I would prefer to think they might be called to task for it.

But the indicator one though, I cannot see what benefit they think they get from them. Anyone got any idea?

I have never read such drivel in my life !!

Where do you get off telling people that they are stupid / insane / lacking in brain ability ?

I have have smaller (brighter than OE) indicators

I have a lovely sounding pair of CCC cans (with the baffles removed)

I also have have a smaller than legal plate (6 x 4) but it is still perfectly readable & I know lots of people who have much smaller plates - NONE of which have been put on to avoid being read - just to make the bikes look neater

Therefore I'm stupid, insane, intellectually challenged & a probable criminal - hmm, strange that my security clearance never picked up on any of that !!

May I suggest that you 'get a life' & perhaps next time phrase your questions without the insults ?

Just 'cos you think it doesn't make it a fact - merely an opinion.

BTW - I see you didn't overpower your own brain by checking your post for basic spelling mistakes !!

I agree with Supervox, concentrate on your own riding and don't be so quick to pass judgement on others.

This came across (rightly or wrongly) as overly aggressive, but masks what is potentially a valid point, if only it had been iterated better. Yes, crap mini indicators are bad, but then good mini indicators (and there are plenty) are fine and dandy and look swell to boot. As has also been stated, any indicators are better than OEM ones that aren't being used (or are left on for mile after mile - very easy to do).

Different cans, meh, there's almost a safety argument but I don't really buy that one; that said, my next splurge will probably be a high level scorp can. Simple fact they sound, and look nice to me. Don't try the over the top "they're destroying the hearing of everyone in a ten mile radius" line though, it's simply not true, we're not talking about flame spitting can-off stuff here, we're talking about a different muffler. There are plenty of other things, far far noisier, going on in London.

And the "should be going at speed appropriate to avoid" argument only works to a point, and it's trotted out suggesting that anyone who crashes into a pedestrian does so only through driver error. An example: There are occasions, when walking along a pavement (at, ooh, 3-4 mph) that I and another pedestrian will collide round a corner, coming out of a shop etc. If speeds as low as 3-4 mph aren't slow enough to prevent these collisions then nothing short of everyone getting off their bikes and pushing them round London will prevent some of the accidents where someone steps into the road without looking.

Actually I accept that there are good mini indicators and plain pathetic ones. I have seen an awful lot where I can't see the point of having them at all and there are many where the spacing is dubious and potentially misleading. With some you'd be better with no indicators and giving hand signals.

If some of the number plates you see aren't designed to be unreadable then I'm not quite sure what they are designed for. They are certainly functionally useless.

I actually think that the extremes of these mods look really bad. Indicators are there to indicate, number plates to identify the vehicle, silencers to reduce noise levels. If they don't succeed in doing so then they look very silly. Why not just take them off altogether?

I stand by my point about not relying on any level of noise to warn pedestrians and riding at a speed where you can stop if needed very strongly indeed. No you can't prevent every accident - that is why they are called accidents - but you can do your best to minimise them. There are places and times when 10mph is an appropriate speed, there are others when you have a good view of who is about and what they are doing when it is safe to go a lot faster.

Sorry I'm only a little bit penitent!

Darn it, think I'll just replace my straight through cans with silent ones and get indicators bigger than my head then......

I think you shold give up biking if it frustrates you that much.

[Stu]

What he said!

I'm sure anyone who knows me, knows which side I'm on, sorry in too much of a rage to be more eloquent

Originally Posted by Sholay

!

why are you so worked up about what OTHER people do to their bikes?

if you dont like small plates & indycaters & loud cans dont fit them. theres no point trying to convince anybody else as you are going to lose

i have all of the above and im happy.

I don't think anyone was claiming that they rely upon noise to warn pedestrians, and as I've said I think the safety argument is a fairly weak one anyhow. But noise can be a factor in creating awareness, just as high vis vests can be a factor. Responding with "use appropriate speed instead" to a debate about cans is as relevant as responding with "use appropriate speed instead" when talking about high vis vests. Neither are going to prevent all accidents, but both may prevent some.

Furthermore, to respond with "use appropriate speed" is to suggest that the readers of this forum don't already. In fact I'd go so far as to say that everyone uses their best judgement on what appropriate speed is, as no-one actually wants an accident. There is definitely a debate available as to how good some people's judgement may be, but people's judgement of appropriate speed is in no way related to their choice of muffler.

The fact is people like different things about biking. For me, it's the elegance of the bikes (which is often improved upon aftermarket), the nimbleness, the wind through your, erm, vents, and the sound. If what draws you to biking is different then that's grand, but I would suggest that the majority is drawn by different things than yourself.

PS. Silencers are surely not meant to "silence", they're designed by the manufacturers to shape the sound. Read through any Suzuki promotional literature (where they're talking about their completely OEM bike) and I'm pretty certain it'll mention something about "the sound of a big V-Twin".

Have to agree with Sholay here I'm afraid boys, loud silencers are antisocial and the main reason bikers have a bad name (IMHO of course). That's why they're illegal.

I live 400 yards from the residential end of the A628 Woodhead Pass and every Saturday & Sunday my peace is continually disturbed by offensively screaming exhaust noise from over a mile away, ban the b*st*rds!

Don't try to justify an offensively loud exhaust on safety grounds, you've only got them because you like the sound, go on admit it.

Use mini indicators if you like, just don't blame the person who knocks you off 'cos he didn't see the indicator.

Haven't really got an opinion on small number plates, you'll be pleased to hear

Just 'cos a person thinks a statement's drivel doesn't make it drivel, its only that person's opinion

my old halogen indys were way brighter than OE ones, i changed back to OE indys so they could be seen from the side.