[captainfish]

Hello,
I have read some of the posts regarding your impressions on the validity and safety behind the cut off switch for the sidestand. As a previous Helix owner, I liked having the engine able to run while on side or center stand. The Helix also had a parking brake. And the tranny had some give to it so I could "goose" it to warm it up faster while not engaging the tranny. I could do this off the bike. The while on the bike, I would hold the brake, while giving it the throttle to aid in its warm up.

I understand the concern of safety and liability, but at some point, we have to take responsibilty for the coffee we spill on ourselves and not blame the restaurant.

If someone other than me, my child for instance, were to touch the throttle to the extent it would engage the tranny and run away - that is my fault. My fault for allowing him near my running bike and its throttle control, and my fault for not previously engaging the parking brake.

I guess this would all be moot had there been a Neutral switch installed. Hit Neutral and "goose" away.

 

[Stormsteed]

Never mind.

 

[pauljo]

Neutral switch. Hmmm... Good candidate for a "Feedback to Suzuki" category? I'd probably use that more than manual mode....

 

[billmeek]

I wonder how hard would it be to add in a neutral? What would it cost? Would it also be adding in another probable point of mechinical failure? If Suzuki were to add it in to a future model, intergrating it into the parking brake might be an interesting idea.

 

[Randy]

You lost fellows,
Neutral is anytime the bike is standing still, do you really want to leave your engine running and walk away ? I goose the engine at warm up now without the bike moving.
I just don't see the need to complicate the bike anymore for something that has to do with standing still , I want to ride.
besides on the center stand you can roll the throttle all you want and the bike will not move (natural) and the spinning rear tire acts as a fan to cool you off :lol:

 

[Stormsteed]

Never mind.

 

[pauljo]

And the cut-off switch would still act as a safety intervention... should you sit down and pop it into "D" with the side stand down, the engine would cut off.

Exactly how my V-Strom works. Put it in gear with the sidestand down and the engine shuts off. This prevents someone from forgetting to pull up the sidestand before riding off. In neutral, it will start and run with the sidestand down.

 

[Edwljoseph]

The sidestand safety switch makes perfect sense, period. Our ikes are fuel injected and have immediate driveability.

Leave wll enough alone.

 

[Ted White]

What's with all this warming up business? All the smart engine folks on car threads - many of whom are engineers in the business - say start your engine, wait ten seconds for the oil get to where it needs to get, and drive SLOWLY off. Accelerate slowly and drive reasonably until the temp gauge reaches normal operating, then do whatever you want to do.

As for the side stand, I like it just the way it is. Any rider who has ever ridden off on a bike with the side stand down has gotten a rude and unforgettable shock when he or she turned left, and some have been crashed because of it.

If you want to let the engine run in order to "warm it up", use the centerstand.

 

[pauljo]

Yikes! This is getting worse than an oil debate...

I was thinking again....

For the folks who don't like the sidestand engine cutoff, I'll bet a bit of duct tape could fix that. The switch that gets depressed has a fair amount of spring tension, but I'll bet it could be taped or wired in the depressed position, which would let the engine run with the stand down.

Whether it is WISE to do that, requires more thought.

 

[allwalk]

Yikes! This is getting worse than an oil debate...

I was thinking again....

For the folks who don't like the sidestand engine cutoff, I'll bet a bit of duct tape could fix that. The switch that gets depressed has a fair amount of spring tension, but I'll bet it could be taped or wired in the depressed position, which would let the engine run with the stand down.

Whether it is WISE to do that, requires more thought.

An electricall tie wrap would probably work as well.....however I am not endorsing this modification.

 

[pauljo]

An electricall tie wrap would probably work as well.....however I am not endorsing this modification.

Yeah. The big downside is that you could ride off with the sidestand down. That would be worse than the minor inconveniences with the engine cutoff.

 

[dancote]

Lose the sidestand switch

For me, the sidestand interlock is as big a PITA as cars that automatically lock the doors as you drive off. I've got lots of miles on "automatic" scooters like the Helix and the Elite and never felt the need for this feature.

Regards,

Dan

 

[captainfish]

We would just like the option. Of course, then there is the ability to run the bike to keep the system charged while powering a DC device.

Or, you start your bike and forget something. Instead of shutting it down, then restarting it, this can allow us to put side stand down.

I like the idea of when parking brake engaged it also engages the neutral switch. Sit on the bike, release the brake and you are ready to go.

I like the idea behind model versions: Basic, deluxe, executive, Premier. Options could add: top-boxes, side-bags, windshields, extended warranties, MORE COLORS, heater accessories, and more.

We fully agree with all that Suzuki has done thus far in building their bikes the way they did, but some of us can see the benefits of doing some adjustments.... hence the mods. I guess a neutral switch would be good because then that would be a choice of the rider.

Note to the maker of the Burgy module maker: I understand that your module will allow the bike to run while stand is down, but could there be a way to make the tranny disengage?

 

[captainfish]

Well, it was just a thought.

I guess I could either tape/tie down the plunger switch.
And you know, you could also drive off without your helmet. Or, you could drive off and some point later the kickstand become disengaged or the plunger become engaged through rocks or debris, then your engine would stop running on the road.

But, after all, this was just a thought I had.

 

[migz123]

I would rather that Suzuki made a Nuetral / Drive switch rather than the Auto / Manual Switch that only a small %age of the Burgman population uses.

The availability of the Neutral switch will satisfy two important issues:

1) The ability to coast to a stop without that dreadful "engine braking" effect. This has been a MAJOR issue, and has prevented many riders from migrating to a Burgman.

2) Ability to have the engine running while the sidestand is down. This is not only useful to those of us who are accustomed to warming up the bike while putting on gear (without having to put the bike up on the center stand), but also for engaging the magnetic sensors on stoplights (whenever you are not picked-up by the sensor) without having your engine cut-off. This way, the safety feature of kickstand sensor can remain active.

 

[aehansen]

Although I'm happy with the bike as it is, there may be an easy fix for those who want to have the engine running with the side stand down. There is a similar plunger switch for the center stand which, according to the manual, controls CVT voltage. I couldn't find a real explation for what that means, but it probably disables the CVT pulley position motor, so that when on the center stand, even though the rear wheel may spin, it seems to be a result of a little belt friction because the wheel can be stopped even at fairly high speed. If the leads to the side stand switch were disconnected and another set run from the center stand switch, it would allow you to run the engine with the side stand down- probably best to use the parking brake also in case the CVT belt has more grip than it appears when disabled. I think a "real" neutral would require a mechanical disconnect the way the drive train is laid out, so it would probably be a little costly. Sorry to be so long winded.....

 

[pauljo]

I don't think a neutral switch would be that tough for Suzuki to do. Something makes the clutch cut out when you decellerate to 7mph. If that is an electronic computer controlled action (vs centrifugal), then I'd think they could pretty easily provide a switch to engage neutral. There are cars using CVT transmissions now - and you can bet the farm that they have neutral.

 

[aehansen]

I think the centrifugal clutch cuts out at 7 mph due to decreasing engine rpm. It still looks like a neutral would require an electro-mechanical clutch (like a car A/C compressor), maybe as a part of the centrifugal clutch, or a setting on the CVT pulley position motor to make sure the sides of the pulley were so far apart they couldn't grip the drive belt under any conditions.

 

[magyver]

Side stand switch

Well here is what I did to my wifes 650. I unbolted the switch and swung it
around so that the plunger is pushed in and bolted it back down. now the
bike thinks the side stand is always up. when she starts the bike up shejust puts on the parking brake so the bike can't move and you have a lighton the dash to remind you to take off the brake before you go. If I get a chance I will see if it would be possible to use the circut that lights the parking brake light to tell the computer that the brake is on so the side stand down is ok to run if the side stand was down but no parking brake isapplyed then it would shut of. Some enginer at Suzuki could do this real easy this would be an easy solution but my way works for us.