Ignition switch broke - any way to hotwire this thing?

[Simon White]

Hi Phil,

I'm not sure if you mean the ignition barrel (where the key goes) or than the ignition switch on the handlebar.  If it's the one on the bar, AFAIK you should be able to bypass it and start things up without a drama.  If it's the barrel, there's a resistor inside it which I understand is specifically to prevent the bike being hotwired, so you may be out of luck.  As it was explained to me last year, the resistance feed back to the magic box under the seat, which compares it to "normal" current.  If the difference is correct, the bike will start.  If it isn't, it'll crank forever and go nowhere.

The resistor in mine had a faulty connection (= intermittent fault) last year, and it took my (Kawasaki trained) mechanic two weeks to figure out the problem.  First time he's ever seen it (lucky me!).  Apparently Kawasaki have had this setup since they introduced electronic ignition on their bikes.

Another alternative is to buy a trailer/make friends with someone who has one.  That at least leaves the towing guy out of the picture :)

Simon
'95 GPz1100
Melbourne, Australia

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Philip Hamm" <philbike20 at hotmail.com>
> To: gpzlist at micapeak.com
> Subject: Ignition switch broke - any way to hotwire this thing?
> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 16:13:46 -0400
> 
> 
> I'd like to avoid another tow to the shop.  The towing guy gives me a hard 
> time every time and I've been having lots of troubles lately.
> 
> 
> -Phil

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