Sooooo! How many people here have left their parking light on on accident and killed the battery?? Come on, be honest!
I did it yesterday, at work, 5 miles away. Im glad someone knew how to pop start a bike. Took a few tries but i lived!
Is there an easy way to disable this feature? I've cought myself a few times now turning the key a bit too far when locking the forks. I also saw another GS at my school (Monroe Community College, let me know if you see this, mines the red one), that had theirs on today. I only shook my head and hoped they could find a hill.
One other thing. I am lacking in the dremel department (ie. dont have one), can i just hacksaw the truck flap off? or will it be too awkward/hard. Do i cut it off just above where the license plate comes down, then drill holes and bolt the reflector on again?
Thanks!!!
Dont know how to disable it... its the regular tail light. Some bikes have a tiny lamp... which actually can be used in those little turn signals. Anyway Switch to JeffD's diodes. They use far less electricity and make more light so makes it easier to see as well. Or you may be able to cut a wire form the ignition. Look in your manual and find out which and see.
Cool.
Srinath.
Can you elaborate on how to push start the bike when the battery is dead? It will be nice to know if I have to start like this one day. This parking light thing almost got me once, but I caught it just b4 I left the bike.
For the truck flop, just use a sharp xacto knife, and cut a horizontal line just below the two plastic stubs that hold the license plate. My license plate held on fine without the third stub. Be careful of your tires when cutting!
Quote from: asungCan you elaborate on how to push start the bike when the battery is dead? It will be nice to know if I have to start like this one day.
It's like push starting a standard-transmission automobile, where you let the clutch out slowly while rolling downhill in 1st or 2nd gear. Same principle on a bike. Put the bike in 1st, maybe 2nd (better), squeeze in the clutch. If you are near a hill, just roll down (or get a friend to push you if you're on a level area, like a parking lot) til your speed is about 5-10 mph (your friend is gasping for breath at this point) then slowly let out the clutch lever. You'll feel the bike going thru the friction zone, and the engine should come alive. Give a little throttle and keep riding to charge up the battery. Be sure to turn around to see if your friend has passed out.
Oh, yeah, your bike will be cold, don't forget to choke. And run a good 15-20 minutes to sufficiently charge up the battery.
first .. everytime i see someone with a parking light on.. i turn it off for them..
i have turned off lights for all kind of bikes with my gs500 key, just push it half way and turn... it goes off.
Second to push start, use 3rd or 4th gear.. or you will never get it started. Dont ask me why but it always push starts on the higher gears.
i have jeffd's tail lights so i dont worry.
Does the battery have water? Did you try to jump start it from your car? What about bump starting it? 1st or second gear, clutch in, ign key on, freind pushing, JUMP on the bike when you let out the clutch and then hold the throttle partially open til it fires and then pull in the clutch IMMEDIATELY; so it can rev up. Don't forget to put it in first and ride around the block back to your house, put on your gear, DON'T turn the bike OFF, and ride it on the freeway for 10min. Keep revs up around 4,000rpm to help charge the batt.
If none of that works it's really dead and you need a new one, just get a Bikemaster, they're just Yuasa rejects and usually less expensive.
I'm glad I'll be seein' ya at the Doc Wong ride, Oct 19!
Respectfully,
Now, your bike is not fuel injected so be sure to have the choke open as dmp said.
A higher gear will work better than 1st gear. 1st is too low and will produce wheel skid and will not turn the motor over. 2nd or 3rd are recommended.
Quotefirst .. everytime i see someone with a parking light on.. i turn it off for them..
i have turned off lights for all kind of bikes with my gs500 key, just push it half way and turn... it goes off.
Thats good to know, I didnt think it would work so i didnt try. But next time i will. How much do the LED tail lights cost?
Jeff has an add on the 4 sale board.
They saved me one day after being left on for 9 hours. :thumb:
If you choose to jumpstart your battery from another bike, the helping bike should be running. However, if you're jumping from a car, it should not. Check out a little more detailed explanation at http://motorcycles.about.com/cs/maintenance/ht/howtojumpstart.htm
Lucky for us aussies we don't have the parking light feature :cheers:
A Girl on a Ninja last night left hers on when I was at Bike night in Royal Oak. I happen to see her a block up and told her about it. So its not just our bikes.
Quote from: JasonBA Girl on a Ninja last night left hers on when I was at Bike night in Royal Oak. I happen to see her a block up and told her about it. So its not just our bikes.
Isn't every (nice) night "Bike Night" in Royal Oak? :)
There are a lot of bikes up this way. And a lot of nice expensive cars going up and down main street cruising. But Wednesday is cruiser night downtown (very busy both sides of main for 3-4 blocks full of bikes.) and Thursday is Sportbikes, They come out later in the night and seems as tho more cars were parked with them than with the cruisers.
I may be out there again next week if the weather is nice.
Briliu said:
"Is there an easy way to disable this feature? I've cought myself a few times now turning the key a bit too far when locking the forks. "
Looks to me like pulling the gray and brown wires at the ignition switch and connecting them together will remove the taillight branch ckt from the PARK position 12v supply. The taillight should still come on in the ON position. This is just my observation from looking at the schematic/wiring diagrams. Actually doing it may not be easy. I have never torn into the ignition switch since I have only had the bike for a few months.
Any thoughts on this?
I had to stare at it a long time ... but I think you're right, John.
(http://www.bbburma.net/Scans/Haynes_Wiring_IgnitionSwitch.jpg)
The Red wire comes straight from the + terminal on the battery (by way of the fuse). When the Ignition switch is in the ON position, it's just as though all three wires (Orange, Grey and Brown) are connected right to the Red wire.
To convince yourself of this, follow the Orange wire from the Ignition switch to the 6-wire connector on the left. You'll see that it is connected directly to the Grey wire because of the way the 2 Yellow/white wires join together. And since the Grey wire goes back to the Ignition switch and connects directly to the Brown wire ... voila!
====================================
So what?
So, when the Ignition switch is in the P(ark) position it only energizes the Brown wire and NOT the Orange and Grey wires.
The Brown wire only powers the Tail light and something called a Sidelight. (??) The Orange and Gray wires power the headlight, gauge and warning lights, turn signals, horn, etc. (See the Full-blown Haynes Wiring Diagram (http://www.bbburma.net/Scans/Haynes_WiringDiagram_US_90-96.jpg).)
If you snip the Brown and Grey wires near the Ignition switch and twist and/or solder them together, they will act normally when the Ignition switch is in the ON position. They will be totally disconnected from the + battery terminal when the switch is in the P(ark) position.
Like John, I haven't messed around with the ignition switch myself (yet). I don't know how accessible these 2 wires are, or if you could disconnect them rather than snip them, yada yada....
Ugh yes I did that once..........
NEVER AGAIN :guns:
Left it in park all stupid day at work, came out after work with no power! Had to buy a new battery, tried charging it, no luck with keeping a charge for more than a couple hours.
Kerry said:
"If you snip the Brown and Grey wires near the Ignition switch and twist and/or solder them together, they will act normally when the Ignition switch is in the ON position. They will be totally disconnected from the + battery terminal when the switch is in the P(ark) position."
Sooooo...., who is going to be the first to try this? :lol:
isnt easier just to glance back and check
Quote from: BriliuSooooo! How many people here have left their parking light on on accident and killed the battery?? Come on, be honest!
....Is there an easy way to disable this feature? I've cought myself a few times now turning the key a bit too far when locking the forks.
I learned my lesson real quick the first (and only) time I left my parking light on.
First, I turn the key all the way to the left. Then, I observe the parking lot is on. Next, I turn the key back one click as I watch the light go out.
You have to force yourself to make this part of your normal routine until it becomes 2nd nature.
It's funny how there is not a better way to engaging the parking light safely without incident. My dad's '83 Honda CX650 has the placement of the steering lock and parking light feature switched (compared to our GS500). You would think there would be some kind of standard at least.
i did this once, and the battery was done, wouldn't hold a charge, had to buy another one.
I asked the guy at the bike shop "what the hell does the "P" mean anyway ?"
shop guy - "it means PUSH....cause that's what you'll be doing if you leave it there !! "
On my 2004 you have to pull the clutch in in order for the parking lights to go on while locking the handle bars.
EDIT: I just went and double checked this and I guess I don't have to pull the clutch in. It's weird sometimes it doesn't let me put the parking lights on after locking it and I pull the clutch in and it works. This has happened twice already but I was just able to do it without pulling the clutch in. Weird.
Left on Parking Light: I've done that once, and only once. Luckily, I wasn't gone long enough for my battery to drain. Now I take a quick look when I'm walking away from my bike to make sure I haven't done it again.
-Kel
Quotefirst .. everytime i see someone with a parking light on.. i turn it off for them..
i have turned off lights for all kind of bikes with my gs500 key, just push it half way and turn... it goes off.
Err... Doesn't that mean that a malicious individual could easily run around turning folks' parking lights *on*?
I've done it twice, dead lucky both times. First time outside my house and a guy knocks my door and tells me, he was walking past and, of course he turned out to be a biker. Second time outside my office at work and one of the troops tells me, he's a biker too. So on th basis of cosmic khama I always keep a look out, good to hear about the key trick.
Be Lucky.
I'm bringing this thread out of cold storage because I searched and its the only relevant one I found.
Why the hell do bike manufacturers put parking switches into bikes? I can't possibly think of a reason why I would ever want to have one of these, they're totally unnecessary and have probably ruined more than a few people's days. I almost killed my battery yesterday with it, I was going to bed when I looked out the window and saw that my light was on, nearly resulting in an awful morning for me.
Quote from: Unnamed on May 10, 2007, 08:57:27 PM
I'm bringing this thread out of cold storage because I searched and its the only relevant one I found.
Why the hell do bike manufacturers put parking switches into bikes? I can't possibly think of a reason why I would ever want to have one of these, they're totally unnecessary and have probably ruined more than a few people's days. I almost killed my battery yesterday with it, I was going to bed when I looked out the window and saw that my light was on, nearly resulting in an awful morning for me.
In the US, it's a legal issue. They're required to. The reasoning is that if the bike dies for some reason, and you need to leave it on the side of the road, you leave the tail light illuminated, to make the bike more visible, and thus, safer.
Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on May 10, 2007, 10:08:28 PM
In the US, it's a legal issue. They're required to. The reasoning is that if the bike dies for some reason, and you need to leave it on the side of the road, you leave the tail light illuminated, to make the bike more visible, and thus, safer.
Thanks for explaining that! I just did this very thing last night at church. Some others came in and told me I left my lights on. I went out and thought one of my brake switches was stuck. I had never noticed the little "park" indicator just past the lock position. I messed with the keyswitch and noticed the lights went out. But it was today that I finally figured out why they went out.
hnh
I can accept that that law exists. It is, however, retarded. I can't imagine a scenario when I would actually use the light for that. If I ran out of gas I wouldn't, because if it took me two hours to get back I might have run down my battery too and then I would be totally screwed. If I had an accident the chances are good that my electrical system would be somehow damaged. I know when I crashed last year I bent the gauges down so far that I couldn't move my key. Has anyone EVER intentionally used their parking light?
Also, it would be nice if the manufacturers would move it farther away from commonly used features like the steering lock.
My bike has emergency flashers....I wonder why IT needs a parking light... :icon_rolleyes:
Quote from: pandy on May 10, 2007, 10:51:31 PM
My bike has emergency flashers....I wonder why IT needs a parking light... :icon_rolleyes:
Cuz it's easier to turn the parking light on than to hit the flashers, when it's laying on its side.
If you don't like the way I park, then get out of the ditch! :flipoff:
Flashers????? Parking lights>????????? I'm happy when my headlight works :o :o just disconnect everything but the head and tail/brake lights and pray for the best :thumb: :thumb:
I did it Yesterday and I havn't had the bike a week yet!
Doh!
Luckily the recovery vehicle was there 15 mins with some jump leads!
Sorted.
Quote from: TheGoodGuy on October 09, 2003, 04:19:41 PM
first .. everytime i see someone with a parking light on.. i turn it off for them..
i have turned off lights for all kind of bikes with my gs500 key, just push it half way and turn... it goes off.
Second to push start, use 3rd or 4th gear.. or you will never get it started. Dont ask me why but it always push starts on the higher gears.
i have jeffd's tail lights so i dont worry.
Dude, you rock. I've seen folks like you, picking up dropped cash for folks, dropped kids' toys, keys, turning off headlights in cars (befor everyone installed stupid alarms), helping ladies change tires.
hats off man, you absolutely rock. :bowdown: :thumb: :cheers: :cheers:
Quote from: ohgood on May 11, 2007, 02:14:40 AM
Quote from: TheGoodGuy on October 09, 2003, 04:19:41 PM
first .. everytime i see someone with a parking light on.. i turn it off for them..
hats off man, you absolutely rock. :bowdown: :thumb: :cheers: :cheers:
I second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth this motion! :kiss3: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
Quote from: Unnamed on May 10, 2007, 08:57:27 PM
I'm bringing this thread out of cold storage because I searched and its the only relevant one I found.
Why the hell do bike manufacturers put parking switches into bikes? I can't possibly think of a reason why I would ever want to have one of these, they're totally unnecessary and have probably ruined more than a few people's days. I almost killed my battery yesterday with it, I was going to bed when I looked out the window and saw that my light was on, nearly resulting in an awful morning for me.
here's the solution (http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=17998.0)
:cheers:
Nice one John Bates! :thumb: O0
I went to visit my sister when she was taking her MSF. An SV was parked there with the parking light on.... So, being the nice guy that I am (ha ha ha ha), I pulled out my key and turned it off for him. Some of the other people at the MSF thought I was trying to steal his bike. ??? Silly kids... But, at least the guy didn't have to bump-start his bike after the MSF.
these things have a steering lock? didn't know that. i can't get my key to turn more than half a click backwards. doesn't do anything. i see where it says lock and park but it won't turn that far back. mine's an 04 if it makes any diff.
Quote from: 97dime on May 11, 2007, 07:17:21 PM
these things have a steering lock? didn't know that. i can't get my key to turn more than half a click backwards. doesn't do anything. i see where it says lock and park but it won't turn that far back. mine's an 04 if it makes any diff.
Oh yes,these bikes do have steering lock...mine's a '01 and it has...
Seems to be a dumb question, but...have you read the instruction manual(if you have it)? :oops:
from the Off position:
1)turn handlebars all to the left,
2)push the key,
3)at the same time turn the key left to the LOCK position;you might need to tilt the handlebars a little left/right, in order to let the locking pin engage.
4)from the LOCK position, you can turn the key one more click left into P, thus activating the front and tail position light. :thumb:
don't have an owners manual. didn't come with the bike. good to know that they have a steering lock though. makes it much tougher to steal.
Quote from: 97dime on May 12, 2007, 11:31:40 AM
don't have an owners manual. didn't come with the bike. good to know that they have a steering lock though. makes it much tougher to steal.
Hm,my personal suggestion,get a user manual,it contains a lot of useful info on basic maintenance,service intervals and so on :thumb:
As for the steering lock...I don't think it makes the GS (or any bike) that "much tougher to steal"...Even a passing-by thief provided with,say,a flat-head screwdriver might be able to ram the ignition slot,force it off from LOCK into ON and...bye bye bike...
I experienced it ten years ago,my 50 cc 1-year-old scooter was stolen outside my high school never to be found again... :mad: :cry: Needless to say, I had only locked it with the steering lock. :2guns:
Always use a supplementary anti-theft device,such as a chain guard, a U-lock,a disk lock; I personally use the latter, it's small and can easily be stored under the small seat compartment.
Clearly, none of the above is the ULTIMATE anti-theft device, organized thieves can steal any bike/car bypassing any kind of device;but they can make casual thieves walk away from a bike secured with a lock they can't tamper with because they don't have proper tools. :thumb:
Or maybe they will decide to try and steal the bike parked next to yours...as ancient Romans said, "mors tua, vita mea" (=your death, my life) :laugh: :laugh: :thumb:
..oops...I've been longish as usual in my post...and I'm goin' off topic... :oops: :oops: :oops:
Lamps, and ride safe! :thumb:
simon.