Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Since some bikes turn off when you have the kickstand down, would it be alright to use that as a kill switch? So that yolu never forget to put down the kickstand (and ya'll know that it happens).

Do you think it'd do any damage to the bike to not use the kill switch?

I never, repeat never use my killswitch. If I am stopping I will generally use the stand to stop the engine but will occasionally turn it off via the ignition switch.

No harm will come of not using the killswitch and the bonus is you will never be embarrassed by trying to start your bike with it in the off position and sit there wondering why it won't go.

The kickstand on most bikes is just a relay that's wired in series with anything else that can shut off the bike. No harm done =)

I always use the sidestand to kill the engine. Never use the kill switch. In fact a couple weeks ago, Loonette and I were getting ready to go on a ride and my bike wouldn't start. About five minutes of panic later, I realized that the kill switch was on. The Zootech had ridden my bike last after we did some work on it and used the kill switch to turn it off. Seeing as I never use it, it was the last thing I thought to look at.

Mintbread wrote:I never, repeat never use my killswitch. If I am stopping I will generally use the stand to stop the engine but will occasionally turn it off via the ignition switch.

No harm will come of not using the killswitch and the bonus is you will never be embarrassed by trying to start your bike with it in the off position and sit there wondering why it won't go.

Strange, the MSF course taught us to always use the killswitch when you plan on parking, so that you don't accidentally let out on the clutch while the engine may still have a sputter in it that may send it flying into the store window.

And yes, the engine can still run after the ignition is off and the key is out. The forklift I drive at work does it almost every time I cut it off. (Don't think it will with EFI though, it's an old carb driven forklift).

I need to get a new KS when I have the ambition to put it on. Mine broke a couple of weeks ago as it is old and the contacts are shot so I just soldered the wires togeather lol

Out of curiousity - why wouldn't you want to use the killswitch?

For the reason pointed out twice in the thread already.

why not just turn the key off like on everything else.i have done this for 50 years and i have never had any problems.

1) You might forget to turn it back on before you start the bike.

2) It might break.

3) Using the kickstand instead means you'll never drop your bike cause you forgot to put it down.