Topic: Kill Switches Are Important (and other lessons learned)

[faux fiddy]

If wishes and wants were interchangeable for money I'd be driving a gold-plated DeLorean with an upgraded electrical system.

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Nice-to-People

Come on Johnny, 1missing cable; dodgey ignition switch, and no kill switch, all cheap items. That is just a recipe for disaster and poor maintenance {and judgment}. Would you ride it like that.? , it could be someones life we are talking about, keep the touchy feely stuff out of this and try common sense.....Some of the answers on this site can be completely thoughtless, i wasn't getting personal, just telling it like it is....An hour replacing those items could save his life.....

Mick

Kill switch >$8  free shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KILL-ON-OFF-SWITCH-HONDA-XR-CRF-50-XR50-CRF50-BIKE-KS01-/380208804704?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item588635f360

Someone here will guide you with rigging  it.

[bollingball]

Everyone including Honda keeps calling it a push pull cable ever try to push a string on a table I think they are pull pull. Just look at how they work. However you do need to get all that stuff fixed sorry about the motor.

[Tugboat]

You guys are hilarious (and right)! Thanks for the insight and well-wishes. Got a new motor showing up - hopefully today - and am just going to replace it while I rebuild the F motor. Also fixing the switch and the cable (and a bunch of other stuff) before heading out on the SOHC4 Relay.

It's good to know that if I would have just turned it off with the key it would have just slowed down as if I'd hit the kill switch.

[flybox1]

Or fix the friggin bike, it doesn't sound like its roadworthy......Ride a #$%* box and you will get hurt.....just saying...

Mick

LMAO!!!! 

[q2418130103p]

First time I ever rode a motorcycle, I was 8, and the throttle stuck wide open on my first corner.

My father thought I was some sort of motorcycle prodigy, since I rode a wheelie for an eternity.

That delusion ended at the same time I smashed into a fence.

[kyre]

glad you're safe man. I used to ride with my hand on my clutch when I had a highly modified 2-stroke. Never knew when/if it would seize and lock the rear wheel up. Good thing I built it right and it never happened.

[trueblue]

Since your throttle system was designed to have a push cable, it would be a good idea to put one in there, but there are a whole bunch of bikes, and after market kits for yours, that are single cable systems, what you really need is a good return spring. And...if you hit the kill switch or ignition and turn it off at speed, it shouldn't backfire when you turn it back on, unless you keep the throttle open, to allowing the vacuum suck gas into the system, which will definitely explode when you add the spark. A closed throttle shouldn't let gas get sucked into the chamber. I've blown mufflers apart, and used that "procedure" to scare the bejeezus out of the car next to me. Very hard on the exhaust system, and not real good for head gaskets either. lotsa fun to see the unsuspecting "victim" jump tho..like a cannon goin off....

Gees mate, I wish I had your bike, one that doesn't use any fuel to idle, it doesn't matter what the throttle setting is, as long as your bike is in tune, your motor will still pull a combustible mixture into itself, and if it isn't getting burnt in the engine, it will fill up the exhaust, and if you then add a spark or flame you will get a backfire.

[dave500]

ive totally split a car muffler wide open doing the old turn off,,count two or three then switch on BANG!i think counting ten was too much!

[axehole54]

ive totally split a car muffler wide open doing the old turn off,,count two or three then switch on BANG!i think counting ten was too much!

gotta use a glasspack... only way to go with that procedure

[dave500]

this was a chrysler valiant regal with the 265 hemi six,it was a drilling company car,a straight through glass pack would have sounded great on it!

[axehole54]

this was a chrysler valiant regal with the 265 hemi six,it was a drilling company car,a straight through glass pack would have sounded great on it!

right on I have a habit of teaching all my old cars that trick  69 chev truck, 78 chev van 64 pontiac stratochief, 86 pontiac bonneville, etc etc lol

[Retro Rocket]

You want a bang, rev the #$%* out of a Mazda rotary and switch it off quickly = 2 foot of flame and a huge bang......

Mick

[axehole54]

You want a bang, rev the #$%* out of a Mazda rotary and switch it off quickly = 2 foot of flame and a huge bang......

Mick

oh fack never even thought of one of those!  Thats gotta look awesome

[754]

 I have probably made a 750 backfire a few Hundred times..

 Then one day while riding home at night it blew out about a 3/4 inch chunk of headgasket.. .. if I got on the throttle flame would come out of the gasket surface... After pulling the motor to fix the gasket, I hardly ever did that anymore..

 Best way to scare the shiite out of yourself..,
 Working on my bike in the carport, had ignition on, and points cover off. Opened the points with a screwdriver, and it backfired, probably louder than it ever did..    ..  & I was not expecting it.. Geez that was loud..

[paulages]

Best way to scare the shiite out of yourself..,
 Working on my bike in the carport, had ignition on, and points cover off. Opened the points with a screwdriver, and it backfired, probably louder than it ever did..    ..  & I was not expecting it.. Geez that was loud..

I've done that a bunch of times.. similarly, a couple weeks ago I was starting my Norton and had forgot to turn the key on for a few kicks. I turned it on, and when kicking it through lightly to find TDC (necessary part of the starting procedure on an old brit twin, especially a 10.5/1 CR Commando) it fired and kicked back HARD. This was over two weeks ago and I'm still limping. 

[dave500]

in the early eighties i drove an old j series bedford truck that had a chev 307 and t400 shoehorned into it,it did the best bang,one time we saw this girl walking her dog on the lead and it was taking a dump and my off sider says do it do it do it,so i did it and the dog took off pulling this sheila along with a half baked dump swinging away, man we laughed for two days.

[Grnrngr]

OOooooouuuch......stories like that always remind me of being in a cast and trying to kick my old TX750 twin, it backfired and slammed the lever into the bottom of my broke foot, OMFG!!    I thought I was gonna die. heh..that was in '83 and I'm still limping today.
And Trueblue is right...I should have said a closed throttle doesn't suck AS MUCH gas but it will pull some in there, but there've been a few times it wouldn't pop until I pumped the pedal a bunch. 
Great story Dave, reminds me of me and a friend scarin a chihuahua who was shaggin a poodle..that poodle took off draggin the chihuahua backwards by the nads with a really strange look on his face...thats the kind of thing that makes lifetime memories!!

[faux fiddy]

Best way to scare the shiite out of yourself..,
 Working on my bike in the carport, had ignition on, and points cover off. Opened the points with a screwdriver, and it backfired, probably louder than it ever did..    ..  & I was not expecting it.. Geez that was loud..

I've done that a bunch of times.. similarly, a couple weeks ago I was starting my Norton and had forgot to turn the key on for a few kicks. I turned it on, and when kicking it through lightly to find TDC (necessary part of the starting procedure on an old brit twin, especially a 10.5/1 CR Commando) it fired and kicked back HARD. This was over two weeks ago and I'm still limping. 

I wonder how many broken feet it took before old 40's harleys had manual spark retard swiches engineered  in?

[Kong]

Everyone including Honda keeps calling it a push pull cable ever try to push a string on a table I think they are pull pull. Just look at how they work. However you do need to get all that stuff fixed sorry about the motor.

Actually "everyone" doesn't keep calling it a push pull cable.  Harley Davidson calls the "push pull" cables the Throttle and Idle cables, respectively.

[754]

 HD always had manual spark control, before the auto-advances came out.

 One time there was a cat,  all tensed up watching a mouse-hole. Imade the 750 backfire.. the cat came up about 3 FEET, did a 180 in midair.. .. and hit the ground running..

..2nd funniest thing I saw a cat do...

[ekpent]

OK,I'll bite 754. What was the 1st funniest thing you saw a cat do---------

[q2418130103p]

HD always had manual spark control, before the auto-advances came out.

 One time there was a cat,  all tensed up watching a mouse-hole. Imade the 750 backfire.. the cat came up about 3 FEET, did a 180 in midair.. .. and hit the ground running..

..2nd funniest thing I saw a cat do...

and the first?

[754]

I was at a buddies house by the creek and this cat felt cornered and threatened. The cat decided to jump the creek but it was too wide, to make it.. it got about 10 feet across and hit the water that was about a foot deep. I swear that cat only got partly wet and never hit bottom... .. just sorta bounced of the water and hit the far bank and took off like a rocket..

[paulages]

Everyone including Honda keeps calling it a push pull cable ever try to push a string on a table I think they are pull pull. Just look at how they work. However you do need to get all that stuff fixed sorry about the motor.

Actually "everyone" doesn't keep calling it a push pull cable.  Harley Davidson calls the "push pull" cables the Throttle and Idle cables, respectively.

I call them "open" and "close" cables. makes the most sense to me.