not so fast!

this topic was addressed in another thread. don't remember for sure if it was on the old xbhp. anyways, a member pointed out that his r-15 owner's manual said that the kill switch is to be used for emergency only. and i remembered seeng the same in a kawasaki zrx-1200r manual. don't remember what happened after that.

Engine kill switch-use it or not?

Most of us always use the engine kill switch to switch off the engine rather than by turning the key. Is there any difference between swithing off by Engine kill or by Key?
I have read in the p180 owners manual that "The engine kill switch is for emergency use only. Move the switch to off position in case of emergency."
What do you have to say??

General Biking Discussion Approved.

There was a long discussion on this topic earlier on xBhp. However, I am not able to find that thread right now. Yes, we all do use the engine kill switch quite liberally, but I am not so sure whether it has any bad effects on the life of the engine or not. Perhaps, experts would be able to comment better on this topic.

Engine Kill Switch will stop the running engine it wont kill the engine.
By turning the key to off the entire electric circuit will goes off (including engine)
where engine kill switch stops only the engine this is a useful future i use this switch to stop the engine while during signals,

may be its distinctly different in P180 hope one of our P180 owner will answer this

my opinion is it wont harm the engine

Im using it regularly on my bike since three years, never knew it was for emergency.

i believe the emergency word refers to "use this switch if you want to stop the engine on emergency"


Also refer http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/help-me/...harmful-2.html

i also had doubt regarding the same, well thanks for making it a thread....
i had words with the Yamaha guys and got a reply that one should not use kill button as it consumes battery (dont know whats the logic behind it). mine is R15 so they said your machine doesn't have a kick and it will create a problem for you to start it, therefore its better to use the key to restart the bike even on signals.....

Hi guys according to me in most engine kill switch circuits turn off the engine by grounding the some connections of the ignition circuit so it does use power.But this used to happen in earlier engines.So maybe that is why they recommend to not use engine kill switch.But if u quickly on-off the switch then it may not harm th e circuit/battery.

For R15 they have mentioned that one should stop the engine and then remove the key from the main switch. (owner's manual page 5-4)

What foolishness The Engine Kill switch will damage the engine???
Then why do the manufactures put such a feature on the bike if it really harms the engine...

I find the advantage especially in signals... coz if we stop the engine using the key and need to start the bike by turning the key on it takes 3-5 seconds to do the auto check... i have heard it is good to start the bike only after the auto check completes...

the disadvantage of that thing is that i have found the switch goes kaput for many of my friends FZ's, they don't use that switch, but for me it was ok... i used to use it when the engine is off more than 10+ minutes...

35K on the ODO and my R15 is still going cool. I use Engine kill switch all the time...

Its perfectly fine to use the engine kill switch.

Emergency features are not so easily available in the switchgear... I always turn off my engine first with the engine kill, only then does my hand proceed towards the key.

What a co-incidence. This thread comes up exactly a year after this thread: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/help-me/...h-harmful.html
Mods, maybe you can merge these threads.

Anyways, I had the same question when I got my ride a year ago..
An R15 owner got a go-ahead from Yamaha about frequent usage of the engine-kill switch..
So pls go ahead & use the engine-kill switch at traffic-signals.. I have been doing that 1 week since I got my ride.. It will also save you the time the bike takes to do the self-check, if you turn on the ignition key after switching it off..
Just one more pointer the Yamaha showroom guy had mentioned: If you're going to restart your bike after switching it off (say at a signal), then use the engine-kill switch.. & if you're not going to start the bike again for sometime (say while parking it), then switch off the bike using the ignition key.. It saves up the battery is what he said.. Now pls don't ask me how.. Sounds a bit unbelievable to me too..

Aside, I can't seem to understand what emergency situation does the kill-switch have to be used in! If the bike (R15 in this case) falls, the ignition automatically cuts off owing to the lean sensor (65 degrees IIRC).

He he.... Both my uncle(1991-2008) and then me(2008-2010) have been using the engine kill switch on the RTZ(currently mine). That's 18yrs of usage. No problemo!