Folks, I'm curious.. Is it just Ducati envy that encourages people to flick your killswitch when it's parked in and around town?

Or is it bikes in general?

For me 80% of the time I park around Carlton/Collingwood I get 'the flick', and occasionally in the city.

What's the deal?

I mean, at least they're not keying the bike, but c'mon..
To quote Pulp Fiction-- "You don't mess with another man's vehicle!"

Maybe it's a mexican thing, but it's never happened to me north of the border. Ever. I would however be gutted if I came back to my bike and new that someone else had been... touching... it.

mate, never happened to me once....

could be the fact that you have that little habib of yelling "F_ck All Y'all" when you take your helmet off....and possibly the highway speeds too 

So are they flicking the killswitch to off when you'd left it on, or the reverse? Either way it seems like a very odd thing to do.

When I used to park my bike out the back of the building at my old job, The Warehouse staff used to go over and fiddle with the switches,  move it, lean against it and have a smoke.
I would tell them to piss off and not touch it, but that seemed to only make it worse!

Final straw came when one of the Retards decided to jam a piece of cardboard in the throttle cam, jamming it wide open! luckily when the day ended I went out to the bike (I wondered why the warehouse guys were all standing around near the back door, looking as I went towards my bike) I bumped the throttle, it moved with no resistance, WTF?!? looked around the bike thinking the cable had snapped, found the piece of cardboard wedged in the cables/cam.
I looked back at them and they were all pissing themselves with laughter.

Next day I moved it to the front of the building so I could keep an eye on it.
I got payback the next day while they had there lunch break, I stole the keys to the Forklift and the WAVE (Work assist vehicle, a mini people lift) and threw them down the storm drain at the back of the building, it took them 3 days to get new keys made! they all stood around pregnant doging at each other that they lost the keys! I was never a suspect.
make the beast with two backs with me or my stuff, and will make the beast with two backs with you back, but much Worse!!

New job, I purchased a Bike cover, and even if I'm only in there for a a short shift I make sure the cover is on and locked.

So far so good, my bike get's left alone, the other guys bikes get fiddled with, sat on and played with, so far my bike has remained untouched.

But I hate it when people have no respect for other peoples stuff!!!

Scorpio alarm with peimeter sensor 

Great story CD,  my head off.
My bike has never been messed with, but then I never really park it may places either.

Seriously? nobody else is afflicted with this?

I was expecting the response yeah, i get it all the time! kill 'em all i say! but nada? wow.

Maybe I should get me a monster again.. Maybe the HM screams too loudly "make the beast with two backs the Establishment".

 probably someone you work with.either way disconnect it from the other end.honestly ive never used it.if you ever have to use it say
to crank bike over then just connect the wire again.its a bit of a redundant switch.if ever something goes wrong with engine first thing
i do is pull in clutch.then assess situation.by then ive pulled over to side of road.

Why don't people actually use their kill switches?

I use mine every time I want to shut down the engine. Then when I start up, I turn the key, switch on the kill switch, listen for the fuel pump to kick in, then crank her over.

Is there anything wrong with this?
Will Bazz chase me down the street wielding his favorite tyre iron?
Will Jukie run me down, lift her shirt and show me her scar?
Or am I fine to continue with my ingrained, well rehearsed start up procedure?

Interesting point of view YM ... I have seen people religously stop their bike with the kill switch. I only ever use it by accident.

One time it almost brought me unstuck was when I was picking Jukie's bike up after a roadworthy inspection. All was well until I tried to start it to take home ... and nothing. I was so caught up with the embarrassment of having the bike just passed and now it not starting in the workshop to think clearly. Once the mechanic had finished the inspection he used the killswitch to turn the bike off ... embarrassment had by then moved to another level but I got there in the end.

 
Hey YM


I can't see any reason not to use the kill switch every time to stop the engine.  other than you like to turn more switches than necessary or as not to forget were it is in case of an emergency

But to quote the owners manual. which can be a good read 

Warning this switch is mainly intended for use in emergency cases when you need to stop the engine quickly.

Owners Manual?  What...is this Owners Manual of which you speak?

I was told by the shop, turn key + push start button + twist throttle = Big cheesy grins all round!

Nothing wrong with your system YellowMeanie.
I swap and change between, but either way the seems to turn off and on each time.

Learners in Vic are taught a startup/shutdown system called FINE/FINK.

Startup is Fuel, Ignition, Neutral, Kill/Engine stop in Run position and reverse it to shutdown. (Notice you dont have to let go of anything to kill the engine?? And how easy it was to find neutral with the engine stopped?? Funny 'bout that! )

Anybody that has flown an aircraft knows why things are "SYSTEMATIC".

1. Nothing gets forgot!
2. In an emergency you are more likely to react with a trained response, even when yer freckle is doing the 50c-20c pucker.

Its there for a reason, and I cant understand why some manufacturers (Triumph as well  ) tell the owners not to use it.