Any good reason not to bypass kill switch

[Boriqua]

I was pulling into my driveway and inadvertently "touched" the kill switch. it has obviously been used quite a bit and it doesnt have as positive a "CLICK" as I would like. I just coasted to a stop but it got me thinking ...

I personally never use the kill switch and the only failure I ever had on a motorcycle where I needed to be towed home was on my previous GS in the 80's and it was the result of the kill switch.

SOooo .. is there any good reason for me not to just solder a connection straight through and just bypass the kill switch all together? I would leave the switch there, it just wouldnt function.

 

[Sandy]

The good reason is if you have a mishap it's the easiest thing to reach just before you leave the bike. Give it a couple of shots of contact cleaner and exercise it once and while. Something you should do with all the switches except for maybe the front brake light and clutch interlock which like to have some lubricant on them.

 

[Brendan W]

If the throttle plates ever get stuck wide open...............
This was supposed to be more of an issue with single cable twist grips. I have never come across it and only heard about it at six removes from the alleged event.
As you say they get used so infrequently, so more than likely most of us would get such a scare that the kill switch would not be an automatic reflex.
Then of course there are those that practice for such an eventuality
The less than positive click could simply be dirt. It's no harm to open it up and clean it out. You might get back some missing voltage at the coils.

 

[chuck hahn]

Kill switches weren't originally intended to shut off the engine with everyday use. How that ever got started is beyond me. The KEY is the intended way to shut off a bike. The kill switch is for emergency or other use that isn't "normal" to make the engine shut off.

 

[Gorminrider]

Fix it.
If If you can't trust the opinions above, why not trust Suzuki and all the other manufacturers that went to the trouble of putting it on there.
I use mine all the time, but Chuck is right. Owner manuals do say it's intended as emrg shutoff.

On the day you need it, you will have both hands on the handlebars. Taking a hand off to get to the key is not so easy.

 

[Cipher]

hook up a lanyard switch to your nipple clamp.

 

[dorkburger]

I use mine regularly particularly when rolling up to gas pumps. Also, when I'm out late I kill the engine a house before mine and silently roll into my driveway so as not to wake the family. Its conveniently placed and used at the flip of a thumb. I've never had a problem with it.

 

[chuck hahn]

I have several that have failed and I will never touch one on ANY bike. Suzukis seem to be rather cheaply done too. If you wan to roll up silently just shut off the key. If its dark shut off the key and then turn the key back on for a headlight. The day will come your kill witch wont turn back on and then what.

 

[Agemax]

I use my kill switch all the time. I have to as i have no ignition switch. Regularly cleaned it has not failed me in over 15 years.

 

[chuck hahn]

Well when one does fail you gotta hit and hold the start button while rapidly flicking the kill switch back and forth till it catches. Total pain in the azs

 

[Sandy]

hook up a lanyard switch to your nipple clamp.

.....Ouch!!! LOL.

 

[Sandy]

I have several that have failed and I will never touch one on ANY bike. Suzukis seem to be rather cheaply done too. If you wan to roll up silently just shut off the key. If its dark shut off the key and then turn the key back on for a headlight. The day will come your kill witch wont turn back on and then what.

You still have to make sure it works correctly for those times when it might accidently get turned off or fail to work in any position. I don't use mine but at least once a year it gets serviced or at least a just shot of contact cleaner to make sure it's functional. But will agree I'm a anal about stuff like that. Good point about not using it on someone else's bike though, kind of like putting the parking brake on with a borrowed car only to find out it's never been used and now the cable is seized with the brake on. LOL.

 

[Gorminrider]

Anyways, Boriqua, I'm somehow not happy with the concept of soldering thereby wrecking the switch against the day someone else may own it..? disabling a CLUTCH safety is 90% ez but this one, is more difficult.....it likely doesn't have pull-apart connectors anywhere except through multi-connectors...You might bridge or change at one ..something easily undoable is what I'm thinking. Just a drop of glue at the switch might do....or even goop which can break with a hard push?

Or, Looking at the circuit diagram will show you that two O/W (orange/whitestripe) run along inside the harness.... Bridging across them should permanently enable the kill switch while still allowing starter button to work correctly,as long as you don't physically cut the starter-button's O/W along it's path
THIS is a 650 but I think you will find similar?

 

[Guest]

Kill switches weren't originally intended to shut off the engine with everyday use. How that ever got started is beyond me. The KEY is the intended way to shut off a bike. The kill switch is for emergency or other use that isn't "normal" to make the engine shut off.

+1 Emergency use only.

 

[Boriqua]

Fix it.
If If you can't trust the opinions above, why not trust Suzuki and all the other manufacturers that went to the trouble of putting it on there.
I use mine all the time, but Chuck is right. Owner manuals do say it's intended as emrg shutoff.

On the day you need it, you will have both hands on the handlebars. Taking a hand off to get to the key is not so easy.

The manufacturers didnt put it there of their own choosing. The DOT in the USA mandated it and because we were the largest motorcycling population the manufacturers just did them on all builds.

Once upon a time and maybe still today ignition switches were in different locations. Cant remember which bike anymore but one bike I had had the key ignition somewhere near my right knee. Having a kill switch that anyone could access if you fell off and the bike was still humming along on its side was a safety. Also if for some strange reason the throttle stuck you could kill it from the bars.

I never use it. I turn off the ignition with the key. Many many years ago a soldier point broke in the kill switch and I was stranded miles from home. I couldnt diagnose it on the side of the rode at 2am so had to get it towed. At the time the tow cost me a weeks pay and led to a few nights of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was a 2 minute fix with a solder iron after I figured out what it was.

Cipher I like your idea ... I just think I should spring load it so there is a little tug at my nips the whole ride. Offer a different kind of riding experience.

My switch is definitely tooooo easy to flip. My hand barely swept it yesterday. I will pull it apart and see what the deal is and perhaps cleaning will make it CLICK into place a little more furtively. I am more worried about flipping that switch on the highway than needing to kill my engine just before i go over someones hood.

I was actually asking if there was something mechanically that I might not be aware of that would make it not smart to wire through the switch. I cant think of a reason as its just a switch but I thought I would ask.

Everyone has their comfort level regarding safety. Some guys ride without helmets and others wont go out if they are not in full leathers and boots. Me .. I disconnected that annoying side stand switch and I am thinking real hard about wiring through that kill switch.

I will try and clean it .... I like gorminriders idea of a temp fix to in case I ever go to sell it. Maybe I will look into a new assembly but first .. clean and inspect!

 

[TxGSrider]

On a kinda funny side note to this. The kill switch on my atv is where the turn signal switch is on my bike, so when we're out riding on the back roads Ive been know to shut off my atv before I turn...

 

[wymple]

I've been riding nearly 50 years, and have never once "needed" a kill switch. I've had to get into more than a few of them for people over the years when they were faulty. Unnecessary junk.

 

[chuck hahn]

I agree with you Wymple. A useless item thats just another potential point of failure

 

[Steve]

Kill switches weren't originally intended to shut off the engine with everyday use. How that ever got started is beyond me. The KEY is the intended way to shut off a bike. The kill switch is for emergency or other use that isn't "normal" to make the engine shut off.

I will agree with the "emergency" part, but the kill switch handles less current than the ignition key switch. :-k

If you are using the key to save wear and tear, all you are doing is pitting the contacts there, rather than the kill switch, which is less likely to do that, due to lower current.

.

 

[chuck hahn]

No..I use the key because too many kills have failed on me...and not just on GSs either. Bunch off bullchisel when your bikes dead and its not I your driveway...BAN KILL SWITCH USE !!!!!!