Do not use the emergency shut down ever to turn your bike off (The RED button on the right side) . It is for emergencies only and is absolutely not meant to use like you did. Turning off the engine is always done by turning the key. For several reasons: and one of them is to take out the keys, since you already have the keys in your hand to lock the bike in one move. No extra switching of the emergency switch, this is only done when you are fallen on the ground together with your bike and the wheel is still spinning, and the engine is still running, only then you may use the emergency shut down, because it can not handle the power very well you are shutting down the engine with on a frequent base; Burnt connections in the cable harness, even melted electric cables, can be the result of shutting down the motor on a regular basis with the emergency switch. Even a totally burnt down motorcycle is the possible result of misusing the emergency switch; The magic word here is: Key ! Use the key to switch on the power and shut down the power/engine, and the only switch you use on a frequent basis is the start button ! Stay off the emergency switch ! Water cooled Kawasaki motorcycles demands very frequent and very precise maintenance, with the extremely carefully chosen oil, based upon facts in the Kawasaki manual which comes with the bike and the make and type of oil-grade free of preferences and opinions. Being a motorcycle professional for over 24 years now, I can guarantee you that water cooled Kawasaki engines will suddenly out of the blue seize beyond repair if not extremely precise and meticulously well maintained.
Thanks for the good info! I had read that in the manual. My school taught us to use the shutdown button to turn the motorcycles off. Their reasoning was that it was training us to know where it was all the time and to be able to use it as second nature in an emergency instead of trying to figure it out after. Since the book and what I was taught did'n't align ,I did some of my own google research (because everything I read on google is gospel). It seems that many, schools in North America teach using the red switch for this reason. Also many forums I read said the same thing, eluding to that it used to be a problem with older bikes but not an issue with newer bikes. What is an older bike? I don't know, mine is old, but is it old enough for it to be a problem? Now that you brought it up again, I'm going to absolutely reconsider how I use the switch and try and do some more research. I often see TH-cam videos where people say, "The motorcycle engineers know what they are doing when they design the motorcycles". So if the manual says not to use the switch maybe I shouldn't be using the switch. The other down side to me using the switch is, twice I have left the key in the ignition and walked away. Luckily the motorcycle wasn't stolen and I didn't leave the ignition on...like I had thought in this video. I appreciate your insight and bringing this up.
@@SpokedInTheEyeMoto Thank you for pointing out this video to me and the rest of the people here. Well, out of experience, I know that what this man states is not entirely true. I have seen bikes of which the emergency switch was used a lot and since this switch was not designed to do so, the switch could cause trouble because it was used so much by getting worn, and electric cables with voltage on them could get loose within the switch, and so they could short circuit the wiring harness, with all possible consequences. So it is the same question of: when is a bike old, or how many times can I use the emergency switch before..... You will not have to ask yourself this question when you are using your key to switch off and on the power/ engine, because the entire mechanism of the contact with the key was made to do so in the first place, and the emergency switch was not ! Now, can you use the emergency switch to switch your engine off...? Yes, you can; Occasionally if you really must ! At least as possible. Better not at all, ever... But hey, you really must do whatever you think is right. I will not gain anything after all... I am just trying to share my experiences with you... I just noticed you doing this, and I figured I should tell you what my personal experiences are, being a motorcycle professional for over 24 years. Not only that, but I notice more strange things in the USA when it comes down to motorcycling... for example: motorcyclist tend to shift up all the way to gain power and speed, but when they want to reduce speed when they are at speed, they pull the clutch and let the bike roll without shifting back every gear while being on speed and start braking with their rear brake....??? What on earth....??? That's 2 Major Fails at a Motorcycle exam here in Europe and incredible dangerous. The shift up pattern to gain speed is exactly the same pattern down every motorcyclist should use to reduce speed and stay off the brakes until you are in 2nd gear at almost stand still. Just to come to a complete stop. And when a motorcyclist uses the brakes; always use the front brake and occasionally the rear brake as well, to add to the front brake. The braking power of a Motorcycle comes for 80 % from the front brake after all it is the Most important brake a motorcycle has, after the engine is, and while braking...stay off the clutch, until you've come to a complete stop. So yeah, I do have my serious doubts about the motorcycle schooling system in the USA, since the things they're teaching you is subject by subject a reason to fail for your motorcycle driver's license here in Europe...
@@dutchyjhomeThis makes for a good discussion. I think you have given me an Idea for a future video. I appreciate all the info since I am very much new to this.
@@SpokedInTheEyeMoto As soon as you enter the world of motorcycling, you enter the world of Applied Physics and when you enter the world of Applied Physics you enter the world of Exact Science in which there is no room for opinions. It really is 100% about causes and effects; the absolute do's and the absolute dont's, based upon what absolute effect you wish to achieve, and so what absolute cause you need to apply. In fact, every cause can be mathematically calculated to which effect this will lead and so you can scientifically calculate and test in advance what the result will be. Our Motorcycle riding educational program is fully based upon this scientific reality. So the only thing to be discussed here is do you apply the correct cause to achieve the desired effect you envisioned.
At the start: You leave your keys in the ignition? I would never dare to, even though I live in a place with extremely little crime. I got my first motorcycle 1.5 years ago, at the age of 37, a Honda XL600V from 1999. Got it because of my budget, and the bike looked pristine. It had around 80000 kilometers, and a drip leak in the rear cylinder gasket. Rode it for a year before changing the gasket and it went fine. Eventually though I had a burnt out alternator, which had to be restored, a corroded battery due to the faulty alternator, and I am pretty sure my rectifier is unwell, even though my mechanic thinks it is perfectly fine (the ripple is about 4-5 times as high as any electronic device should have). Now I have let it sit for about 2 months and it will not start, so just got a starter kit to try out, and hopefully it is just the battery. However, for about a year now, it has only been able to go for half an hour before just completely shutting down.. and I have been to the mechanic a ton of times. New battery, new alternator, checked the rectifier, cleaned the carbs, cleaned the water pump, changed gasket on the water pump, on the rear cylinder, and a few other things. Still no root cause found. I hope it is the rectifier, as it sits so close to the exhaust (and then if it is, I will have it moved somewhere else). However, I can have clogged fuel lines, faulty wiring or whatever.. still like 3-4 potential causes. Now I am just sitting here not really wanting to deal with it, because every time I fix something on the bike, and it does not fix the issue, it just completely kills the joy of riding again. And I don't want to sell it, considering it has this issue. I will likely keep the bike for a long while though, and make sure I make a better choice the next time.
Yes, I left the keys in the ignition, but only because I forgot them. Even though I was sitting just inside having coffee I would never leave my keys for worry of it getting stolen. This is the second time, the first I left it for a whole 8 hours in a public parking lot, with the keys in the ignition. Once I realized at the end of the day, I could not believe my luck that the bike was still there and not stolen. That XL6000V sure is a good looking motorcycle! I looked up the price of those bikes here and it sure doesn't appear to be a budget bike. I've found them for sale around the world but none in Canada that I can see. I've been lucky with my motorcycle , but have been worried since I found out how many owners it had with only 8200Km on when I purchased it. So far it's been running well that I can tell, but the problem lies with me being so new to riding that what I think might be normal might not be. I had a friend ride the bike and check it over and he told me it appears good so I will just keep up the maintenance and hope for a bit of luck that it doesn't break down on me. Good luck with the XL600V, I hope you can get some more enjoyment out of it.
I will say this, good luck on your channel and the best of wishes for ya.my only advice is stay true to the algorithm you wanna be in( your moto content). Ididnt do this and now I had to start a second channel to put all my random off road rides and jeep trips and stuff on and keep this one for my ghost towns and stuff.love my gen 2 klr
@@SpokedInTheEyeMoto : Toronto 😔 I used to work for the BC Forest Service, but an injury forced me to change careers and start over again. Sure miss those mountains though. Btw, my bike was a Yamaha Maxim 650. That bike was very comfortable for long rides and never let me down.
@@DocNayan I had to google that MC, looks like the same one my Uncle had in the 80s in Manitoba when I would visit. It also kind of looks similar to the Honda Nighthawk i used during my motorcycle course.
@@tomfisher47 Yes indeed. The good news is my bikes side stand safety wasn’t disabled so I didn’t accidentally ride into the coffee shop. That’s when checked the manual and discovered there was a safety feature that no one told me about. Since then I’ve been reading about people disabling their side stand safety switches. I’m sure I would rather think I had a dead battery than have an accident with the side stand down. Thank goodness safeties are made of idiots like me. 😃
@@2wheelsr2wheels39 I agree. What you don’t see, are many of the long silences when I’m not talking, while trying to pay attention to what I’m doing. I think I actually say out loud, that Im going to stop talking as I was entering some corners, and then I just deleted out the corners from the video. I actually have so much video that is useless for posting but good for my own learning, due to me not talking at all as I concentrated on riding. That’s also why I don’t have any video from my learn to ride class, because I needed to learn first and not worry about anything else. This last video was a 3 hour ride where I just barely talked enough to get a few minutes to post. Thanks for the concern, I appreciate it.
@@SpokedInTheEyeMoto you’re statistically the safest rider because you’re scared of every other vehicle and turn (as you should be) Problem becomes when you get experience and begin to become complacent and arrogant
@@pavevbogovev4045 well, I guess the good news is that hopefully since I’m in my 50s I’ve got enough experience in life to keep me grounded and not take chances. And hopefully advice like yours and from others will remind me not to become complacent.
Wow, you nailed it. I'm already starting to feel that way. I'm going to be talking about that in an upcoming video. I really enjoy this KLR but when I'm on the road I keep wanting that 6th gear that it just doesn't have...and I've never been on the road on another motorcycle since I just learned, so that's saying something. Nothing wrong with this motorcycle, but I just want...something more.
Agreed. The good news is I'm so new...and old enough to have a healthy sense of caution. I'm not ready to jump too quickly into something else. I'm sure I will keep riding this 40hp MC for a time while I do some research. My buddy offered to let me try out his MT-07, I turned him down because I was too nervous to try something with more HP too soon. If I ever won the lottery or a contest where I got to ride a H2, I would probably rocket myself straight into the nearest wall.
The KLR 650 is a great first motorcycle. You could ride that thing around the world. You'd be bored to death, but you could ride it around the world.
@@13Sala13 it’s certainly a much more capable motorcycle than I am rider at this point.
Do not use the emergency shut down ever to turn your bike off (The RED button on the right side) . It is for emergencies only and is absolutely not meant to use like you did. Turning off the engine is always done by turning the key. For several reasons: and one of them is to take out the keys, since you already have the keys in your hand to lock the bike in one move. No extra switching of the emergency switch, this is only done when you are fallen on the ground together with your bike and the wheel is still spinning, and the engine is still running, only then you may use the emergency shut down, because it can not handle the power very well you are shutting down the engine with on a frequent base; Burnt connections in the cable harness, even melted electric cables, can be the result of shutting down the motor on a regular basis with the emergency switch. Even a totally burnt down motorcycle is the possible result of misusing the emergency switch; The magic word here is: Key ! Use the key to switch on the power and shut down the power/engine, and the only switch you use on a frequent basis is the start button ! Stay off the emergency switch !
Water cooled Kawasaki motorcycles demands very frequent and very precise maintenance, with the extremely carefully chosen oil, based upon facts in the Kawasaki manual which comes with the bike and the make and type of oil-grade free of preferences and opinions. Being a motorcycle professional for over 24 years now, I can guarantee you that water cooled Kawasaki engines will suddenly out of the blue seize beyond repair if not extremely precise and meticulously well maintained.
Thanks for the good info! I had read that in the manual. My school taught us to use the shutdown button to turn the motorcycles off. Their reasoning was that it was training us to know where it was all the time and to be able to use it as second nature in an emergency instead of trying to figure it out after. Since the book and what I was taught did'n't align ,I did some of my own google research (because everything I read on google is gospel). It seems that many, schools in North America teach using the red switch for this reason. Also many forums I read said the same thing, eluding to that it used to be a problem with older bikes but not an issue with newer bikes. What is an older bike? I don't know, mine is old, but is it old enough for it to be a problem? Now that you brought it up again, I'm going to absolutely reconsider how I use the switch and try and do some more research. I often see TH-cam videos where people say, "The motorcycle engineers know what they are doing when they design the motorcycles". So if the manual says not to use the switch maybe I shouldn't be using the switch. The other down side to me using the switch is, twice I have left the key in the ignition and walked away. Luckily the motorcycle wasn't stolen and I didn't leave the ignition on...like I had thought in this video. I appreciate your insight and bringing this up.
I just found this interesting video on TH-cam. Hopefully this link works. th-cam.com/video/D0S4nMx_tbA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=RambufqjP253WL35
@@SpokedInTheEyeMoto Thank you for pointing out this video to me and the rest of the people here. Well, out of experience, I know that what this man states is not entirely true. I have seen bikes of which the emergency switch was used a lot and since this switch was not designed to do so, the switch could cause trouble because it was used so much by getting worn, and electric cables with voltage on them could get loose within the switch, and so they could short circuit the wiring harness, with all possible consequences. So it is the same question of: when is a bike old, or how many times can I use the emergency switch before..... You will not have to ask yourself this question when you are using your key to switch off and on the power/ engine, because the entire mechanism of the contact with the key was made to do so in the first place, and the emergency switch was not !
Now, can you use the emergency switch to switch your engine off...? Yes, you can; Occasionally if you really must ! At least as possible. Better not at all, ever...
But hey, you really must do whatever you think is right. I will not gain anything after all... I am just trying to share my experiences with you... I just noticed you doing this, and I figured I should tell you what my personal experiences are, being a motorcycle professional for over 24 years.
Not only that, but I notice more strange things in the USA when it comes down to motorcycling... for example: motorcyclist tend to shift up all the way to gain power and speed, but when they want to reduce speed when they are at speed, they pull the clutch and let the bike roll without shifting back every gear while being on speed and start braking with their rear brake....??? What on earth....??? That's 2 Major Fails at a Motorcycle exam here in Europe and incredible dangerous.
The shift up pattern to gain speed is exactly the same pattern down every motorcyclist should use to reduce speed and stay off the brakes until you are in 2nd gear at almost stand still. Just to come to a complete stop. And when a motorcyclist uses the brakes; always use the front brake and occasionally the rear brake as well, to add to the front brake. The braking power of a Motorcycle comes for 80 % from the front brake after all it is the Most important brake a motorcycle has, after the engine is, and while braking...stay off the clutch, until you've come to a complete stop. So yeah, I do have my serious doubts about the motorcycle schooling system in the USA, since the things they're teaching you is subject by subject a reason to fail for your motorcycle driver's license here in Europe...
@@dutchyjhomeThis makes for a good discussion. I think you have given me an Idea for a future video. I appreciate all the info since I am very much new to this.
@@SpokedInTheEyeMoto As soon as you enter the world of motorcycling, you enter the world of Applied Physics and when you enter the world of Applied Physics you enter the world of Exact Science in which there is no room for opinions. It really is 100% about causes and effects; the absolute do's and the absolute dont's, based upon what absolute effect you wish to achieve, and so what absolute cause you need to apply. In fact, every cause can be mathematically calculated to which effect this will lead and so you can scientifically calculate and test in advance what the result will be. Our Motorcycle riding educational program is fully based upon this scientific reality.
So the only thing to be discussed here is do you apply the correct cause to achieve the desired effect you envisioned.
At the start: You leave your keys in the ignition? I would never dare to, even though I live in a place with extremely little crime. I got my first motorcycle 1.5 years ago, at the age of 37, a Honda XL600V from 1999. Got it because of my budget, and the bike looked pristine. It had around 80000 kilometers, and a drip leak in the rear cylinder gasket. Rode it for a year before changing the gasket and it went fine. Eventually though I had a burnt out alternator, which had to be restored, a corroded battery due to the faulty alternator, and I am pretty sure my rectifier is unwell, even though my mechanic thinks it is perfectly fine (the ripple is about 4-5 times as high as any electronic device should have). Now I have let it sit for about 2 months and it will not start, so just got a starter kit to try out, and hopefully it is just the battery. However, for about a year now, it has only been able to go for half an hour before just completely shutting down.. and I have been to the mechanic a ton of times. New battery, new alternator, checked the rectifier, cleaned the carbs, cleaned the water pump, changed gasket on the water pump, on the rear cylinder, and a few other things. Still no root cause found. I hope it is the rectifier, as it sits so close to the exhaust (and then if it is, I will have it moved somewhere else). However, I can have clogged fuel lines, faulty wiring or whatever.. still like 3-4 potential causes. Now I am just sitting here not really wanting to deal with it, because every time I fix something on the bike, and it does not fix the issue, it just completely kills the joy of riding again. And I don't want to sell it, considering it has this issue. I will likely keep the bike for a long while though, and make sure I make a better choice the next time.
Yes, I left the keys in the ignition, but only because I forgot them. Even though I was sitting just inside having coffee I would never leave my keys for worry of it getting stolen. This is the second time, the first I left it for a whole 8 hours in a public parking lot, with the keys in the ignition. Once I realized at the end of the day, I could not believe my luck that the bike was still there and not stolen. That XL6000V sure is a good looking motorcycle! I looked up the price of those bikes here and it sure doesn't appear to be a budget bike. I've found them for sale around the world but none in Canada that I can see. I've been lucky with my motorcycle , but have been worried since I found out how many owners it had with only 8200Km on when I purchased it. So far it's been running well that I can tell, but the problem lies with me being so new to riding that what I think might be normal might not be. I had a friend ride the bike and check it over and he told me it appears good so I will just keep up the maintenance and hope for a bit of luck that it doesn't break down on me. Good luck with the XL600V, I hope you can get some more enjoyment out of it.
I will say this, good luck on your channel and the best of wishes for ya.my only advice is stay true to the algorithm you wanna be in( your moto content). Ididnt do this and now I had to start a second channel to put all my random off road rides and jeep trips and stuff on and keep this one for my ghost towns and stuff.love my gen 2 klr
Thanks for the tips! And it sounds like I’m going to have to check out your channels! Sounds like content I’m interested in watching.
God I miss BC. That stretch of road from Hazelton to Prince Rupert was the most beautiful ride of my life.
@@DocNayan Where do you call home now?
@@SpokedInTheEyeMoto : Toronto 😔 I used to work for the BC Forest Service, but an injury forced me to change careers and start over again. Sure miss those mountains though. Btw, my bike was a Yamaha Maxim 650. That bike was very comfortable for long rides and never let me down.
@@DocNayan I had to google that MC, looks like the same one my Uncle had in the 80s in Manitoba when I would visit. It also kind of looks similar to the Honda Nighthawk i used during my motorcycle course.
Need to read the manual
@@tomfisher47 Yes indeed. The good news is my bikes side stand safety wasn’t disabled so I didn’t accidentally ride into the coffee shop. That’s when checked the manual and discovered there was a safety feature that no one told me about. Since then I’ve been reading about people disabling their side stand safety switches. I’m sure I would rather think I had a dead battery than have an accident with the side stand down. Thank goodness safeties are made of idiots like me. 😃
As a new rider video blogging is not a good idea. Your attention is being split as you attempt to 'progress as a rider'. Good luck.
@@2wheelsr2wheels39 I agree. What you don’t see, are many of the long silences when I’m not talking, while trying to pay attention to what I’m doing. I think I actually say out loud, that Im going to stop talking as I was entering some corners, and then I just deleted out the corners from the video. I actually have so much video that is useless for posting but good for my own learning, due to me not talking at all as I concentrated on riding. That’s also why I don’t have any video from my learn to ride class, because I needed to learn first and not worry about anything else. This last video was a 3 hour ride where I just barely talked enough to get a few minutes to post. Thanks for the concern, I appreciate it.
Skill issue
started on a k1200lt now riding a k1600 80k miles later
You are absolutely correct that it is a skill issue. I just learned to ride 4 months before this. I still have very much to learn.
@@SpokedInTheEyeMoto you’re statistically the safest rider because you’re scared of every other vehicle and turn (as you should be)
Problem becomes when you get experience and begin to become complacent and arrogant
@@pavevbogovev4045 well, I guess the good news is that hopefully since I’m in my 50s I’ve got enough experience in life to keep me grounded and not take chances. And hopefully advice like yours and from others will remind me not to become complacent.
You’ll be wanting something else real quick. Something that handles for instance. Don’t listen to Ft. Nine.
Wow, you nailed it. I'm already starting to feel that way. I'm going to be talking about that in an upcoming video. I really enjoy this KLR but when I'm on the road I keep wanting that 6th gear that it just doesn't have...and I've never been on the road on another motorcycle since I just learned, so that's saying something. Nothing wrong with this motorcycle, but I just want...something more.
@SpokedInTheEyeMoto You will always want more. Just keep it real and safe. Don't make a big jump on the street. H2's are not for everyone.
Agreed. The good news is I'm so new...and old enough to have a healthy sense of caution. I'm not ready to jump too quickly into something else. I'm sure I will keep riding this 40hp MC for a time while I do some research. My buddy offered to let me try out his MT-07, I turned him down because I was too nervous to try something with more HP too soon. If I ever won the lottery or a contest where I got to ride a H2, I would probably rocket myself straight into the nearest wall.