In all seriousness, do you really think these are worthwhile enough to spend the money, time, and aggravation? Maybe I'm missing something. And why wouldn't you also put a safety switch on your fork lock to make sure you don't drive off with the forks locked? That seems like it might be pretty dangerous too.

 

Yes i think so. And the forks would be noticed as soon as the bike is lifted not the first left hander at 50mph.

 

It's kinda funny, but the only bike I've forgotten to put the sidestand up on is my Yamaha. My wife get's a good laugh about twice a week when I start it up in neutral, roll back out of the driveway, click into first and the blasted thing shuts off on me.

My Low Rider. I haven't forgotten yet. (Knock on wood!)

 

Agreed...............if they create legislation for that they might as well create it a speed governor on bikes also....oh and an angle switch that kills a bike when it’s wheelied…..
People need to be held accountable for their own actions…..
I’m not hear to knock people but lets face it, as stated leave it down a time or two bad for you…..if you continue to leave it down ….maybe you should reconsider riding a motorcycle, because there are a lot of other safety related thing as a rider you need to remember..

Just my .02

 

An "untied" switch might be a good idea on the shoe laces. Wouldn't want to walk off and fall on your face.

 

My dog burned his nose on the wood stove once when he was a puppy. Never touched it again. You forgot it down, now you learn from your mistake and never do it again. Nuff said.

 

Wow.... what an amazing bunch of responses here. The testosterone is thick enough to cut with a knife!

Just a few comments:

1. Like I said... I was sitting on the bike for about 20 minutes before taking off. It is my usual routine when I get on the bike to lift the sidestand. I was trying to be a bit humble, but I am not a complete fu#*ing idiot.

2. If honestly answered, I'd bet more than half of the harley riders out there have taken off with the sidestand down.

3. The macho attitude of "people need to be held responsible for their actions" is pretty lame. With that attitude, why have safety guards on skill saws? Why have safety harnesses in elevated workplaces? Why have safety goggles or steel toed boots?

4. You guys may bitch about our litigious society... but it is the one we live in. In case you haven't noticed, your bike and your manual is full of little lawyer driven safety statements.

5. Product liability lawsuits are real. Imagine if a guy took off with his sidestand down and got into a serious accident. All he would have to show is that the product was not altered from the factory, the sidestand caused the accident and there is a safer alternative available. That's the standard for product liability. Imagine some slickster lawyer in front of a jury arguing for his paraplegic client that a $2 switch would have easily prevented his injury, but the profit hungry corporation didn't care about his safety. I know it would be total bullshit, but the right jury would award a ****-ton of money in that case.


So.... macho ego aside... has anyone been successful in installing the sidestand switch?? Personally, I'd like to have one.

 

Litigious, nice term drop.

 

Geez, how'd this get into a conversation on passing nanny laws? No one's proposing making it mandatory.

Left mine up once, but never down. Anyway, it only locks if there's weight on it, so scraping it in a turn shouldn't do anything harmful.

 

I would venture to say that all of us has done that at least once in thier riding lifetime, if they have any time under thier belt that is. As for the switch? It's a Harley.....Nice, sweet, cool and a ton of other adjectives far out weigh things such as safety switches!!! I'm not saying it's a bad idea, just ain't gonna happen I would guess! I like my bike stripped of all that kiind of stuff, I like chrome and horsepower, nothing else on my bike!!!