[BerndM]

I've never tried this so I figured I'd ask

What happens if I'm cruising along at let's say 60 mph and turn off the key?
Does the bike drop into "Neutral" or does it engine brake as normal?
What happens if I decide to restart the engine while still going 50 or so?
Curious minds want to know

BTW.....

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!
ccasion9:ccasion9:ccasion9:

 

[MrWick]

I did that once in a car and it blew the mufflers apart when I turned the key back on. Don't know what would happen on a scooter but I don't think I would want to find out.

 

[Dave_J]

I have hit the kill switch at 50 MPH or so when trying to hit the 4 way flashers. The bike kind of goes in to engine brake mode but not as hard. When I re-toggled the kill switch back the engine restarted on its own. I think it would restart on its own down to 9 MPH or when the clutch kicks out.

 

[Liamjs]

Yup, that's what happens.

Turning off the ignition kills the fuel to the engine, so it just kinda coasts like you let off the Throttle. The clutch will stay engaged as usual until 10 mph or so, just like when you stop.

If you turn the ignition on before the clutch disengages, the engine fires right back up, no restart necessary. Just like a push start on a MC.

I've done it a few times when my gps got wonky and I had to cut its power in order to reboot it while riding. Doesn't seem to do any harm to the bike, but probably not a best practices thing either.

 

[Rusty J]

I keep thinking I need to build a momentary-off switch into my phone's power cord (the phone auto-wakes on power disconnect). Holding the power button -- the normal way to wake the phone -- for too long will bring up the Power Off/Airplane Mode/Silent Mode menu, which means I have to hit the Back button to clear it before I can see the GPS or streaming audio app I'm trying to fiddle with.

 

[BerndM]

Thanks guys!
I sort of guessed this is what would occur but I was surprised at the auto-restart part of it. Cool!
But it wasn't something I really wanted to try out myself.

 

[ChipDoc]

I wonder if this means you can push-start a Burgman if you get it up past 10mph? I ran low on battery in the Smokies once and made certain to not shut off the motor until I was at the apex of a downhill. But Connie was a manual-shift bike.

 

[Buffalo]

I wonder if this means you can push-start a Burgman if you get it up past 10mph? I ran low on battery in the Smokies once and made certain to not shut off the motor until I was at the apex of a downhill. But Connie was a manual-shift bike.

Nope, the clutch engagement mechanism works off the speed of the input side of the clutch. The speed of the input side is dependent on the speed of the engine. With the engine dead the input side is not turning so the clutch will not engage.

If you kill the engine with bike moving and the clutch engaged it will continue to stay engaged until the speed of the whole power train drops below the speed that allows it to disengage. At that point the engine and input side of the clutch will stop turning. That is why if you let it drop below the disengagement point it will not restart if you turn the key back on.

 

[BerndM]

So does that mean that if you happen to live at the top of a nice long hill, without ever starting the engine, you could coast downhill at any speed and the bike just stays in neutral?
Cool way to save some gas, depending of course on the length and grade of the hill.
LOL

 

[Buffalo]

Pretty much. Of course you have to get it moving in the first place. With the inherent drag in the clutch that is easier said than done. I guess if the hill is steep enough it would work reasonably well. If you have a 2013 with the newer low drag clutch it would work better.

edited to add. It's not in neutral though since it does not have one, the clutch is just disengaged.

 

[Liamjs]

So does that mean that if you happen to live at the top of a nice long hill, without ever starting the engine, you could coast downhill at any speed and the bike just stays in neutral?
Cool way to save some gas, depending of course on the length and grade of the hill.
LOL

Yup, done it many times. I live in a very hilly area. I can go to the top of my street and just coast down the hill at 30-45 mph with no power at all. I highly recommend it. It's super quiet, feels like you're soaring a bit with the view and all. Of course do it safely when no traffic is around.

 

[peelbrow]

Pretty much. Of course you have to get it moving in the first place. With the inherent drag in the clutch that is easier said than done.

You could switch it to Manual to make it easier to push. Would it still work?

 

[miken6mz]

I'm usually pushing my Lardy around with engine off, so there's no automatic or manual mode, just mild leg exercise. I never though it was all that bad (it's my first motorcycle) until my GF bought a 400

 

[peelbrow]

I'm usually pushing my Lardy around with engine off, so there's no automatic or manual mode, just mild leg exercise. I never though it was all that bad (it's my first motorcycle) until my GF bought a 400

If it was in 'auto' when you last switched it off then that's what it stays in, making it difficult to move around. However, try this -you don't need to start the engine: Turn on the ignition, switch it to 'Manual' and then switch the ignition off (and don't turn it on again or it will automatically go back to 'auto'). That's it! Note how much easier it is to move the bike.

 

[Buffalo]

You could switch it to Manual to make it easier to push. Would it still work?

Yes it would still work. As for manual or auto, on my 650 I can't tell any difference in the effort to push it around either way.

I've never understood the logic as to why there would be less effort anyway. With the engine at idle or off the CVT is going to be in it's lowest ratio in auto mode which is the same as 1 in manual mode. The drag encountered when pushing the bike around comes from the clutch not the CVT. That is why Suzuki made changes to the clutch to reduce the effort in the 2013 models not the CVT.

 

[model28a]

One thing you need to be careful of if coasting with the engine off is excessive wear on your brake pads and disk. When you have the engine on you can still blip the throttle to engage the clutch to use engine braking.

 

[miken6mz]

I do the coast thing occasionally (the first drop downhill from my house is a road so steep that Lardy can accelerate to over 45mph in less than 2 blocks). I made the mistake of "blipping the throttle" at 20mph when headed uphill (decelerating) in the following block and it felt like I was going over the handlebars.

No way that I'd ever want to engage the engine/CVT when it's at idle and I'm coasting down a mountain road at 60mph. I smell a very expensive repair. Even the most expensive brake pads are pretty cheap. So are rotors when compared with the CVT or engine.

 

[Liamjs]

I do the coast thing occasionally (the first drop downhill from my house is a road so steep that Lardy can accelerate to over 45mph in less than 2 blocks). I made the mistake of "blipping the throttle" at 20mph when headed uphill (decelerating) in the following block and it felt like I was going over the handlebars.

No way that I'd ever want to engage the engine/CVT when it's at idle and I'm coasting down a mountain road at 60mph. I smell a very expensive repair. Even the most expensive brake pads are pretty cheap. So are rotors when compared with the CVT or engine.

+1. I hadn't thought about rapid engine braking in this maneuver. I would think there's some kind of rev limiter to prevent engine damage. But not a best practices thing to be sure.

The 400 has little to no engine braking, so I often use the rear brake to simulate it in tights turns, downhill, etc. The brakes are MORE than capable of stopping either machine, no engine braking necessary. My front brakes have 37k original miles and they still have a MM or two of pad left. And I just bought a full set of pad, front and back, for less than $30. So use the brakes, just pluse them every once in a while on long downhills so they don't overheat and glaze.

 

[model28a]

I do the coast thing occasionally (the first drop downhill from my house is a road so steep that Lardy can accelerate to over 45mph in less than 2 blocks). I made the mistake of "blipping the throttle" at 20mph when headed uphill (decelerating) in the following block and it felt like I was going over the handlebars.

No way that I'd ever want to engage the engine/CVT when it's at idle and I'm coasting down a mountain road at 60mph. I smell a very expensive repair. Even the most expensive brake pads are pretty cheap. So are rotors when compared with the CVT or engine.

No way did mean to engage the engine 60mph. You need to use common sense and slow down to a reasonable speed before you engage the engine. I just ment rather than ride the brakes to excess take advantage of the engine to help maintain your speed. By all means do what works best for your riding style and skills.

 

[Colchicine]

One thing you need to be careful of if coasting with the engine off is excessive wear on your brake pads and disk. When you have the engine on you can still blip the throttle to engage the clutch to use engine braking.

I am baffled by nearly everything in this quote.
How would it be "excessive wear" when you would be putting the same amount of wear on the brake pads as a conventional motorcycle?

How does engaging the entire drivetrain, putting wear on the clutch, CVT, and engine, somehow beneficial and more economical than the cost of replacing brake pads? :scratch:

For those interesting in how the clutch works:
http://burgmanusa.com/bkb/650+Clutch+Info