[retrolab]

During the motorcycle course I took over the summer the instructors said to turn off the bike by turning the key to the "Off" position, but since then I've had riders tell me they just use the emergency switch to turn theirs off.

The instructors said the reason to not use the emergency switch is that the switch is meant for emergencies, and that the mechanism isn't meant for all the constant on/off switching.

So which one is it?

I am going to continue to use the ignition key, but wanted to know if that is what was taught to you or do you use the emergency switch. Thanks.

 

[ScramblerKen]

First- read the owners manual.

Second- my MSF course always taught turn off handlebar emergency switch.

Third- usually on new fuel injected bikes the switch on the handlebar activates the fuel pump and other electronics and preps the system, that is best not turned on with the key but rather your thumb.

I had many new bikes, all with the emergency switch and never wore those out even after many tens of thousands of miles.

A system to turn on and turn off from gear on and ready to throwing a leg over to standing up off the kickstand to putting stand-up, etc. is best to become muscle memory including that switch button.
If you only use it in a so called emergency which may occur every few years you may not know where to find it when you need it.

That's my take on this.

I have a 2020 Gold Wing bagger with DCT and a Desert Sled and always use the kill switch.


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[Hui]

Lol, everybody has an opinion and I'll take a wild stab at it and say the majority instructors have no idea whatsoever about the technicalities of the switches and are only repeating garbage they've heard from other butcher's, baker's and candlestick makers who've had a change profession along the way.
The ignition key is designed to shutdown all the electrics of the machine the same way it does on any other vehicle and has done quite successfully for many years.
TBH, I've never heard so much drivel than I have about this.

 

[ScramblerKen]

But what does the manufacturers guide say?


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[Max Kool]

The instructors said the reason to not use the emergency switch is that the switch is meant for emergencies, and that the mechanism isn't meant for all the constant on/off switching.

The instructor should stop making up bs stories.

btw, whoever called it an “emergy” switch? It’s a kill switch, it kills the engine and leaves the rest on. That’s all it does.

 

[JStrube]

They likely don't want you to leave the bike "half on", and run the battery down. So they make this stuff up, or the train the trainer manual tells them to do so. On a Scrambler, the start button is under the kill switch, so you move it anyway. My habit is to kill the bike, then turn the key off. Just my habit, no other reason.

 

[retrolab]

Don't shoot the messenger. Just asking.
My brother has been riding since his teens, and so when he saw me turn it off with the key instead of the emergency kill switch he asked why. Then after some googling it seemed the answers skewed to using the kill switch, and so finally I thought to ask here. I'm guessing some instructors stay with old school teachings?

So it's ok to use the switch. Got it.

 

[Hui]

Don't shoot the messenger. Just asking.
My brother has been riding since his teens, and so when he saw me turn it off with the key instead of the emergency kill switch he asked why. Then after some googling it seemed the answers skewed to using the kill switch, and so finally I thought to ask here. I'm guessing some instructors stay with old school teachings?

So it's ok to use the switch. Got it.

It's not old school teachings, it's new school but it really doesn't matter as the switches do the same thing except one of the ways can cause the key to be forgotten about. it's also that the millennials have come along and think they know best and older people like their parents need edumacating.

 

[Max Kool]

^^ word

 

[K1W1]

Use whichever method best suits you and the situation. Most times it use the key but there are occasions where I need to stop my bike in tricky situations where I can’t practically take my hands off the bars so I use the kill switch. There is no technical difference to the bike whichever you use.

 

[ScramblerKen]

Another way to shut a bike off in many cases is lower the kickstand.

If you want to drain the battery because you forgot the key try that.

LOL
My old riding buddy always forgot to lower his kickstand so he thought just do it when you arrive and when the bike dies you know you've not forgotten it and won't fall over with your bike as he always would. He's shaped like a garden knome.

So, the first day he decided to employ this new tactic he had to call his son to come get him and his bike after coffee with a friend.

He quit doing that.



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[robinzon]

Modern motorcycles have to be shut off with the key. Triumph, for example, explicitly tells you to do that as using the emergency switch also erases recent ECU memory. This can cause other electrical faults in the system and drain the battery (happened to me).

 

[Max Kool]

What a load of nonsense.

Can you please point me to where Triumph says switching off the engine with the kill switch will erase “recent ecu memory”? What is “recent ecu memory“?

(and yes, as long as the key is on the lights and accessories will stay on, draining the battery at some point...)

 

[Keeper]

My understanding is that it's not just ok, it's why the switch was created.

 

[Keeper]

What a load of nonsense.

Can you please point me to where Triumph says switching off the engine with the kill switch will erase “recent ecu memory”? What is “recent ecu memory“?

(and yes, as long as the key is on the lights and accessories will stay on, draining the battery at some point...)

^This. I think this is a misconception from Triumph advice. This should cover it:

 

[Max Kool]

Thank you.

 

[Hui]

Thank you.

Yeah, me thinks that what we were saying all along.

 

[Max Kool]

If it’s on the internet it’s trueer... 🤷‍♂️

 

[K1W1]

Modern motorcycles have to be shut off with the key. Triumph, for example, explicitly tells you to do that as using the emergency switch also erases recent ECU memory. This can cause other electrical faults in the system and drain the battery (happened to me).

As @Max Kool pointed out if you turn the kill switch off and leave the bike with the key in the ignition and switched on yes you will drain the battery but dude that is a straight forward user error. Your fault and nothing to do with the bike.
What does happen often is people flick the kill switch then remove the key then when they go to restart the bike it won’t start because they have left the switch in the off position. Once again user error and often the source of embarrassment in from of riding buddies,
The story about clearing the ECU memory is b/s. I bet you were told that by some mechanic. If you read it in an official Triumph document please post a link to that document.
When you think through how switches operate whether they are key switches or rocker switches (most kill switches) they just break the electrical circuit that is all. There are no smarts built into the main key switch it is on or it is off and that is all. There is no difference between on or off to the bikes electrical system when it is caused by the key or by the kill switch.
The reason kill switches exist as they do is that back in the 70s when motorcycling experienced a boom it was not uncommon for throttles to jam and if you are riding a bike with a jammed open throttle killing the engine with your thumb whilst pulling in the clutch is way quicker and easier than taking you hand off the throttle and reaching for the ignition switch which in those days was often located on the right side of the bike behind the headlight.

 

[Mike Westall]

During the motorcycle course I took over the summer the instructors said to turn off the bike by turning the key to the "Off" position, but since then I've had riders tell me they just use the emergency switch to turn theirs off.

The instructors said the reason to not use the emergency switch is that the switch is meant for emergencies, and that the mechanism isn't meant for all the constant on/off switching.

So which one is it?

I am going to continue to use the ignition key, but wanted to know if that is what was taught to you or do you use the emergency switch. Thanks.

YOUR instructor is correct. Leaving the key in the on position while the bike is parked is as bad as turning the bike on with the key and walking away from it which will kill your battery. The ones that tell you to kill the motor with the kill switch also tell you to remember to turn the key off AFTER you kill the motor ..