How to Turn Off DCT Engine

[Fuzzy]

A few posts here of someone not being able to start their DCT because it won't go in neutral when starting engine.

I did a little test on mine. If I am stopped with engine running and use the kill switch the neutral light does not come on.

If with the engine running and neutral light off and I drop the kick stand the engine will stop and the neutral light comes on.

To me this verifies that if the engine is stopped with the kill switch it stays in the gear it was at the time the kill switch was engaged. The kill switch seems to prevent gears from moving to neutral. Then if the bike is started at a later point with week battery it is stuck in gear and will not start.

Lesson is to get the bike in neutral before stopping to prevent trouble on starting.

 

[silverhound]

Good observation Fuzzy and I will convey this to the wife to avoid any "problems" in the future. She took the MSF course so she is "programmed" to shut the bike off with the kill switch. It makes sense if you think about it and perhaps it's some sort of safety feature. For instance if one hits the kill switch by mistake while riding and then quickly turned it back on again (realizing their error) you wouldn't want the bike to suddenly be in neutral at riding speed. I know I have hit the kill switch once or twice by mistake in my 30+ years of riding with an errant movement of my hand.

 

[OriginalRocket]

Silverhound. I believe you may have found the answer to why the kill switch does not switch to neutral! Safety reason. I never thought of that. I have once or twice hit the red switch while riding my DCT and then flipped it back on. This makes sense.

Japan, and the rest of the world (besides USA) use the ignition key. And the NC has a tip over sensor, that kills the engine.

 

[wozza]

I have to say you chaps in the USA seem have more problems with your DCT bikes than we do over the pond.

I've got to becareful what I say here before people start jumping down my throat - but the way some of you guys switch off your engine, I'm sure is the cause of some of the problems experienced with DCT bikes in the USA. We definitely don't seem to have the same number of issues on the UK Forum.
I'm not a mechanic and some of you guys have a far greater mechanical and electrical knowledge than me.


P's. Your Honda manual actually states the Kill Switch should only be used in an emergency. Using it may be fine on a manual bike, but perhaps not so good on a DCT.

 

[johnakay]

the kill switch is not for switching engine off in normal use.
as far as I know its for when you come off ,much easier to find then keys .
the last thing you want is your engine screaming it guts off..KILL SWITCH.
normal use ,,use the KEY and you will not have any problems.

 

[happy]

the kill switch is not for switching engine off in normal use.
as far as I know its for when you come off ,much easier to find then keys .
the last thing you want is your engine screaming it guts off..KILL SWITCH.
normal use ,,use the KEY and you will not have any problems.

Some new motorcycle instructors will say a different SOP for turning off the engine.
I can understand and also agree on your post but some new folks say to use it daily as a kill switch. For example, The light remains turned in, during night time.



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[SergeantChuck]

Some new motorcycle instructors will say a different SOP for turning off the engine.
I can understand and also agree on your post but some new folks say to use it daily as a kill switch. For example, The light remains turned in, during night time.

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Things sure have changed. When I was in the army I was required to take what they called a defensive driving course. Had to do it each time I moved to a new duty station. It isn't exactly the same as a MSF course but close. We were never taught to use the kill switch as our primary off switch. It was there in case of an accident to kill the engine or maybe the throttle gets stuck.

I wonder why the change of heart? And why it is being taught differently now? I for one will never shut my bike off with the kill switch.

 

[Mike Cash]

The only real practical benefit I can see to one over the other is that using the key you're probably a whole lot less likely to walk away from the bike with the keys in the ignition or the electrics left on, reducing the chances of theft or a dead battery....two circumstances which we are far more likely to encounter than some nebulous never-quite-defined "emergency" where we can reach the switch but not the key and somehow magically save the day by killing with the kill switch.

 

[TonySilver]

Hello,

I took the MSF course fairly recently, and I don't recall my instructors telling us to use the kill switch to turn off the bike. Still, we did use it during the course. Perhaps, they did not want us as newbies to remove hands from handlebars. This is just my guess.

Tony

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[happy]

Th...
I wonder why the change of heart? And why it is being taught differently now? I for one will never shut my bike off with the kill switch.

I said, the lights remain turned on, while engine is shut down. Maybe it was a safety procedure when parking at night or near dark.
??
Anyway, I also never used my kill switch...ever.

 

[Fuzzy]

I have used kill switch a couple times after dropping bike. It is definitely easier / quicker than the key to stop engine. Bike on side is not pumping oil through engine so best to get it shut down quick. In one case it was still in gear with rear wheel spinning again good reason to get engine stopped quickly. This is what the switch is intended for.

 

[kjang]

as a owner of a DCT, I try to turn the bike off with the KEY. I think this causes less problems overall.
If I park the bike out in the street. I will turn off the KEY. Then put down my kick stand.
I will put the RED KILL switch ON, Hand Brake ON and lock the bike up.


Ken

 

[DominusFL]

as a owner of a DCT, I try to turn the bike off with the KEY. I think this causes less problems overall.
If I park the bike out in the street. I will turn off the KEY. Then put down my kick stand.
I will put the RED KILL switch ON, Hand Brake ON and lock the bike up.

I think the biggest learning is not about using the key vs the kill switch, but insuring it is in NEUTRAL before switching it off (either way). The DCT has a unique state that the battery can be too low to switch itself back to neutral when you try to turn it on, but it has enough juice to turn on. So if you had left it in neutral, it would turn on. Some of us have learned this the hard way.

Translating this another way, it takes MORE current to 'switch to neutral' and 'turn it on', than to just 'turn it on'. So if you battery is weak, you can find yourself unable to start the bike until it is back in neutral.

 

[pahondafan]

If it's not an emergency I always put it in neutral first, then put down the stand, then turn off the key. If parking outside I then apply the parking brake.

The reason I do it in that order is so that if for some reason the bike starts to fall over while I'm reaching for the key I won't accidentally grab the grip and accelerate. All that will happen is that the engine will rev.