Hello All,

After riding motorcycles for the past 34 years (I'm now 53 years old), I finally purchased my first Harley. It's a 2009 Softail Custom (FXSTC). It's in perfect shape and after riding it for a week, I absolutely love it ! It rides so totally different than my previous metric bikes....this will definately be a new and exciting experience for years to come hopefully.

I have a couple questions I'm hoping some of you with more "harley experience" can answer.

The previous owner told me the best way to turn the bike off is to push the kill switch off first, then turn off the ignition **** on the tank to the off position. Seems to me it would make more sense just to leave the kill switch on and turn the ignition switch on and off as needed like any other vehicle ?

He also told me to reverse the procecure when starting the bike. Push kill switch to on, turn on the ignition, wait for fuel pump to stop buzzing, than push starter.

Secondly, I have a leaky front brake master cylinder. I know this has been discussed at length on other posts here....so no need to go into that necessarily. I'm going to clean up the cover and rubber gasket with brake clean, get them totally clean and dry and reinstall using a light touch on the torque and see how it holds.

Thirdly, I'm used to taking my own wheels off and taking just the wheel(s) into the shop when new tires are needed. This saves me a few bucks and means I can do it in the offseason when I can't ride. One local motorcycle mechanic told me he doesn't really like to do harley tires since they are totally different (stiffer sidewall etc...) than metric tires and when you reinstall them they need perfect "alignment" and Harley shops have a special laser machine to do this which he doesn't have ? Is taking a wheel off and reinstalling it a prudent thing to do with a harley ?

Love the bike....but any answers offered to the above questions would be appreciated :-)

 

I own a 2002 FXD since day of delivery (ride home) in March of 2003 and own a 2005 FXDLI. I don't use the run/stop switch in the start or shutdown that you mention. I use them once in awhile to test the run/stop switch. The key to your steps is don't forget to turn off the ignition or you will drain your battery. The tire issue can be a challenge, the engine ties into the alignment on some models. I strongly encourage you to get a HD service manual for the tire alignment tips. Welcome to the world of Harley Davidson.

 

Congrats on the bike! Lets see a pic. You could probably kill the bike with the ignition switch without any problems.

 

First, welcome to the Forum and congrats on your new ride.

The previous owner's instructions on starting and shutting down your bike is what is taught in Riders Edge and other motorcycle safety classes. Of course you can do what you like, and nothing bad may ever befall you, but I've found it's best to go with what the experts taught me.

I've not heard what you have about wheel change outs. I'm sure someone here will chime in. You'll Also get the usual dealer bashing too, I suppose. I'd call the dealer and just ask the service writer or manager what the deal is.

 

Does the bike know? Both are electrical switches controlling electrons. The electrons stop and the bike shuts off.

 

I use the kill switch to shut it off and then shut off the ignition switch and remove the key.
I reverse the procedure for starting it. I have since it was brand new with no problem at all using this method.

My old FXSTC has the brass contact ignition switch and I still use the above method to keep it from arcing across contacts when shutting it down.

I also remove the wheels when getting a new tire installed. I take it to a dealer though.

 

I just use the ignition switch... do what ever you like, just don't forget to turn ignition switch off after using kill switch. Yes that is why I use ignition switch...lol.

 

If you use the kill switch you can look really cool as you cut the motor and coast a few feet to the parking spot.

Seriously, Harley probably instructs people to use the kill switch to cut the motor and not the ignition because some duffass would likely reach down to turn off the ignition switch with his left hand when the bike was in gear.

 

I have been riding Harley's for 40 years and use the same procedure as the original owner told you. You can, however, do it anyway you want to.

Regarding replacing tires, it is not difficult and I have never heard of a "special laser machine" to properly align the tires. I take mine off when they need replaced and put them back on and have no problem aligning the rear tire. (Nothing to align on the front, provided you put the spacers back in the proper position.)

Get a service manual and you'll be amazed how much you can do yourself!!

 

Thanks for your posts guys....I appreciate it.

I've been using the kill switch for shut it off, followed up of course by turning off the ingition switch. I think it's becoming routine now, but I did leave the ignition switch on for about 15 minutes one of the first times I rode and parked it for a bit. That's what made me wonder if this is such a good idea since a dead battery is never a good thing to find.

I'm not sure if the ignition switch would arc or not if switched off there....would seem a pretty bad design if it did so. I would think the kill switch would suffer the same fate over time since it's basically doing the same thing when used to turn off the bike.

The previous owner gave me some "screaming eagle" synthetic 20w50 oil to use on the bike as well as a couple harley chromed oil filters. He also gave me a service manuel for the bike and I believe although you can use the same oil in all 3 areas, it's suggested you use a heavier oil 80w etc...in the trans for a smoother quieter shift.

I absolutely love having the 6th grear. I loved my old Intruder VS800....but when you're on the freeway at 70 mph it got pretty "buzzy" with those high rpm's. With the harley, I get up to 65 or 70 and park it in 6th gear and the rpm's go way down and the engine sounds nice and mellow and not "buzzy" at all.

I'll post a picture when I can figure out how to do so.