Kill switch!!! WHAT IF...

[ti-10]

What happens if your going at pretty high speed and you by accident hit the kill switch? I tired searching but found nothing... Im asking this becoz i hit it by accident when i was comming to a stop and nothing seem to happen... All i saw was the oil light on and engine was stopped then i noticed it was the kill switch...

[ets_gs500f2004]

well the bike will shut off

[Kasumi]

Yea all that happens is it shuts the engine off. Its just a saftey feature, if you've had an accident and the bike is on its side still running its dangerous and its alot easier to flick the switch than try get into the ignition.

The most use ive seen out of a kill switch is at the isle of man TT race. When you camp there all the thousands of bikers are usually woken by a few who begin by revving their engine high in neutral, they then flick the kill switch off then quickly back on and that little bit of fuel that runs into the bottom of the exhaust is exploded when the revs bring the engine running again, which results in a large flame and a bang louder than a gunshot. Usually wakes everyone camping. Not recommended though, many of them explode their exhaust.

[scottpA_GS]

Im asking this becoz i hit it by accident when i was comming to a stop and nothing seem to happen... All i saw was the oil light on and engine was stopped then i noticed it was the kill switch...

What happened to you is you shut the bike off... you turned it back on and the bike caught in gear and started back up (jump started)

[ti-10]

I heard it can lock up rear wheel if your doing high speeds and you can wipe out...

[Kerry]

The effect is worsened as your RPMs increase and your gear number decreases.  (High RPMs in a low gear will deliver more of a "jolt" than high RPMs in a high gear.)

The effect is worsened across the board if your engine has a higher compression ratio than that of the humble GS. 

[sledge]

I dont think its likely to lock the wheel, the inertia of the bike and rider at speed is far more than the rotating mass of the engine, even taking into account the compression strokes. Killing the ignition means you will just glide to a halt. I would be more concerned about the fact that the bike will spend a prolonged period `revving` below tickover speed as it comes to a halt. The oil-pump wont be able to deliver the required pressure during this time and it could cause premature wear.

[rangerbrown]

i get up to speed and hit the kill switch, wait for a while and then turn it back on.   makes a cool sound

[coll0412]

Yeah rangerbrown is only joking.....don't do that if you like your valves and exhaust...

Backfires are a cruel thing to do to a bike....

[corndog67]

I heard it can lock up rear wheel if your doing high speeds and you can wipe out...

Not true.

[rangerbrown]

Yeah rangerbrown is only joking.....don't do that if you like your valves and exhaust...

Backfires are a cruel thing to do to a bike....

you sure, i do it all the time, this is bad?...

heres what happens on my truck when i do it.

www.rangerbrown.com/Quickstart/VideoLib/jessetruck1.MOV

[ets_gs500f2004]

well i still dont understand how you can manage to hit the kill switch by accident.... all there is on that handle is the trotle and the clutch and the kill switch so how did you manage that

[Chuck]

well i still dont understand how you can manage to hit the kill switch by accident.... all there is on that handle is the trotle and the clutch and the kill switch so how did you manage that

That's a brake over there, dude.  Be careful switching gears. 

[The Buddha]

I am wiring the kill switch on my Max-X to operate the radiator fan ...      ... I never use it anyway ...
Cool.
Srinath.