the big bright button...

[calamari]

so I came out of work to the parking lot where the beauty is waiting for me to mount her...    (ok, that sounded odd)
so I remove brake lock, gear up, put key on ignition, turn, push switch, nothing!  
ok, maybe I have the kickstand down.. but no, is up and waiting to ride.

wtf! I dismount, ungear, put bike in neutral and go to the front and see if the battery has power (this is a brand new gs500F 2005). Yes! there's power, so I decided to go through the inspection process I learned at the MSF  

there! the engine cutoff switch is OFF...  

That shows not everyone respects other people's property. Some fool was playing with my bike while I was away!!!  :x

To top that, at that moment the temperature was 107F    (california), so I am really glad I found 'the problem' in a few seconds.

Then to make my ride happier, just like yesterday, another small bug got into my helmet through the ventilation holes of the helmet while im riding at 65mph  :x

Is there an electroshock kit protection for the GS?  :dunno:

[Roadstergal]

Oops!  I'll remember to leave it on next time...



:mrgreen:

[gazingwa]

yeah.... I leave mine off and in gear, the more a thief has to do the better

[calamari]

yeah.... I leave mine off and in gear, the more a thief has to do the better

me 2 (the gear part), and like I said before, I started putting a padlock on the front brakes (hopefully it helps)

[Kerry]

I leave mine off and in gear

Me too, although I never thought of doing it for theft protection.

Speaking of which, do the '01+ models have clutch switches with connections like this?  (I don't think the earliest models do, but I don't know what year they first showed up.)



With this type of setup, you can always pull one of the wires if you have a bad feeling about the neighborhood you park in.  It won't prevent the bike from being picked up and hauled away, but then neither will a disk lock.  :dunno:

[goat]

Personally, I use two types of security on my bike. The first is having pink in the paint scheme. Who would steal a pink bike (or a purple one for that matter)? Also, there is the park-next-to-a-nicer-bike security system. I have a dented, scratched, touch-up paint covered tank, scratched up plastics, bent handebars and a sun-faded cover. All I have to do is park next to another bike, and it will be stolen before mine is  :mrgreen:

[jason_S]

there! the engine cutoff switch is OFF...  

That shows not everyone respects other people's property. Some fool was playing with my bike while I was away!!!  :x

Maybe it was another biker playing a prank on you?  I figure a non-rider wouldn't know what the cutoff switch was, but another rider would.  That's actually a pretty good prank, it wouldn't stump anyone for too long, just long enough for you to say what the heck, and have to check everything  

[bcutrufelli]

it is a kinda funny prank if thats what it was I may do that to one of my freinds for fun

[Roadstergal]

Also, there is the park-next-to-a-nicer-bike security system.

Yep!  It helps that my workplace parking garage is home to a trio of very lovely Ducatis, a phalanx of I-think-they're-ugly-but-they're-higher-profile-chrome-bedecked Road Kings and a Valkyrie, a stunning red '04 R1, and a handful of beemers.  My bikes get nicely lost in that crowd.

[Blingmasta]

Sooo lemme get this straight...I've always shut the bike off with the engine cutoff switch...should i instead just be turning the key to the off position?

[gazingwa]

use the kill switch... no need to try to find the key while the engine is running... it is safer to use the kill

[Lee from Toronto]

I used to either leave the lights on when I was temporarily stopped or worse, left the key in the ignition when I walked away. Ever since I turned the bike off with the key instead of using the kill switch, I don't do either.

[Roadstergal]

I stop the engine with the cutoff, then lock the steering and pull the key.

[My Name Is Dave]

I have never used the kill switch. I may get wild this weekend and give it a push  

Dave  

[gazingwa]

And.... Which MSF course did all of you take??? Wow.... FINE-C anyone???

[RVertigo]

My parking procedure at work and home, but nowhere else:

Aim where I want to end up, put it in Neutral, hit the shutoff, roll into position without the engine running, drop kick-stand, turn handlebars, turn key to Lock, make sure I don't have the taillight on...  Jump off.

I don't shut off the engine early when I'm parking on actual streets, just in case I need to move out of the way of some fool.

[Grainbelt]

I'm with RVertigo on the parking procedure.

And yes, folks, remember the MSF class -  the cutoff exists for a reason - it allows you to  keep your hands on the bars while the bike is running.

[rclz]

http://www.asianwolf.com/steelmate.html

works beautifully haven't had a problem with it yet, tilt sensor, 2 vibrating lcd pagers. remote start, keyless ignition, and the best one yet for winter time is the cold engine start timer.

[ginoe]

i guess there are two schools on this one; use the key or use the kill switch - i do like Blingmasta and Roadstergal.

i always park in gear and push it forward to take up any chain slack then put the kickstand down.

why park in neutral? it might roll off the kickstand and fall...

[Cal Price]

Oh ! That's what that switch is for,...I though it was for flamers and huge backfires........especially in town traffic....