Not that I care about these fantasy posts much, but some of it is easily resolved simply by looking at the much praised Shop Manual. Power leaves the battery & passes through the Maxi Fuse on a Red lead. It takes a Red lead to the Ignition Switch & leaves there on a Red/Black lead. That lead goes to the ignition fuse & leaves on a Green/Yellow lead to the Run Switch. It comes out of the Run Switch on a White/Black lead to the ECM. In other words, if you open the ignition switch you remove battery from the Run Switch & the ECM at the same time. If you open the Run Switch you remove battery from THE SAME LEAD to the ECM. IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE! Owners manuals, legal issues, ego maniac mechanics, rumor mongers, etc. aside IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE! 10 minutes with your shop manual will show you what REALLY happens.

I've been usin' the ignition switch since before motorcycles had run/kill switches. The only issue I've ever seen have been a few guys that had run/kill switches corrode & need to be cleaned. 'Course I've also seen ignition switches wear out..........

 

I rarely use the kill switch, one less this to break. Told by and old biker.

 

When I taught MSF, the course used FINE-C as a checklist for the students.
Fuel (turn on the petcock)
Ignition (turn on the ignition)
Neutral (put tranmission in neutral)
Engine Cut Off Switch (turn to Run position)
C stood for "clutch" and "choke, if needed."

If a rider always did it the same way, they would not suffer the embarassment of running out of gas with a full tank, having a bike lurch when started from being in gear, fail to start because the bike was in gear with the kickstand down, or fail to start because the Engine Cut Off switch was in the Off position.

We also taught that when stopping, the reverse was done. Clutch in, Engine Cut-off switch to "off" position, leave transmission in first gear, turn off ignition, turn off fuel. By doing this, students wouldn't suddenly release the clutch with the engine still running, the bike wouldn't roll off the kickstand (the reason it's left in gear), ignition with all lights would be shut off, and the carbs wouldn't overflow if a float stuck.

Bear in mind that few other, if any, bikes have a locking jiffy stand like Harley, and only in the past few years were carbs, and hence petcocks, eliminated completely, and most bikes had a safety switch on the side stand (which Harley didn't see fit to use until '07), preventing the engine from running or starting if in gear and the side stand down and the clutch engaged. Some bikes wouldn't start with the clutch in, forcing the operator to be in neutral, others wouldn't start if the clutch was engaged and the bike in gear regardless of the side stand. Other bikes would. FINE-C addressed all the issues.

OP, when you used the cut-off switch, were you allowing enough time for the engine check light to go off? If not, that could be a reason for your poor performance when using it. It's easy to flip the cut-off switch to the on position and immediately hit the start button, not allowing enough time for your ECM to self check. It takes about four seconds. That's also in your owner's manual under Indicator Lamps.

During breaks in the classes, instructors would "sabotage" a bike or two, as many students who had previous riding experience would be in the habit of not shutting off the gas, or using the engine cut-off switch. After being embarassed a time or two in front of their peers, they learned to use FINE-C every time.

 

Will follow with interest , I do know that the equipment I work on can really mess up the ecm or vcm if you do things you should not , like you don't pull of the battery cable of to see if its charging , o welding and on and on

 

Touching the kill switch will void yer warranty!!

 

Figured most everyone on here would be too old to appreciate that one

 

Something I have noticed on my 12 Street Glide is that if I use the ignition switch about 30 seconds later the speedo needle jumps slightly. If I use the kill switch it does not. Could this be the ECM saving settings or just something not related?

 

Just curious
You said..and most bikes had a safety switch on the side stand (which Harley didn't see fit to use until '07),
I have a 13 FLHTK I have yet to see a Harley with a jiff stand ignition cut out switch......?
Has anyone else seen one, I suppose other countries my require it..

 

Not so funny I was told the same as the OP by my dealer service manager. It was contrary to what was in the owner’s manual for my 2012 RK. I also went to the service manual and found the same thing described by Jinks. So I called MOCO and asked and was told to follow the owner’s manual.

The logic is that muscle memory developed turning off the kill switch is a good thing to develop. In an emergency this is the fastest way to shut it off. Electrically it makes NO DIFFERENCE since the power is shut off at the same time to the ECM either way.

In the end I say rider’s preference but think about the advantage of developing the muscle memory of using the kill switch and the benefit of the potential time savings in an emergency.

 

Another thought is that (without looking at a wiring diagram)the ign switch just provides power to everything however until you turn on the kill switch the fuel pump does not kick in...meaning a secondary circuit runs through the K/S for the fuel pump and who knows what else