#*@% parking light

[Azoroth]

Hey guys. Second time i have done this. Stupid one click too far on the ignition switch. Left the parking light on and drained the battery. So I have a question. Is there any way to
disable the parking light from the ignition? A wire I can disconnect, cut, burn, whatever?

[bikerphil]

If you disable the wire coming from the ignition switch that controls that parking light, you will also disable the tail running light completely. It may be possible to disable it inside the switch itself but that would probably be difficult. The way I deal with the situation is to always turn far enough CCW to illuminate the light, then click slightly CW till the light goes off and then pull the key out. Works for me.

[motoman]

Way easier to turn key left ONe click..........hmmm.....what a concept....

[cywelchjr]

Being that I know how weak these ignition locks are, and how worthless they are at stopping someone from stealing the bike (takes 10 seconds and a large flat blade screwdriver and vice grip), I don't use the fork lock cause it's not even going to slow someone down who wants to steal the bike. If your that worried about it, do what I do, park it in the garage, or get one of those super cables and run it through the frame and lock it to something immovable. The ignition thing is worthless and just lets you ruin your battery, and if you don't use the fork lock, you CAN'T leave the parking light on.

(the XS400 shares the exact same ignition lock, mine was stolen TWICE by using a flat blade screwdriver (this was from the fork lock position), in both cases it took the purp less than 30 seconds to break the lock and start and steal the bike, and the second time I had a chain as well)

[BA80]

Left the parking light on and drained the battery.

Been there , done THAT!

Way easier to turn key left ONe click..........hmmm.....what a concept....

I have to turn mine all the way left and then back one click or the lock won't lock.

[CatatonicBug]

I NEVER use the fork lock, so I never get even close to the parking light. It's too much work to get the lock to engage, and not worth the effort IMO.

[DGXSER]

Honestly, I use the fork lock whenever I park somewhere I think I need to take the key with me. At home, friends house etc, I generally leave the key in it. At home it is in my garage locked up.

I think I left the parking light on once. I never have to go past the lock to the parking light to get the lock to engage, and it is no hassle to engage it, just turn the key to off, push the key down slightly, turn it 1/4 turn.

And I would be interested in how Cy plans to defeat the lock so easily, unless your talking destruction of the key switch anyway. It is about a 1/4" diameter bar of metal that slides into a hole in the frame. Now if you pry the switch away from the frame or dismantle the back of the lock perhaps. But really, if your goign to go to that level of destruction to take the bike, then the whole concept of a key is pointless. Just pop the headlight out of the bucket, pull the connector and jumper around the switch. Probably draw very little attention, looks like an owner trying to figure out whats wrong with this old bike. And no destruction of components. But the lock would thwart that effort at least a little. Then you need to pull a turn signal off, swing the headlight bucket out of the way, and pull the screws out of the back of the switch to let the spring loose.

[motoman]

I have to turn mine all the way left and then back one click or the lock won't lock.
__________________
One click Greg...........as in kill it.........pull the key and walk away, leaving helmet between bars................haven't had a scoot or helmet grow legs in 40+yrs. Even have left both in some questionable areas..........point being, that bar lock is NOT a deterant, and may as well have a helmet to go with it all............

[cywelchjr]

Honestly, I use the fork lock whenever I park somewhere I think I need to take the key with me. At home, friends house etc, I generally leave the key in it. At home it is in my garage locked up.

I think I left the parking light on once. I never have to go past the lock to the parking light to get the lock to engage, and it is no hassle to engage it, just turn the key to off, push the key down slightly, turn it 1/4 turn.

And I would be interested in how Cy plans to defeat the lock so easily, unless your talking destruction of the key switch anyway. It is about a 1/4" diameter bar of metal that slides into a hole in the frame. Now if you pry the switch away from the frame or dismantle the back of the lock perhaps. But really, if your goign to go to that level of destruction to take the bike, then the whole concept of a key is pointless. Just pop the headlight out of the bucket, pull the connector and jumper around the switch. Probably draw very little attention, looks like an owner trying to figure out whats wrong with this old bike. And no destruction of components. But the lock would thwart that effort at least a little. Then you need to pull a turn signal off, swing the headlight bucket out of the way, and pull the screws out of the back of the switch to let the spring loose.

That lock didn't even slow down the guys that wanted my bike. They just stuck a big slotted screwdriver into the key slot, grabbed it with a vice grip or something and cranked it around to on. That lock inside the ignition switch is NOT very strong and is easily defeated. After that, until I got a new ignition switch, (yes, they got it back, 3 years later when the kid tried to register it with a hand written bill of sale), I could start it with anything, including the blade of a pocket knife. 2 years later, with a new lock, in a parking lock with a security guard, someone else decided they wanted it and did exactly the same thing. This time ALL the locks that weren't broken were stripped off the bike, so they ALL got replaced with NOS parts. But it stays under lock and key, and is slowly getting restored (very slowly, I'm just now starting to think about the teardown). So this is NOT a hypothetical, I speak from experience, having had this happen to me TWICE. The first time the bike was fully tricked out, fairing, rack, back rest etc, really nice, the second time I had not done anything to fix it up from the first time beyond mechanicals and the lock. So I don't even consider the fork lock as a theft deterrent, it's just a false sense of security. Something that fastens the frame and wheels to an immovable object would be more useful. Of more use is having it where you can see it. In my case it is generally parted either right under my office window, in my garage, in front of my house during the day when we are all up, or in front of the office complex (but everybody in the complex knows my bike, including all the other riders), but I don't park it where I can't keep an eye on it, or where at least someone is keeping an eye on it.

[DGXSER]

Understand Cy, reality is any lock simply keeps honest people honest.

[crazy steve]

A guy on the other bike list I'm on half-jokingly said that Florida had lower motorcycle injury rates, not because there were fewer accidents, but because any bike left untended for more than a few minutes would be stolen by three guys with a van. The injured motorcyclist would then be put down as a 'pedestrian injury' as there was no vehicle present....

[fredintoon]

Hey guys. Second time i have done this. Stupid one click too far on the ignition switch. Left the parking light on and drained the battery. So I have a question. Is there any way to
disable the parking light from the ignition? A wire I can disconnect, cut, burn, whatever?

Hi Kade,
nah, it's the same effin' wire. The "park" switch position just powers it up again. You'd have to get inside the switch and disable the connection.
Done it twice, eh? My only time was on an overnight stop on a club run. 3 hours of writhing embarrassment riding shotgun in the sweeper truck with the bike in the back and it's battery jumpered to the truck's battery to recharge.
Never used those lock & park switch positions since.

[Azoroth]

Thanks for the help everyone. I wish there was something simple to totally disable the parking light. I might try to figure out something in the ignition. But in the meantime I guess I will just try to force a new habit on myself. Most likely try the go all the way then back idea.