Wanna USE your parking brake WHILE RUNNING?

Skutorr

Skutorr

Active member
It's possible. Those of us who have had (or have...) other Maxis liked the convenience of a parking brake while stopped on hills at the light, etc. It frees up your hands for other tasks than keeping the brakes on. BMW's engineers apparently figured that enough people had bikes FALL OVER while on the side stand, due to not having the brake applied, that they made it automatic.

Good Idea! And it kills your engine...

On a brand new BMW Forum in Spain, a quick and easy mod was posted. It's inserting a bridge across the plug for the stand sensor...thinks it's always up and the engine won't die when you lower the side stand to USE the brake!

Pics:
6lnt.jpgr3y3.jpglogo_bmwcmotorrad.png
 
Catbird

Catbird

New member
It sounds like a good idea until you forget and ride off with the sidestand down and it causes a spill. I understand the convenience, but you have to assume the risk. (Unless the brake prevents you from making this mistake).
 
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yellasei

yellasei

New member
that seems a dangerous mod to me as catbird has said, my mk1 tmax had no park brake and would not run with the stand down so the BMW idea to me is second nature.
 
Doraemon

Doraemon

New member
Catbird said:
It sounds like a good idea until you forget and ride off with the sidestand down and it causes a spill. I understand the convenience, but you have to assume the risk. (Unless the brake prevents you from making this mistake).
Click to expand...

there are actually a few deaths attributed to this in Thailand. I know of one older couple when I lived there that took off, when they went to turn left, it pogoed and the man died.
Granted, the helmets were barely helmets....and I am sure yours would be ECE or DOT approved, just the wring place and boom!

no thanks
 
justscootin

justscootin

Member
If I am reading the post here is the engine won't shut off (this sounds good to me) and when the stand is down the brake is applied (that sounds good to me). With this set up the bike should not fall over and you would not be able to ride off because the brake is on. I think the brake is applied mechanically. With this setup you would not have to worry about leaving the stand down and killing yourself on a left turn.
 
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Doraemon

Doraemon

New member
I don't know that I would want to mess with any safety circut. If the starter on the scoot is as good as it is in my X1, then it is made for start/stop. better to drop the stand, killing the motor and restart when ready. How big are the hills your sitting on? is this San Fran like?
 
Skutorr

Skutorr

Active member
The whole side stand engine kill thing is a pretty recent regulatory development. My 2007 Aprilia Mojito 150 had NO side stand on it, but Aprilia listed an accessory chrome stand you could order. Oh, NOT in the USA...no kill switch. BUT, the brand-new Vespas at the same Dealership where I bought the Mojito CAME with side stands...and no kill switches...

Ordered the chrome stand from an Aprilia Dealer in England, and there you go. Go figure...
 
Xian Forbes

Xian Forbes

New member
I would find it rather useful to have the bike be able to start whilst on the side stand. At my office I often have to park on a hill pointed nose up. Since I like to warm up my bike I would either have to get her off the center stand, which is not easy when parked on a sloped parking lot. Or sit on the bike holding the brake for a few min. whilst she warms up. I think that I just might do this to my bike. I've never had a bike with this type of kill feature so losing it would not make a bit of difference as I never rely on the side stand to kill my motor anyhow. Hell, my Lambretta did not even have a key or any switches whatsoever for the first six years I owned it....Always ON all the time, no battery and it was wired straight off the stator as AC current.
 
JaimeC

JaimeC

New member
"Warm up??" Just hit the button and go. No hard acceleration for the first few minutes but that's really all there is to it. These aren't the days of lean-burning carbureted engines anymore. Last bike I had that required any kind of warm up was my old 2000 Buell M2 Cyclone. Before that was my 1996 BMW R100RT. Both of those bikes had carburetors. If you tried to go too soon, the engines would just stall. That doesn't happen anymore.

Addendum: After posting this, I suddenly realized just how long its been since I had to juggle the choke during warm up and knowing exactly when it was safe to fully disengage it without stalling. Each bike had its own "starting ritual." Nostalgia makes it seem almost wistful, but I really do appreciate the ease and convenience fuel injection has brought to motorcycling.
 
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Catbird

Catbird

New member
Not that it's highly relevant to this discussion, however my 1996 BMW R1100RTL's sidestand kill switch wouldn't allow (no way, no how) the engine to run with the sidestand down. It was both safe and convenient when BMW changed this sidestand feature to permit my 2005 R1200RT's engine to run in N only. The only possible drawback was the absence of a parking brake to use while in neutral. I found it to be a nice improvement.
 
justscootin

justscootin

Member
Similar to the older K bikes if you pulled the clutch in the side stand came up automatically.
No parking brake but you could start the bike on the side stand
 
JaimeC

JaimeC

New member
justscootin said:
Similar to the older K bikes if you pulled the clutch in the side stand came up automatically.
No parking brake but you could start the bike on the side stand
Click to expand...

I miss that feature. Once they started putting catalytic converters on the bikes, there wasn't any room for that mechanism anymore so the cut out switch became the norm. And it was a far better solution than the spring-loaded "suicide stands" that BMW used to put on their airhead bikes by a country mile!!
 
Skutorr

Skutorr

Active member
JaimeC said:
"Warm up??" Just hit the button and go. No hard acceleration for the first few minutes but that's really all there is to it.
Click to expand...

I'd WAIT till the OIL warms-up, thins out a bit, and you're getting full pressure to the semi-functioning Cam Chain Tensioner...

People have LOST ENGINES because of it...on THIS Forum...
 
JaimeC

JaimeC

New member
Yeah, many years ago BMWNA came to the brilliant conclusion that we Americans were abusing the warranty by DARING to put 20K or more per year on their motorcycles. Can you IMAGINE our nerve??
 
SteveADV

SteveADV

Active member
Re: Warmup. The manual says to "...Ride away immediately after starting the engine." See page 51
 
Doraemon

Doraemon

New member
I was jsut wondering, in order to keep the safety, and had the parking brake you want (for hills); then add another cable to the parking brake line and put on a locking lever in an inconspicous place on the scooter.
you get your hill brake and retain the safety. it would be a little pricey, but at least it wouldn't be unsafe.
the other option I was thinking was a hinged wedge with thumb flip. it would drop down into the opening on a brake lever and flip up woth the thumb to release.

just a thought
 
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