Let me tell ya boys, I been caught in a stall with a horse that wanted out and it ain't got chit on this monster on the loose in a two car garage.

 

if you turn he ignition on with the run switch on run, there is a very slim chance of it shorting out and starting itself.. probably just as much chance of a poltergeist coming in your garage and pushing the start button when your not looking. if your on any hill, park it in gear so it doesn't roll away. it is also a good deterrent to some jackass rolling the bike around. any one can push it, not everyone knows how to shift.
before you start your bike, make sure the ignition is on, the switch is on run, the kickstand is up, and that it is in neutral. it isn't a bad idea to pull the clutch too.

 

My 09 HDI version won't start in gear unless clutch lever is pulled in. I always park in 1st gear and just slightly 'bump' the bike onto a comp stroke before putting the jiffy stand down.

 

I always use the kill switch and neutral. But I have to roll the scoot into the garage next to my Jeep and it's a tight squeeze, so neutral is necessary so I don't have to pull the clutch

 

you leave the wheels on the bike? Are you nuts??? EVERYONE knows you should remove them and put them on the shelf chained SEPERATLY so they can't conspire to KILL YOU next time you ride!!!

 

LOL!

 

Simple checklist...

Start-up
ignition switch - on
kill switch - on
clutch - pull
start
transmission to nuetrual (as required)
clutch - release
warm up as required

Shutdown
clutch - pull
transmission - as needed depending on surface
kill switch - off
ignition switch - off
clutch - release
lock as needed

 

Amazing story. I would have trouble believing it even if I had witnessed it. Truly bizarre. It's a scenario that I never even imagined. I'm glad it did not end worse.

I always shut mine off with the ignition switch and leave it in gear. I figure that during an earthquake, it will help keep it from rolling. I made a quick attach/release outrigger for it that will keep it from falling over on the right side. I only use that while parked in my garage.

 

I don't know about some of the strategies noted here. I guess whatever you are used to is what will work best for you. Personally, always park the bike in neutral and rarely use the kill switch. However when starting, I always check for the green light and STILL disengage the clutch before hitting the start button because I was told long ago that it relieves a little bit of torque on the starter. And BTW, I also almost always am sitting on the bike when I start it. The few times I've started it while standing beside it, I had a strange sensation that it was going to run away as soon as it fired up!

 

JetskiMark, yeah I understand it is an almost unbelievable story but after looking the whole situation over I can see why and how it could happened. I had ridden in a pretty hard rain storm a couple of weeks ago then parked the bike. I got the new switch set in the mail today so I am changing it out tonight. I want to examine the switch I take out but I'm sure it got water in it and created corrosion which caused the short.

One thing folks responding to this post do not seem to understand is that I was not "trying" to start this machine, I was no where near the front of the bike and for that matter I was standing about 5' away from the thing. I now know I should not have left it in gear nor should I have had the ignition switch in the on position without being on it and my hand on the clutch. Fact is I wasn't. The bike literally STARTED itself. I keep the bike in what I consider pretty good maintained condition. It starts really well. If it turns over more than about twice without starting I look for something wrong. When it starts it revs to about 1200 rpm for several minutes before dropping off to around 1000.

My intent with this post was to inform others that it is indeed possible, however unbelievable it may be, that your pre 07 bike with electric start can start and move by itself under the right conditions. What I learned was to always either use the KILL switch when parking or make absolutely positive the thing is in neutral. I like others don't like to park my bike in neutral on an incline for the obvious reasons so I let myself get in the habit of parking it always in gear, and yes at 56 years old I learned to drive in a standard shift car which I always parked in gear. The KILL switch seems to be your absolute best protection but even that is an electrical switch mounted in a non weatherproof enclosure. I am an electrician of some 30 odd years so what happened makes perfect sense to me. When I install the new switch I may even take some extra precautions of dielectric grease and/or silicone to protect this device.

Anyway I hope someone reading this post gets it and learns something from it as I have. Maybe it will keep someone from causing some real damage and/or injury to others.