Using the kill switch - mandatory?
Only reason I can think of for going straight to the main switch is lights...... There has been plenty of times I hit the kill switch then got distracted and forgot to turn the main . My friends like to make sure I'm about as far as possible from the bike before they point it out and make me all the way back to turn it off
....you bought the wrong bike!
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,858
Likes: 217
From: Puyallup Wa.
Zero throttle position was fixed from 2010 on. I'm a kill switch user I don't know about can bus system but I recall a argument that switched by kill switch as instructions described you were switching less electrical load. I'm just repeating something I read just for the sake of argument.
By ALWAYS using the kill switch, you develop a habit, and muscle memory.
From a SAFETY standpoint, it is better to kill the engine there, if there is ever an emergency that you need to shut the engine down fast, you won't have to take your hands off the bars or think about it.
The only drawback, and they may have fixed it by now, is if your hand has the throttle slightly turned, can cause the ECM to get confused, and begin idling higher. If you are sure to have the throttle at zero, there are no issues.
From a mechanical standpoint, you are not going to hurt anything by using the ignition switch.
From a SAFETY standpoint, it is better to kill the engine there, if there is ever an emergency that you need to shut the engine down fast, you won't have to take your hands off the bars or think about it.
The only drawback, and they may have fixed it by now, is if your hand has the throttle slightly turned, can cause the ECM to get confused, and begin idling higher. If you are sure to have the throttle at zero, there are no issues.
From a mechanical standpoint, you are not going to hurt anything by using the ignition switch.
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,937
Likes: 320
From: Vancouver, WA
Well all righty then! Easy to get some people fired up I guess...
Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,319
Likes: 1
From: Deep South Texas
I have used the main switch and the thumb switch to shut off my 2009 and the 2015. There have not been any issues with the bikes from shutting them down. I am sure there are some small load issues by shutting down in a certain order, but it is not like we are powering down a reactor. I just use whichever switch my hand is closest to when it is time to cut it off.
Club Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 11,460
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From: Idaho
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Here are 19 threads on kill switches:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/searc...rchid=28978220
I looked through some of the threads, and the only rational reason I saw for using the kill switch, is that you are covering the brake and clutch, when you use it. So it is a little safer than taking your hand off to kill with ignition switch.
I just kill switch out of habit.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/searc...rchid=28978220
I looked through some of the threads, and the only rational reason I saw for using the kill switch, is that you are covering the brake and clutch, when you use it. So it is a little safer than taking your hand off to kill with ignition switch.
I just kill switch out of habit.
