Modern Vespa

I was told to use it only in an emergency when I learned to drive,
Do you use it everyday to shut off your scooter?

I keep hearing that people are using it everyday as a kill switch for their scooters,
I just turn the key to the off position.

This question might be good for a poll.

Dave

Last edited by Big Foot on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:51:03 +0000; edited 2 times

I occasionally use to keep used to the idea of it and make sure that it works.

Passers by also use it to screw with your head

The original kill switch used to be a knob,
So you'd know right away that it was off.

The rocker switch type on the other hand,
Isn't immediately obvious that it is switched to off.

Dave

I use it 99% of the time

edit - should add have never had a problem with the switch breaking on me

Last edited by Geo-Vesp on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:18:40 +0000; edited 1 time

I remember this one getting interesting :


http://modernvespa.com/forum/topic23579?highlight=kill+switch

i dont have one but was told that they should only be used in emergency as itll burn it out ... a test every now n then is cool

no need too, damn thing stalls when you don't give it gas anyway

I use it frequently.The keys are in the way of my rt. knee in the off position, and and I don't remove them untill the bike is on center stand, and locked.

CAUTION --- If you stop the engine with the kill switch and leave the key "ON", on a hot day the headlight can get hot enough to blister the plastic lens when there is no cooling airflow.

The last time I remember using the kill switch, I stopped to talk to someone and conveniently hit that red button. Then I couldn't figure why my scooter wouldn't start. I don't think I've used since.

No, just the key

Aren't the electrics shut off when you hit the kill switch?
I've actually never checked.

I'd check right now, But I've covered the scooter on the street for the night,
It'd be a real hassle to uncover it right now and check that out.

Dave

When you use the kill switch, the "Electrics" are still on. When I come into my garage at night, I use the kill switch to stop the engine and that keeps the headlight on so I can see my way to turn on the garage lights.

My dealer told me not to use it regularly, just sometimes to make sure it works. I don't know why though!

As the key position is still in the ON position, the electrical system is on until you turn the key. The kill switch only kills the engine.

I never use it; my wife always does. It's always a pain when I ride her bike because I keep forgetting she shuts it off and leaves it that way.

every single time.

Very rarely. No point, especially if you want to remember to switch the bike off and remove the key...

Three times now though I've leapt to a downed bike and used the kill-switch to turn the engine off. Only once was it my own bike thank goodness.

I use the key

Key.

I use the kill switch to turn off the engine, and then the key. When I get off, I put the key in my pocket.

key

I dont understand why you would use the kill switch.... ultimately you would still need to turn the key into the off postion... why add an extra step unless you have time to lose...

I can afford that extra .1 second. At my age, I am used to taking more time to do everything. That being said, I have always used the kill switch, and now I wonder why? I always assumed, without asking, that there was some good reason.


Probably won't do it anymore, and use all that extra time to look at women.

I use the kill swith routinely, but will start using the key. I've got a blister on my headset, but didn't connect the dots until this thread.


blister

I do. Force of habit after 15 years riding.

My dealer told me to use it every time during my "pre-flght."

I just re-read the owner's manual and it says they are interchangeable--either turn off the key, or turn off the kill switch. I may not use the kill switch every time from now on. Not sure why the dealer told me to use it every time.

The Key all the time.

If you use the kill , and forget the key you can kill YOUR BATTERY!!!

key

I use the kill switch every time.

In order to use it in an emergency it has to be a reflex. By using only the kill switch to kill the engine (and then the key to turn off the electrics) you build the reflex for when you need it.

Not that I can think of a lot of times where it would be needed. Maybe if you had an MP3 500 and some dork was twisting the throttle while you were on the bike pointed toward a ditch.

When I built my smallframe I intentionally gave it only a kill switch in easy reach of my thumb.

I understand what people are saying when they are concerned about killing their battery by using the kill switch and then walking away with the key still on.

BUT...

1) Using the kill switch every time will not wear it out. I've never worn out a kill switch in 30 years of riding two wheelers and I use is every time to shut off the engine.
2) The last thing you want to find yourself doing is scrambling to try and find your kill switch during the rare (hopefully never) opportunity that you really do need it. Using the kill switch every time will ensure that you don't even have to think about it.

I worked with the USAF Human Resources Lab trying to figure out how best to train pilots to use the 50+ functions available on the stick and throttle switches. We found that by far the best way for a pilot to learn how to find these switches fast while under duress is to practice, practice, practice... over and over until they didn't even have to think about it. Muscle memory.

Using your kill switch every time to turn off your scoot will do the same thing for you. If you have some freak thing happen with your carb that makes it stick wide open, you won't even have to think about where to find the kill switch. And with a twist-and-go w/ no clutch that is very important.

I'd rather take a chance of killing my battery then taking a chance of killing myself because I couldn't remember where the kill switch was under a time of duress.

-Craig

The only times a kill-switch is used 'in an emergency' is when a bike is already down, with the engine still running, and the rider often not nearby ( ) or the throttle has stuck open - and this latter possibility is very small indeed.

Pray tell me, those who say it should be a 'muscle-memory learned reaction', what circumstances are envisaged when it should be used in anger?

I have cycled the kill on my China scoot a thousand times for about 5 years now and it still works fine. Might be due to the fact that I NEVER ride in the rain and it's always garaged so the switch has never been wet. When washing my scooter I use damp towel to remove the main dirt and then Windex and a dry towel to finish it off. I only use the water hose on the wheels after a Simple Green soak.

IMO water/rust is probably the number one reason the control buttons fail. Not repetitive use.

The only time my kill switch gets used is when I open up my seat to gas up and it hits the switch. boo hoo

I use it 100% of the time, thats the way they teach starting and shutting down the bike. On MC's the key is sometimes not in the best locations . so I use kill switch. BTW its a switch its made to be used all the time they don't burn out from use.

I always use the kill switch, then turn off the ignition key, and then immediately close the fuel tap (on the two bikes that have one). Remembering the fuel tap when I start up again is another story, though.

Brendan

I use it all the time, especially when it was drummed into my head by the instructor at the MSF course I took.

Now, it's just habit.

They *here* teach not to use it except in emergency. So it does rather depend on which *they* you choose to listen too. Me, I make up my own mind on most of these "do - don't" choices. Note that *here* many riders are on automatic bikes, whereas the MSF in the US tend to only concentrate on geared bikes, where there could well be an argument for using the kill switch, as they can still be 'in gear' at idle.

Horses for courses, as always. Rider choice.

No.