Re: Question…Why do bikes have kill switches?

Posted by sgtslag on
URL: http://vintage-and-classic-hondas.81.s1.nabble.com/Question-Why-do-bikes-have-kill-switches-tp3643501p3643524.html

It's faster to use your thumb, with both of your hands on the grips, allowing you to maintain control of the bike.  If the clutch cable breaks, you may want to control the throttle while switching the engine off/on, on the fly...

If you hit the kill switch on the highway, then flip it back on, your bike will 'start' instantly, running like you never touched the switch...  This assumes you do not pull in the clutch.  My wife discovered this one day when she accidentally bumped the switch.  She flipped it back on in around one second.  It was a strange experience -- I was on the back, when the bike suddenly went silent, and there was a very slight lurch when she flipped it back on -- but it answered one of the great questions I always had in the back of my mind.  Now we know.