Anyone got any specs on how to do a kick stand safety switch BYPASS mod ? I simply loathe those switches and they are destined to fail at the worst of times .
Any help would be appreciated .


Wes ..aka...PO-SLOKE

Why? It only kills the motor if it's in gear. Do you really want to be able to start you bike while it's on the stand in gear? ;)

Why? It only kills the motor if it's in gear. Do you really want to be able to start you bike while it's on the stand in gear? ;)


YES I DO . ....... One day you will get on your bike and that switch will be defective . I assure you , it will strand you one day . Every bike I ever had was bypassed , not a problem . The problem is inherent by NOT bypassing it .

YES I DO . ....... One day you will get on your bike and that switch will be defective . I assure you , it will strand you one day . Every bike I ever had was bypassed , not a problem . The problem is inherent by NOT bypassing it .

I'd take that bet in a heartbeat.

It's your bike, do with it what you will. I'll one up you and bet you that bypassing that switch will make it MUCH more likely that you will drop your bike or worse before mine leaves me stranded. :)

You know man , I wasn't looking for an arguement or debate, nor insults . Much less an attitide from someone wanting to play Jerry Springer in hopes of me dropping my bike .
I was looking for help . So if you have that to offer it would be greatly appreciated . Your pinions mean little or nothing . That's not what I asked for . Again , I askd for sane decent tech help .

Thanks , Wes


p.s. Welcome to my ingnore list

Well, it would make the chain a lot easier to lube. And, if your motor ever fails and you're stuck on the RR tracks you could use the starter to save the day!!!

:)

Lighten up Francis.

:thumb:

You could remove it altogether and unplug the black and green wire connector (up below the throttle bodies), then wrap the open end of connector with electrical tape to protect it...

I'd take that bet in a heartbeat.

It's your bike, do with it what you will. I'll one up you and bet you that bypassing that switch will make it MUCH more likely that you will drop your bike or worse before mine leaves me stranded. :)

I will bet that to one day he is going to be side tracked and start the bike let the clutch out quickly after starting it and BAM down she goes. I rely enjoy the safty features on this bike including the side stand switch.

The mod that PO-SLOKE proposes is an extremely common mod for dual sport bikes. The problem comes in because, by definition, the sidestand switch is low on the bike and subject to the influence of water ingress and subsequent degradation of important electrical bits. If you're going to do much around water with a bike, bypassing that switch is a pretty good idea IMO.

As is usual with disagreements like this, there is truth on both sides. There no question about it that the mod leaves open the possibility of accidental forward movement with the sidestand down. There are also some pretty compelling reasons to accept that increased risk depending on how someone plans to use their individual bike.

I had the switch bypassed on my KLX250S and my KLR650. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to bypass it on this bike because I havent' convinced myself if the risk of stranding outweigh the risks of accidental movement with the sidestand. At the end of the day each person has to make that choice for themselves.

:thumb:

Dragonbreath ,


In the event you stumble onto the mod specs for the side stand bypass , would you pass it no to me . I will do the same .
Here is the funny part . If you read the originating post , I simply asked if anyone had the mod specs . Period , thats it . My overall intention was to keep the mod handy onboard the bike for the day the VERY LIKELY event of failure happened , and I could get myself home .
You know how the WORLD forum is . People just simply reason things out with a quick response to helping one another accomplish a need or want to get something done . It appears that this forum has that potential but , also has a potential of becoming like a typical hash and trash forum . Degredation rather than assistance , sarcasm rather than sharing useful knowledge , and general jrunning someone down of jealousy arrises .
Hec man , I am here to be of any reasonable assistance to anyone trying to do anything that is moving forward in a positive way . I really don't have time to waste on egomaniacal arguments or provocation .
For what it is worth , I have spoken with Ralph ( the owner of this site ) regarding my intention to help keep this forum to a standard of TECH and COMMUNITY . With that said , Dragonbreath , I again appreciate your candor in also helping to maintain a community environment . It behooves me why folks aren't just willing to help and reson things out , even if it isn't their cup of tea . I mean , if a guy wants to paint his V purple and put yellow polks dots on it , who really cares ? If someone knows some painting tips but hates purple , he has done a brother good by helping someone by sharing the knowledge of what it takes to get the job done . Who cars what color it is or of the sidestand workd .
Now , on the other hand , if someone is inquiring about a mod that might be dangerous to the rider over all , I will most likely be one to chime on and try and HELP prevent injury , not start taking vindictive bets the guy is gonna bust his ass so a bunch of Sport Biker mindsets can sit and laugh and say " I told you so " .
My point here is guys , that I am positive that guys like myself and Dragonbreath I know for a fact , are willing to go out of there way to help , but give little time to harrassment or degrading other riders . I can safely say that becuase I know Dragonbreath from another forum that is kept sharp and professional and have seen his wit at work and his willingness to be a part of a positvie community .
I didn't intend on a doing a seminar on human interaction , but I really wanted to say the time spent on hashing on someone for wanting to do a mod that might not be for someone else , could be far better spent helping someone become a better and or safer rider or getting his bike dialed in so we all have a riding buddy . Dang hard finding riding buddies these days that you can count on . Theres nothing wrong with helping a guy becoming a better rider and hanging out .

All that to say , it is up to us to have tech and community here . Hell , let's spend out time doing that .

Thanks for clearing that up for me Dragonbreath , hope to ride with you midstate guys soon . I sure wish the BRP didn't have us cut off from the good riding over there .


Wes...aka...PO-SLOKE

If I may...

Po-Sloke, here you are asking a big question about bypassing a SAFETY switch on your bike. You're not asking about painting the bike purple with yellow dots. It's in the name... SAFETY switch.
With something like this, you have to know you're going to get opinions, along with an answer. Remember, this is an online open forum.

I, for one, agree with Lukejt. This isn't something that I would do, nor would I recommend it to anyone.
If you would have come right out and explained why you wanted to do this (thanks DragonBreath), and that it's common on dirt and dual sport bikes, then I'm willing to bet you wouldn't have gotten Lukejt's response and you wouldn't have been offended. Not everyone (me included) knows this.

But, when he asks why, you lash out and come back to say "I assure you , it will strand you one day." Then, "Welcome to my ignore list."
You talk about "vindictive" bets. There is nothing in his post that's vindictive against you. He says he'll bet that you drop your bike (with the switch disabled) before his switch ever goes bad. I don't think that's vindictive... after all, he's not wishing bad on you, it's just an opinion.

You talk in absolutes, but you can't be sure that it will fail for everyone... everyone takes care of/ rides their bikes differently. If you ride on bad roads in wet conditions, maybe it's a good idea. If not, it seems like this mod is effectively pointless and possibly dangerous.
All in all, to each their own. Everyone has opinions. Don't get mad.

Now... everyone... deeeeep breath... deeeeep breath
Good?
Just my 2 cents...

man , this fish is dead .

You could remove it altogether and unplug the black and green wire connector (up below the throttle bodies), then wrap the open end of connector with electrical tape to protect it...



Thanks Invader . NOW see how easy that was ?

Hellcatz ,

I am still re-reading your post and STILL see nothing regarding an anwser to the original question . POINT MADE



RESOLVED INQUIRY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For the younger folks, some of us learned to ride before lawyers got into the bike design biz. No sidestand switch, actually had to turn on the headlight, push in the choke, etc. Rider responsibility to get it right. Harley doesn't have one to this day.

Thanks for bringing up the safety switch by-pass. I don't have my Versys yet but this will be one of the first mods I intend to make. My KLR was always cutting out in wet conditions until I disabled the sidestand switch. I was ready to trade that bike in until I discovered what the problem was. I never missed it in the 14 years I had the bike.

Anybody watching the "Long Way Down" on TV? They got stranded somewhere in Africa because a rock hit the safety switch. A BMW mechanic had to instructed them via satellite phone on how to disable it.

Lawyer Switches!

When lawyers take part in design and safety features it isn't always a good thing. There have been service bulletins, updates, and recalls regarding these "safety" features. I know for a fact that there have been crashes caused by faulty sidestand switches and weak sidestand return springs. In some designs, a weak spring can allow the stand to move from the stop when traveling over rough pavement or dips and cause the engine to cut out.
The reliance on Lawyer Switches, can cause people to develop bad habits so that when they fail, or when they use a product without that particular feature, accidents can occur.

These will never be a substitute for proper education and training.

Lots of people do this with track bikes because they remove the side-stand. There are two options...

1. Easiest and least reliable - unplug the part from the side-stand and safety wire it in the closed (side-stand up) position.

2. Best and most reliable - trace the line to the plug and disconnect. Keep in mind that this may create an open circuit that will kill the engine as soon as a gear is selected. You may have to keep it plugged in, cut the wire a couple of inches past the connector and solder the two wires together.

Checkout the tech forum on the NESBA.com website. They might have the answer. If now, I'm sure the WERA or CCS site will.

PMDEAN650 ,

Those guys should have been on KLR's anyway . I am not sure what they were trying to prove carrying all that unneeded gear .
They had actually gotten dropped by KTM from sponsoring them . KTM published it was because they didn't want to be a part of a failing trip . I personally believe KTM didn't want to be a part of a trip that was attempted by a hot head and failed becuase he got hauled to jail in a foreign country for enciting a riot .
LOL


ON a second note . I find it all to typical that lawyers would prefer a high speed wreck from a stand falling down or a switch failing going down the road , rather than a low speed or no speed starting the bike with the stand up wreck . I suppose the payoff is bigger for the first one huh ?

I have every safty switch bypassed on my KLR. But I live dangerously. I run with scizzors,I go swimming right after I eat and normally tug on the cape of Superman and I pull on the mask of the Ol' long Ranger.

PO-SLOKE, Don't do it! It's dangerous!

I had a Ducati SS that had an autoretracting sidestand to prevent pull-offs with the stand down. Problem was, every time a "friend" sat on the bike, they'd almost drop it when they got off. That got replaced real quick. Sure, I rode off with the stand down on occasion, but I generally don't go from sitting still to peg scraping left turns, so no real worries there. Do what you want.

The circuit on Ducati's is open when the stand is down, and closed when up. If the Versys is the same, you'd have to connect the two wires that go to the switch. Either way, its not hard to find out. Disconnect the switch and see what happens. If it doesn't start, bridge the two wires and you're ready to go.

Of course, this only applies in a hypothetical world. I would never disarm a safety device or remove the label from my mattress. :thumb:

B-

blz2dwl ,

You had me Kornfused for a moment there . Yeah , I hate those safety switch mechanisms . Doomed if you if you , doomed if you don't . just prefer not knowing WHEN it is GOING TO FAIL . Don't reallt matter if you offroad so much , just wet seems to kill them in time .
A young kid I taught to ride this summer got talked out of bypassing his , against my better judgement . He called me wanting me to bring my trailer one evening in a pouring down rain storm . He got to stay in a motel that rainy night . 200 miles from home with his ZZR sitting on the side of the interstate in a d go through all entire start up procedure all over again while traffic was backing up on him and blowing their horns .
About got him run over several times . He finally took good advice and disarmed the things . We laugh about it now , but he will once in a while refer to those things being the most dangerous part of learning to ride . LOL .

I have to admit this has got me thinking. My Harley didn't have one of these and I'm pretty sure I'm glad it didn't.

I do NOT want to disconnect this feature, however being the pessimist that I am I WOULD like to know what to do in the event I get stranded due to this? Anyone able to put together a PDF for a roadside "get me home" fix if this feature became disabled? I have a small space next to my insurance paperwork it would fit nicely :feedback:

I'm old, these emoticons are ridiculous :devil: I'm having too much fun :forgetit: OK I'll stop ;)

pvesrsy ,

I originally started this thread with the same intention you have . As a just in case for my V . BUT , now that so much has been said regarding the thing , I persoanlly am GOING TO DISCONNECT IT now .
I was hoping someone had already done this and would have the info on hand to help me simplify the issue . There is a post or two in this thread giving decent description of what to do . But I will explain it this way . Sort of what I was hoping to avoid but racking it backwards will get you in charge o fthe situation .

Basically , by standard , start at the side stand and find the little black thingy leading up towards the enigine . Follow it up to you hit your first connector ( you may need the seat and or tank off of your bike , I have not looked yet ) . Unplug that first connector you come to . Then try to start the bike with the stand down , then try to start it with the stand up . IN NUETRAL of course . If the bike starts with the stand DOWN , you shoudl be done . If it will only start with the stand up , you have one more step to take , . You will need to jumper the two wires in the upwards portion of the connector . The lower part of that wiring harness is useless at this poing ( in most cases ) .

So , what I always have done in the past is use the lower part of the wiring for the jumper . Cut the lower part about three or more inches from it's half of the plug . Strip back the wires , slide a piece of heat shrink on there , solder the two ends together , heat shrink it and then plug it back into the upper plug . This should complete the circuit in the saem fashion as it woudl if the stand were up

Again , try all yout starting scenerios . Stand dwon , stand up , clutch in , clutch out . A few bikes will have the clutch bypass connected to this circuit also . But I seriously doubt it on the Versys . I have never seen a Kawasaki wired that way , but that is not to say Kawsaski has not done it .

I will add this . If someone gets on their bike without lifting the side stand , pulling in the clutch , putting it in nuetral and checking the lights , fuel and the likes before they hit the switch . They are to green to be on the road anyway . IMHO of course . That , or they have a brain phart as we are all capable of that . LOL

In your case , where you DO NOT want it to be done unitl needed , you can just unplug it , make a little temporary jumper and sort of practice to see what you need to do . CYZ lemme tell you . Thats is one seriously frustrating way to be stranded . Rain is you culprit to .

OK , so some will say they don't ride in the rain . Cool , they would be the first waterproof rider I ever knew , or either they NEVER ride .

Thats it man , read the entire thread closely . There are some very valid and good suggestion on how to " DO IT " or " NOT TO DO IT " . lol



Wes

I've got to say I think this is worth a weekend afternoon. I'm going to go ahead and disable this and see if I can fix it with only my onboard toolkit. I just can't imagine being out in the middle of nowhere on a ride and have this simple of an item go out and not be able to get myself home without a tow and a credit card.

It's gonna take a few weeks till I have the time, but I'll take lots of pictures and put something together if I find a roadside solution to the problem. Sure it's pessimism at it's finest and I've never had any problems with any of my motorcycles but you never know.

I'm not going to disable it permanently though. I can count several times that the bike cut out because I went to shift into first with the kickstand down so it has saved me thus far.

Sorry, I forgot all the emoticons :):(:confused::clap::mad::eek::p:huh::yeahsmile::o :D;)

pverysy ,

Maybe I do a few things a little different as a preventitive for not crashing my bike at low speed due to things like leaving the side stand down .But I make it strict habit to try to NEVER get on my bike without the very first thing I do after I set the brake is put the stand up . I just simply build in mounting habits to where it is all second nature .

Jump on with side stand down , squeeze front brake with both feet on the ground , RAISE SIDE STAND , turn on key , watch gauges , pull in cltuch with front brake still on , start engine , put in neutral , check lights , let warm up , ride off .

Pretty much in that order . If I get off the bike and let it warm up , when I get back on , I put on front brake , RAISE side stand , pull in cluch , put in gear , ride away . lol

Not trying to educate you here , just being a little silly pointing out that I hate a safety switch so badly , that I am a more reliable safety source than any electrical un-needed component that is surely destined to fail anyway . LOL

If you notice my habits , the side stand is NEVER down when the engine is running . And if it is not there , it cannot get me stranded . LOL

The V takes like 2 and a half minutes to warm up. I use that time to get my gear on.

You know man , I wasn't looking for an arguement or debate, nor insults . Much less an attitide from someone wanting to play Jerry Springer in hopes of me dropping my bike .
I was looking for help . So if you have that to offer it would be greatly appreciated . Your pinions mean little or nothing . That's not what I asked for . Again , I askd for sane decent tech help .

Thanks , Wes


pverysy ,

Maybe I do a few things a little different as a preventitive for not crashing my bike at low speed due to things like leaving the side stand down .But I make it strict habit to try to NEVER get on my bike without the very first thing I do after I set the brake is put the stand up . I just simply build in mounting habits to where it is all second nature .

Jump on with side stand down , squeeze front brake with both feet on the ground , RAISE SIDE STAND , turn on key , watch gauges , pull in cltuch with front brake still on , start engine , put in neutral , check lights , let warm up , ride off .

Pretty much in that order . If I get off the bike and let it warm up , when I get back on , I put on front brake , RAISE side stand , pull in cluch , put in gear , ride away . lol

Not trying to educate you here , just being a little silly pointing out that I hate a safety switch so badly , that I am a more reliable safety source than any electrical un-needed component that is surely destined to fail anyway . LOL

If you notice my habits , the side stand is NEVER down when the engine is running . And if it is not there , it cannot get me stranded . LOL

p.s. Welcome to my ingnore list


Well, I'd say that for someone who doesn't value other folks "pinions" you certainly are free with yours. Almost forgot, I agree that the switch should be eliminated. On my 96 ZL600, I was able to turn it around in the mount but that won't eliminate the problem for good.

Ed

Feel free to "ingnore" me too.

I think I'll chime in here.

First, to eliminate the sidestand switch you will need to jumper the two wires to the sidestand. This is from the Versys shop manual, and I have to admit that I have not checked my bike to see if the manual is correct.

So I looked in the Versys shop manual and it shows that the sidestand switch is "closed" when up and "open" when down. (In electrical speak a closed switch is on and an open switch is off.) The switch itself has both a GREEN and a BLACK wire going to the switch's plug. The bike wiring harness has both a GREEN/WHITE and a BLACK/YELLOW wire on its plug. I never recommend cutting the main harness if it can be avoided, but you could cut the sidestand switch wires from the switch and connect the two wires, GREEN and BLACK, together.

Second, I think that the desire to eliminate the sidestand switch is valid even though I have not done so on my Versys. I have, however, removed the sidestand and clutch switches from my other bike, a Suzuki DRZ400S. I did so at the strong recommendation of the ThumperTalk DRZ400 sub forum members. I had not had a failure, but many others had. A friend with another DRZ400S thought I was nuts, so he refused. His switch failed intermittantly when we were offroading, and it took a while to figure it out because the failure seemed more like fuel starvation. To finish the ride, which we almost cut short, we had to tie wrap his sidestand in the up position. A weak sidestand spring allowed the sidestand to move downward just enough on normal trail riding, not just jumps, to cause the engine to cut out for one or two seconds. His switches are now bypassed.

Well, I've always had extra zip ties to take care of a bad spring, so we're set there. Now I will have to look into whats required to "jumper" to the side stand, looks like some wire-cutters, wire and electrical tape may be all the supplies needed to ensure a roadside fix in case of an emergency failure.

Like I said, gonna check it out in a few weeks, I'll post what I find. This will be a nice addition to the toolkit.

edalfa ,


I have obliged you of your request . I never said I did not value an opinion . I value how an opinion is put . So far , I have politely stated my opinion but now will step left and tell you to move on .


Your only input to this thread which started as a simple question , is your nose being bent and trying to bend mine . Obviously due to your total ignorance of not only this topic , but any topic to better the needs of riders . SO , with that said , you are ingnored .

Oh wait , maybe you did have some good advice by requesting to be ignored .

Time will not get it's due opportunity to tell . BYE BYE . I do not have time for Jerry Springer behavior . I am here as I am in other forums . To strengthen and to help anyone I can . I do have my opinions but I am not rude nor am I a bully about it . But you Mr. Ed seem to think you are capable of both . I assure you , I stand down for neither . I will refrain from the rest of my thoughts and remain a gentleman .


Wes ... aka ...PO-SLOKE

Sounds like trolls to me. Some other forums have a couple with similiar names, "Lavaspit" for example. They make trouble on the smallest thing and you can not explain anything to them. BEWARE!

Sounds like trolls to me. Some other forums have a couple with similiar names, "Lavaspit" for example. They make trouble on the smallest thing and you can not explain anything to them. BEWARE!

Hello Mr. versys guy ,

You certainly saved me the trouble of saying exactly that .

As masty as this post has gotten, the thing that bothers me is the statement that said not having the switch makes oiling the chain easier. I'm hoping that was a joke. I assume that means you would clean and oil the chain while the bike is running? Not sure how you would do that on the kickstand since the rear wheel is still on the gound, but my son-in-law just met a guy who was missing three fingers doing just that. The rag caught and pulled his fingers thru the sprocket. No more fingers.

Hi Posloke.
I ALWAYS take that switch off. They do fail if you go through dirty water. I learned the hard way MORE than once.
Trouble is I cant remember whether I isolated the 2 wires on the Versys or wired them together. You will soon find if you did it wrong. Just cut the stand switch off.
I took the switch off to put it back if I sell the bike ever.
Ted.

posloke wires have to be together, make you a small jumper that you can use in the female side of the of the plug on the two small prones where the kick stand switch plugs into the bikes wiring harness. it a quick easy fix and when you get home you can check the switch out before cutting . ride safe

Hey bultaco, do you have a Bultaco? (sorry for the thread highjacking).

I used to own a Sherpa T 250 M49, and I restored a Sherpa T 350 M199, and partly restored a '76 Matador, and a M120 Pursang. I sold them all and bought my V and a modern trials bike.

no i only dream of owning a astro

As masty as this post has gotten, the thing that bothers me is the statement that said not having the switch makes oiling the chain easier. I'm hoping that was a joke. I assume that means you would clean and oil the chain while the bike is running? Not sure how you would do that on the kickstand since the rear wheel is still on the gound, but my son-in-law just met a guy who was missing three fingers doing just that. The rag caught and pulled his fingers thru the sprocket. No more fingers.

Stupidity is usually self-limiting. (See: Darwin). At least he won't be able to rip those particular fingers off again.

Ever stop to think that if you have an average IQ (100), half the people are stupider than you are? Scary......