Traffic Light Trigger - Do They Really Work?

[YellowJacket!]

I have two left turn traffic lights to go through at major intersections.  The lights have the burried trigger sensors in the road and will only give the left turn signal if they "sense" a car on them.  Apparently my bulky V is still not big enough to trigger them.
Tennessee does have a law that lets a motorcycle make a left turn if the light does not change for two cycles of traffic, but these are big intersections and running the light would be risky especially if my V stumbles in the middle of it.
So, my question is: Do those things you strap on the bottom of your bike to make the sensors "see" your bike really work?  Any recomendations for a particular one?

Thanks,

David

[Lucky]

Dave the light at Frenchtown Rd & Post rd (that weird left that heads over the town line towards Hilltop) i'd sit at the light forever, pull way up & hope another car comes along. 

i tie wrapped a very large magnet to the round hole at the front of the engine (i had crashbars on the bike at the time) that did the trick.  those 'triggers" are just electromagnets. sometimes hitting the starter will help too. because of the starter clutch, it won't contact the flywheel.

--Lucky

[Robin Hood]

Is this a US thing then because here in the UK a pedal cycle will trigger traffic lights. At night lights lights often go to red until a vehicle triggers them.

[Lucky]

most lights are on timers, but a lot are triggered by a wire circuit buried in the ground that senses the mass of iron (which there is less of) in a car. it's common  for motorcycles not to trigger some of these, considering more & more they are built of aluminum alloys. stopping at the edge of the lane, over a long parallel run of the wire helps sometimes too (can you tell i reserched this once?)

--Lucky

[kiawrench]

Dave-- i have a real strong rare earth magnet i use for that . lucky knows the kind,, got it at sears, was meant t o use as a nial and screw clean up tool for workbenches. i just removed the magnet from the handle with some carb cleaner, then used a steel hose clamp to secure it to my center stand ,near the foot. if the light is red, i pull up to where i am over the sensor wires, and if it doesn't change soon, i use foot to tap center stand down, making the magnet trip the light .
  not only does this work, but it seems to proximity is the key,,,  that is why i put it near the stand foot,, to get it close when needed ...
   i dont have money like my riding buddy does, his is embedded in his left boot heel so he just puts foot down, and lights change. maybe having size 14 shoes helps in that area too,,, my boot heel wont hold one of these magnets, way way too small .
try the center stand, or side stand mounted one, it seems to work well.