radiator cap

[davseidman]

With the sidestand down I can put the bike in gear, release the clutch, and ride away. Not good. How do I fix this? I've read of guys bypassing the switch with a jumper. Is there a need to do this if the switch has already failed? And, if you do put the jumper in, what tricks do you guys use to keep from dragging the sidestand and crashing? Dave 2006 KLR

[Ed Chait]

----- Original Message ----- From: "davseidman" To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 12:59 PM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] sidestand death switch With the sidestand down I can put the bike in gear, release the clutch, and ride away. Not good. How do I fix this? I've read of guys bypassing the switch with a jumper. Is there a need to do this if the switch has already failed? And, if you do put the jumper in, what tricks do you guys use to keep from dragging the sidestand and crashing? Dave 2006 KLR oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I use the memory of a rather dangerous first left-hand turn many years ago:). ed A17

[smthng else]

On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 3:59 PM, davseidman wrote:

> With the sidestand down I can put the bike in gear, release the clutch, and ride away. Not > good. How do I fix this? > I've read of guys bypassing the switch with a jumper. Is there a need to do this if the > switch has already failed?

You're asking completely oposing questions... which would you prefer... Sidestand down and gears working, or sidestand down, in gear kills engine. If you want to be able to put it in gear with the sidestand down, it sounds like you've already "fixed" it. Doing the jumper trick won't buy you anything you don't already have. If you want the safety switch to work the way Kawi designed it (kill engine with sidestand down and gear engaged), undo the jumper fix if it's there, or replace the switch if it's not.

>And, if you do put the jumper in, what tricks do you guys use > to keep from dragging the sidestand and crashing?

Uh... remember to check before riding off. The bright side is that the bike will tell you real quick... you just might not like it's method of communication. Seriously... I'm probably going to put mine on a toggle. Flip the toggle to bypass the safety cut-off... makes it easy to hoist the rear tire off the ground using the sidestand to lube the chain while idling in gear. Warning: This method to be done only by trained professionals. Do not try this without proper common sense. I'm not responsible if you manage to get your hand caught in the back wheel or sprocket while holding up the bike. Make sure someone's got a video camera handy if you try this... I'll convert it to digital and post on youtube for you at no charge. --Jonathan "smthng" Kalmes Springfield, VA 2005 Yamaha FJR1300ABS - "Blue Bayou" 2006 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon - "Teflon" 2008 Kawasaki KLR 650 - It's here, but it hasn't earned a name yet. http://smthng.info "Look, the truth is, I've been trying to save the world, one person at a time, but, I'm meant for smthng bigger. Smthng important. I know it now."

[roncriswell@sbcglobal.net]

Ahh ..... my days of a Cushman Highlander. The joy of ..... the crappy spring in my worn out sidestand not keeping the stand in on left hand curves. I did all this without a helmet or fancy riding gear ...... and nobody got hurt. Sidestand safety switch ..... what a woosey contraption. But the most fun thing involving a Cushman was getting my buddy on his Eagle to pull me down the street while I was wearing those old clamp on metal wheeled roller skates. This was pre lock tight and those skates were not designed for the speeds we were going. Pushing the envelope we did (no helmet again) have you ever tried running at 30 mph on metal wheeled skates missing half their wheels???? Nobody got hurt thanks to a soft lawn. I have disabled my sidestand switch on my KLR ..... and I have ridden off with the stand down. Nobody has gotten hurt (yet). My skateboard stories are next. I didn't get hurt but my skateboard buddy got a terrible road rash. He decided to jump off at the wrong time. I rode her down. Billy's wife wouldn't let him come out and play after that. Big hills with no brakes can be entertaining. No helmet again. Criswell (showing his age)

On Jun 9, 2008, at 3:08 PM, Ed Chait wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "davseidman" > To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 12:59 PM > Subject: [DSN_KLR650] sidestand death switch > > With the sidestand down I can put the bike in gear, release the > clutch, and > ride away. Not > good. How do I fix this? > > I've read of guys bypassing the switch with a jumper. Is there a > need to do > this if the > switch has already failed? And, if you do put the jumper in, what > tricks do > you guys use > to keep from dragging the sidestand and crashing? > Dave > 2006 KLR > > oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo > > I use the memory of a rather dangerous first left-hand turn many years > ago:). > > ed > A17 > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Arden Kysely]

Habit born from many years of riding bikes without sidestand safety switches is how I 'remember.' I don't start the bike until I'm sitting on it and get the stand up as soon as my butt is in the seat. I've bypassed both the clutch and sidestand switches. Haven't ridden off with the stand down yet, but I did try to start it up in first gear without the clutch in a couple weeks ago. It was only a minor embarrassment as I grabbed the clutch fast enough to minimize the lurch and let the motor start. Probably looked like a case of sticky KLR clutch plates to a bystander. 8~) Before sidestand switches, some bikes had rubber tabs on the kickstand foot designed to grab the pavement and kick the stand up before it could be a problem. Can't remember if they worked or not, but if so they were a dirt simple way to do something we're relying on flaky switches for now. __Arden

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "davseidman" wrote: > > With the sidestand down I can put the bike in gear, release the clutch, and ride away. Not > good. How do I fix this? > > I've read of guys bypassing the switch with a jumper. Is there a need to do this if the > switch has already failed? And, if you do put the jumper in, what tricks do you guys use > to keep from dragging the sidestand and crashing? > Dave > 2006 KLR >

[Arden Kysely]

Habit born from many years of riding bikes without sidestand safety switches is how I 'remember.' I don't start the bike until I'm sitting on it and get the stand up as soon as my butt is in the seat. I've bypassed both the clutch and sidestand switches. Haven't ridden off with the stand down yet, but I did try to start it up in first gear without the clutch in a couple weeks ago. It was only a minor embarrassment as I grabbed the clutch fast enough to minimize the lurch and let the motor start. Probably looked like a case of sticky KLR clutch plates to a bystander. 8~) Before sidestand switches, some bikes had rubber tabs on the kickstand foot designed to grab the pavement and kick the stand up before it could be a problem. Can't remember if they worked or not, but if so they were a dirt simple way to do something we're relying on flaky switches for now. __Arden

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "davseidman" wrote: > > With the sidestand down I can put the bike in gear, release the clutch, and ride away. Not > good. How do I fix this? > > I've read of guys bypassing the switch with a jumper. Is there a need to do this if the > switch has already failed? And, if you do put the jumper in, what tricks do you guys use > to keep from dragging the sidestand and crashing? > Dave > 2006 KLR >

[D Critchley]

Used to run a Honda 500 XLR with the little tab. For the couple of times it was necessary it worked well. It never shorted out in the rain either. DC Arden Kysely wrote:

> > Habit born from many years of riding bikes without sidestand safety > switches is how I 'remember.' I don't start the bike until I'm > sitting on it and get the stand up as soon as my butt is in the seat. > > I've bypassed both the clutch and sidestand switches. Haven't ridden > off with the stand down yet, but I did try to start it up in first > gear without the clutch in a couple weeks ago. It was only a minor > embarrassment as I grabbed the clutch fast enough to minimize the > lurch and let the motor start. Probably looked like a case of sticky > KLR clutch plates to a bystander. 8~) > > Before sidestand switches, some bikes had rubber tabs on the kickstand > foot designed to grab the pavement and kick the stand up before it > could be a problem. Can't remember if they worked or not, >

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Bogdan Swider]

On 6/10/08 7:33 AM, "Arden Kysely" wrote:

> > > > Habit born from many years of riding bikes without sidestand safety > switches is how I 'remember.' I don't start the bike until I'm > sitting on it and get the stand up as soon as my butt is in the seat. >

And.. the late motorcycle/auto guru, Gordon Jennings was adamant about the effects of idling. He repeatedly wrote that starting a cold motorcycle a letting it warm up at idle was bad for the engine. Start the bike and take off. Bogdan, who s heard that this doesn t apply to lovemaking [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Michael Nelson]

On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 01:33:22PM -0000, Arden Kysely wrote:

> > Before sidestand switches, some bikes had rubber tabs on the kickstand > foot designed to grab the pavement and kick the stand up before it > could be a problem. Can't remember if they worked or not, but if so > they were a dirt simple way to do something we're relying on flaky > switches for now.

That's another advantage of the Sink-No-Bob... the large rubber footpad acts much as those old rubber tabs (yes, I remember, been riding since my '66 BSA Thunderbolt in '68). Michael -- "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open manhole and die." -- Mel Brooks San Francisco, CA

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "roncriswell@..." wrote:

> > Ahh ..... my days of a Cushman Highlander. The joy of ..... the > crappy spring in my worn out sidestand not keeping the stand in on > left hand curves. I did all this without a helmet or fancy riding > gear ...... and nobody got hurt. Sidestand safety switch ..... what a > woosey contraption. > > But the most fun thing involving a Cushman was getting my buddy on > his Eagle to pull me down the street while I was wearing those old > clamp on metal wheeled roller skates. This was pre lock tight and > those skates were not designed for the speeds we were going. Pushing > the envelope we did (no helmet again) have you ever tried running at > 30 mph on metal wheeled skates missing half their wheels???? Nobody > got hurt thanks to a soft lawn. > > I have disabled my sidestand switch on my KLR ..... and I have ridden > off with the stand down. Nobody has gotten hurt (yet). > > My skateboard stories are next. I didn't get hurt but my skateboard > buddy got a terrible road rash. He decided to jump off at the wrong > time. I rode her down. Billy's wife wouldn't let him come out and > play after that. Big hills with no brakes can be entertaining. No > helmet again. > >

Shelly has a great story about riding Jeffie's xr200 with a dodgy spring that let the stand come down on a left hander between trails on Rochford Road. It forced her into the ditch, where she did a fine job of riding to avoid a road sign before doing a face plant in the trap rock that lined the ditch bottom. Her helmet saved her dental work. Fortunately, she was riding in a tank top, so her brand new jacket was safe and unscuffed in camp.