If I'm in gear on my Road King Classic and put the Jiffy Stand (side stand) down, the bike does not cut the engine off. Is this normal for Harleys?

All other bikes (Honda, BMW, Yamaha, Suzuki, etc.) will shut the engine off if the side stand is down. I had assumed that this was a standard (or required) safety feature for motorcycles. However, my RKC doesn't do that. I was wondering if this is just a Harley thing, or is the engine cut off switch for my side stand not working.

 

Nope no safety switch, usually a Harley rider has some experience so the moco doesn't worry about it too much, besides its just another thing that can break on a long ride, I lioke the KISS method of the Moco.

 

Thanks for the quick response MasterBlaster. I'm used to the side stand safety switch on my other 3 bikes, but I guess I'll just have to get used to it on my Harley. I dread the day I might forget that the RKC doesn't have that safety feature. That could get nasty (and hurt too).

 

I had one malfunction years ago and just bypassed it. I have bypassed it on my other bikes.........sometimes I want the engine running and have the stand down. Just my personalized view. Nice color........enjoy.

 

Most Harleys sold outside the US have the Jiffy Stand switch, likely due to regulations in those countries.

 

I used to try and start my Vulcan with the kickstand down. Then I would realize the stand is down and feel like a dope. But my Harley leans so far over, on Jiffy that I always realize it's down. Anyone here ever take off with Jiffy down?

 

I did this *twice* in the first few days of owning my bike (last weekend). I think the routine of starting the bike and getting moving was just different enough compared to my old bike to put me off my game...

 

Didn't try to take off but once I had the jiffy stand down and was getting off the bike and hit the start button by accident. The bike lurched forward several times but the jiffy stand held in place. It is surprising how strong the jiffy stand lock is. I would not want to test it too far but it did hold in this instance.

 

I'm not sure but I think some of the Police Package Harleys come with a sidestand cut off switch. This keeps an officers hands "free" when pulling over in case he needs to draw a weapon and engage a threat.

 

Never heard of that.....do you have some proof.....just curious. Been ridin' Harley's since the early 80's and never heard of it.