kill switch was designed as an emergency kill switch incase of whatever.
Was not meant as a means of regularly turning the bike on and off,
even though it works for this too.
If you know you're going down and if you can think about doing it,
it is easier and faster and safer to use the kill switch as it is on the bar
right by your hand. As compared to reaching down to the ignition switch.
I never use the kill switch as normal means of turning bike on or off.

 

Dealer/salesman briefed me to use the ignition switch to turn off bikeso you don't run the battery down if you forget to turn off lights during the day.[sm=confused06.gif]

 

I always use the ign switch. I ofter see others use the kill switch, leave the lights on and kill the battery. I have seen a couple of road king/softtail console mounted switchs fail on trips that I have been on. Carry a jumper wire made up of 3, 1/4in male spade electrical connectors connected by a wire. If the switch should fail, pop the console, unplug the switch wiring plug and plug in the jumper. Got a fellow HOG chapter member home from Ohio using that a couple of years ago. Saved him some money and a bunch of time. Ken

 

I'm going to start this by saying that I think the MSF course is a great thing, & every new rider should take it. That being said, like all things the MSF course has it's faults. Two glaring ones are "use the kill switch all the time" & "ride with your high lights on all the time". Both are cheap, easy way out, methods to get riders to do things without thinking about them.

If you like the kill switch, ok. But, you're still going to use the ignition switch so you're just wearing two parts for one job.

Riding with high lights will get you noticed......Mostly by the people that you're irritating, & seldom by the idiots that are going to ignore you & hit you. Don't let that false sense of security bite you on the backside.

 

depending where i stop but most of the time i use the kill switch used iton my sporty and now my ultra no problems

 

choochoo is correct. Motorcycles did not always have a kill switch. For liability reasons, I think in the '70s,motorcycle companies found it necessary to try to accomodate every dumb *** who thought they should ride. I never use the kill switch. When someone else turns it off, I usually have to think for a few minutes why the bike did not start.

 

I think what he is talking about is the TBW failure due to accidentaly rolling the throttle open while hitting the kill switch. I recomend until there is more info out there on this subject, if you think you may have just done this, run the reset listed above by Bluerose. There is some question to the cause of a fatal accident if it was the TBW failure due to this method. I say use the kill switch but take your hand off the throttle to do it! Be safe!

 

[IMG]local://upfiles/13641/90C02F9C2B4A4FB788B0B3E0B4C0DB1F.jpg[/IMG]

 

I used to use the kill switch all the time on previous bikes....a couple years ago I read something somewhere that indicated not to (can't remember the article or the entire subject), but the jist of it was more like ChooChoo said....the kill switch was not designed to be your on/off switch or intended for such frequent operation, recommended getting in the habit of using the ignition switch. On my Dyna that was kind of a pain because the main switch was down on the lower right side. Since then I've just gotten into the habit of using the ignition switch. Besides it seems to make sense that with the computerized ECM the ignition switch would do a cleaner shutdown where the kill switch just cuts power.....kinda like just yanking the power cord on your PC every time you want to shut it down.

 

Actually, that makes some sense! I was scolded a little by a seasoned Harley rider for using the ignition and not thekill switch. I asked why and was told because it says so in the manual (yep, it sure does). There was no other reason given there or by him.

I came fromriding Wings and other Hondas before that and in generalyou never use the killswitch except in emergencies.It will wear out faster than the ignition leaving you stranded some day.

Now I admit I am a newbie on a Harley and realize there may be a good reason out there. Theelectric arcing mentioned earlier could be one butwouldn't it arc inside the kill switch too?