Runaway GS!

[Wingnut]

As I inferred, bikes are intended to be started in neutral. :-)

Well I for one am glad they make them the way they do! When you stall at a stop light as often as I do it's handy to just pull in the clutch and hit the starter. It's a great idiot feature that I take full advantage of. LOL

[Griffin]

I took my first motorcycle safety course in 1982, and to this day still go over the FINE-C ( Fuel petcock, Ignition, Neutral, Engine kill switch, Clutch) drill each and every time I start a bike.

I don't do it consciously anymore, it became second nature a long time ago.

[Gary Lich]

Well Keith, :-) :-) :-) they're too "newfangled" for me also.
If one starts a bike correctly, there is no need of a clutch safety switch.

Earl

The correct way to start a bike is with the kickstart (wish my GS had one :roll: )

[earlfor]

I used to kick the rear tire from behind and run and jump on, but I'm getting too old for that anymore.

Earl :-)

The correct way to start a bike is with the kickstart (wish my GS had one :roll: )

[MikeW665]

Personally, I never start my bike unless I'm sit'n on it, in neutral, clutch in.

[SOS]

8) I have enjoyed the occasional push start in the past I don't think

there's anything wrong with poppin the clutch every now and again. 8)

[Anonymous]

Bump startin'

I have bump started the 1150 a few times, but it is spooky as she'll yank ya hard when it does catch.
______________________________Rick......

[Anonymous]

I see a lot of guys on new bikes stall when they shift into 1st. If they don't have the kickstand up the engine will die. From all of the accidents and deaths I've heard about it is a lot more worthy than a starter lockout.

Steve

[sagent]

I have somewhat of a similar story:

I actually started the bike properly in neutral with the clutch in. Problem was that this was the first time I had done so after getting it running. And since it is just a mere test of whether the bike will run/move I am not wearing my helmet (insert overt criticism of my lack of judgement here).

So the bike statrs beautifully and runs decently. I then decide to shift into 1st. Immediatly after depressing the shift lever my bike takes off with my dumb ass sans helmet on the back of it. It turns out that the clutch cable was a bit loose and wasn't fully engaging the clutch.

Furthermore, given murphy's law of anything that can go wrong will go wrong, my bike ends up pointed directly at the back of my freinds new truck. As I draw closer to his truck at a pretty rapid pace (considering the short distance any pace was pretty fast), I hear him screaming somthing to the effect of your going to dent my truck. Meanwhile I was screaming somthing to the effect of I don't want to die.

Finally I manage to realize exactly what the hell is going on and slam on the brakes stopping (Stalling) my bike out a mere inces from the truck fender that I almost put a dent in with my skull. My feeind then rushes up to me releived that his truck is dent free. I, on the other hand, am happy to be dent free myself. I then go inside to change my pants (and get my tools), then fix the errant cable to prevent a fiasco like this from occuring again.

This is another Georgia story, I guess that is just the way we do things down south.

Addendum:
the bike is a '77 GS750
the truck was a Chevy S10

[lecroy]

I find all these new-fangled gizmos a royal pain in the ass!

I agree. You can have my side stand switch, my clutch switch and my neutral switch. You can even take that stupid head light switch they put on now days. Do these dorks who come up with this stuff even ride a bike, or are they like these Harley guys your always talking about who drive 5 miles a year? All these switches do is cause me problems when they fail open.

Damm side stand switch failed on me last summer. It was getting dark and the thing decided to go intermittant. Bike just dies going down the highway. Then comes back to life. This went on all the way home. I did not want to pull over in fear I could not find the problem in the dark and be stranded. Could have been killed on the highway because of that stupid switch. Surprized I did not get pulled over for drink driving.

You can have this stupid day light savings time too while your at it!!!!

[earlfor]

LMAO Me TOO! None of those damn switches allowed on my 1150 and an off switch for the lights. At least if I do lose the RR or stator, I can use whats in the battery for ignition only. I cant remember the last time I forgot to put the sidestand up,.............or down. :-), and a clutch lockout switch? I dont know if I'm in gear or not or if the clutch is in? Sheesh, gimme a break. Just more junk to go wrong.

I agree. You can have my side stand switch, my clutch switch and my neutral switch. You can even take that stupid head light switch they put on now days. Do these dorks who come up with this stuff even ride a bike, or are they like these Harley guys your always talking about who drive 5 miles a year? All these switches do is cause me problems when they fail open.

Damm side stand switch failed on me last summer. It was getting dark and the thing decided to go intermittant. Bike just dies going down the highway. Then comes back to life. This went on all the way home. I did not want to pull over in fear I could not find the problem in the dark and be stranded. Could have been killed on the highway because of that stupid switch. Surprized I did not get pulled over for drink driving.

You can have this stupid day light savings time too while your at it!!!!

[Anonymous]

HMMM my 750 either didn't have clutch safety switch or it was removed when i got the bike, how do i remove it in my 850L? really don't even know what it looks like. ya know i ran out of gas about a 1/4 of a mile from a gas station on my 750, I had a strong battery in it and the starter actually rolled me all the way to the gas station , it was jerky as
hell but it got there

[earlfor]

Thats and excellent way to burn out a starter. :-) :-) :-) I'm surprised you didnt. I expect you did cut its lifespan in half or better though. :-)

Clutch safety switch. On your left handlebar (clutch lever) you will see a small switch underneath with two wires coming out of it. The two wires lead into the headlight shell and connect to two single wire connectors. Unplug the leads from the switch and install a jumper between the two now empty connectors. (or cut the connectors off and solder those two wires together)

Earl

HMMM my 750 either didn't have clutch safety switch or it was removed when i got the bike, how do i remove it in my 850L? really don't even know what it looks like. ya know i ran out of gas about a 1/4 of a mile from a gas station on my 750, I had a strong battery in it and the starter actually rolled me all the way to the gas station , it was jerky as
hell but it got there

[tfb]

Sooo... some folks hate all the safety switches, because once in while the things pack up and leave you stranded. Others love them, because they save you from taking off with the side-stand down, or starting the engine when it's in gear, etc.

Myself? Thought I was in the former camp until a couple of days ago, when for the first time in about 10 years I took off with my side-stand down. Thankfully no disaster ensued, but it was a close call.

The trick might be for some dude to design some switches which are much more reliable and robust than the current crop we are inflicted with. Just a thought.

Mike.

[fastpakr]

That's alright - when going through the slalom section of the DMV riding test, I left the kickstand down. Still not sure how I managed not to drag it - I didn't see it (apparently I also ignored the light - wow, I must have been uptight about that test) until I finished that section and put my foot down to set the kickstand for the explanation of the next section.