Important mod that needs doing!!
 

Its my killswitch. Its faded in the sun.

Whats the best paint to make it red again.

I bugs the hell out of my its gone pink.:mad:

I thought that I was the only one that had that problem!

Any one have an answer?

I was thinking maybe some of the wife's nail polish.

Remove it,, I did.. never use one on a street bike anyway.. or at least most don't.

It is there so a rider can kill the engine while remaining in full control of the bike....That is a good thing, just not in my 38 years of riding a needed thing on the street.
I ditched the whole right hand assembly.
I have a switch mount that replaces the clamp piece on my brake master cylinder. A single momentary on switch is used as the starter button... Clean, smaller, reduced one fail point.
You can replace the left hand assembly with new ..a great option for those bikes (all US) that don't have the flash to pass or headlight shut off switch.

(CRAP.... EDIT.. Forgot, some of you have to deal with MOT or whatever they call your state inspection... I guess if that inspection requires a kill switch you will have to maintain it... Which you can still do while removing the bulky OEM assembly and use a brake MC mount.. just get a double mount and use two switches, you will need a normally open momentary on and a normally closed momentary on switch ..I ran this set up for a few months, then dropped the kill switch all together next time I was working on that part if the bike)

Ive had the throttle stick wide open on my VTR before on the road. Im keeping my kill switch. Reaching over to turn off the key is not an option when the bike is wide open.

In 38 years I've never screwed up a set of carbs or throttle so bad it stuck wide open. I hear "stories" of such things, but never seen it, never happened, and never had it happen to anyone I know. I have NEVER used an engine cut off switch other than a off road bike that has no key.. ever.

Don't run a return cable either.. ever, on any bike.... for the same reason.. while it's possible technically to have a throttle stick "wide Open" it's also possible I'll win the Powerball lottery this week, just not likely... and the odds are better for the lottery then the stuck throttle Id bet. :)

However, your experience is different and that's good enough. :thumbsup:. So use it..but that does not keep you from having a different setup than OEM. Consider the cleaner smaller switch option I mentioned

I had a piece of rubber bounce up from the road and get stuck between the throttle plate and idle stop. I dont run a return cable either but even if I did it would not have helped.

Agreed this is an very odd thing to happen and one in a million. But I dont fancy to try for 2 in a million. Only damage was to my undies.

Thinking some rattle can red should do it I guess.

Bud we are a product of our experiences.. If yours were mine I might want that kill switch as well :o

Here is a pic of the double mount, it only has the starter switch in it now..and I have a single switch mount ready for the new build.
You can see how much room it saves, and in my opinion is cleaner... Mount comes in plan or anodized black,, but of course could be powdercoated any matching color you wanted.

Switch Mount
 

Erik,

Hope you are doing better each day.

Where did you get the switch mount and what bolt hole centers does it fit?

I was surprised you were still running the VTR OEM forks, I thought you did a front end swap.

Also, besides the F4i front calipers, which exact Brembo 18mm MC are you running if not the 19 RCS?

It got up to +4 degrees here today, and tomorrow the forecast is for a high of 16! Woo Woo!

B

The Forks are Jamie Daugherty specials from daughertymotorsports.com
I am very pleased with them,,,, if I was pushing at a track, Id opt for something else, but there is no NEED to replace these forks other than looks for even the most spirited street riding.

The switch mount comes from a company that mostly supplies folks converting dirt bikes to street legal ones.
The Company Highway Dirt Bikes Highway Dirt Bikes
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1453162412
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1453162411
The Brembo MC is a 18mm and comes from a 2012 KTM RC8.
I added a titanium bleeder and banjo bolt from ProBolt, and levers from Ride It, SS brake line is from Core Moto.. custom made in color, ends, length.

I've used these before on dirtbikes:

Controls - Ride Engineering, Inc.

James

I refuse to believe you paid $50 for a switch, James. That did not happen.

I would not be jumping at the chance to remove a safety feature like the kill switch just because its faded.

It seems to me that if every engineer at every OEM decided to put them on, and I have seen quite a few stuck throttles or bikes running after a crash with spinning rear wheels, then maybe that's reason enough.

I never had the safety on a gun prevent me from getting shot but I sure wouldn't want a gun without one.

I spent $50 on a switch back when i lived in So-Cal and the money flowed like wine...

Actually i think the only thing flowing like wine was my credit card payment...

I don't live like that anymore, but the switch did work well for me. I think i had it on a trx250r...

James

James,

You had been on the merry go round of consumption!

Once you get off there is a whole new world of satisfaction waiting for you in the form of improvisation and the knowledge that you got a result without paying through the nose so to speak.

I am 59 tomorrow and would have a larger portfolio if I had of realised this much earlier.

Back to the original post!

I intend to try some nail polish on some heavy duty plastic and if it works I will do my kill switch.

Every bike , all 43 that I have owned has had one and I hate the way mine has faded like N.Zs.

I will post the results.

EDIT...

Joe's opinion on keeping the safety device, ie the Kill Switch, is as valid as any other. I'm not looking down my nose at ANYONE that wants to keep it. I do disagree with the actual need on a street bike for most.
And I for sure can not say one of us will not need it at some point.
For me, like riding a bike vs a very safe car... I accept the additional risk of riding vs that same trip in a car. .. It is the same with the lack of kill switch. I accept the additional risk, that in my opinion is miniscule additional risk of not having it.
Some on this very list take what I consider additional risk with the gear they wear (or don't)
Some take additional risk with the MODs they choose (for instance ME, and my rear brake strut)

So I'm not saying anyone is WRONG for wanting the kill switch...just that an informed, educated decision to not have one is not a big deal based on my experience and personal opinion.

Joe... no disrespect intended or implied in my post...
Ahh, I see we have the making of an oil thread...:shock:

Guns and safeties.. Really? Ok sure, and I've never had my house catch on fire but I have three extinguishers and insurance.

Back to Motorcycles and relative conversations...:D

The OEM ads some "features" to a bike not for operation capability, not for need, but for liability. And because they know they do not control who will get there hands on the machine.. so "safety" features are added.

Safety features the OEM add ,, you mean like the side stand switch and the clutch interlock switch, and a Neutral safety switch?

All there for your Safety, and none needed for your safety..unless your not using the controls and bike as intended.. They are there to save a rider who is not in control of the bike. Do some need them? perhaps, do I? No. So I choose to remove or defeat them.

Same for the ignition kill switch..If the rider feels they need it for the day they are unable to reach the key and shut the bike off, keep the kill switch. I see no downside to it... And what great foresight that rider has..

And now back to the posters question.... . How to accomplish what THEY want, not what some insist they should want.. myself included.

Try some epoxy red paint.. or replace the switch assembly with an OEM one, or aftermarket.

I can find no industry standard on measuring the MC fulcrum distance..
Nor even a mechanical drawing that shows what Nissan or Brembo claim theirs is. (IF anyone has such a drawing, article, link, please share)

So I measured from the center of the pivot bolt (pivot axis) to the center of the bushing that holds the pin acting on the MC piston (pivot axis) and got 19mm.
I do not use the mechanical brake light switch on any of my various master cylinders as they interfere with my Apex clip ons.
So my setup may be different than yours.

The banjo bolt on the Brembo MC is 10x1.0

The attorneys are behind a lot of the safety stuff. But as you get older, forgetting to flip up the side stand, put it in neutral if not also pull in the clutch lever before hitting the starter can and does happen often enough. You'll see kid! LOL And now traction control and especially ABS and the newest MU ABS that functions in turns may be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Not having ABS is the one thing I wish my bikes had, especially the ABS that works in turns because I am getting older (65 is fast approaching) and ride in the rain and in just-above-freezing temps on farm roads and urban areas.

And I don't know if you all have ever tried it but if you flick on the kill switch the VTR will crank over but not start (a good way to get oil moving in the engine if it's been sitting a while though do it with the choke off and not touching the throttle or the gas will wash the oil off the cylinder walls). Then after 3 or 4 cranks, turn off the kill switch and start it and you'll get a wonderful "backfire" that will scare your friends and/or the neighbors, kids and pets silly! Great fun! And I've never blown the carbs off doing it.

To color the kill switch rocker, you can also try a plastic or wood stain (never seen a red wood stain though. However, weren't the rockers originally orange colored and not red? Food coloring or shoe polish?

Hmmm. What about a plastic Polish? Is it truly sun faded or is there a light haze from weathering present?

Thread Hijack
 

Erik, see attached Brembo 19 x 18 radial MC drawing.

So Brembo uses a 10mm x 1.0mm banjo bolt rather than the 10mm x 1.25mm Nissin & Tokico do, so if I do go that route I'll need a new double banjo bolt. I found the following, is it correct about needing a banjo bolt with a built-in mechanical pressure switch with all Brembo MC except the 19RCS, the key word being aftermarket in that you and many others utilize an "OEM" MC off another street bike like a KTM or Ducati? Do these come with a brake light switch built-in or with one that attaches with a small screw like the Nissin on the VTR and most other Honda's? Also, please explain the interference problem with the brake light switch, as I have similar DanMoto 3D clip-ons. And if you do not use the OEM brake light switch, what do you use specifically? Thanks.

"A pressure switch is a mechanism built into the banjo bolt that allows fluid pressure to activate your electrical system, specifically your brake lights. Aftermarket Brembo brake master cylinders do not have a microswitch except for the 19RCS. If you are installing another Brembo brake master cylinder on a street bike, you will need to ensure that the banjo bolt at the master cylinder has a pressure switch."

The Brembo MC I have came from a KTM RC8 and had a electric micro switch, much like every other street bike I have seen. That switch and the right brake lever could be used if there was room for it on the swap application.

I use banjo bolt hydraulic switches for actuating brake lights because the installed micro switch interferes with my Apex bar mounts.On the Old Hawk with Nissen axial MC I had the double banjo bolt switch installed on the MC leaving no room for the double banjo switch. So I bought a 10x1.25 single banjo bolt switch and will use it on the right caliper, and a titanium 10x1.0 double banjo bolt for the MC.

With the above typos, I had a little trouble following you. But from what I understood, you had a Nissin axial MC on the crashed VTR which had a switched double banjo bolt that did not interfere with your tank using the taller clip-ons due to where the banjo bolt protruded from the Nissin MC. Which exact Nissin MC was it and how did you like and why did you change from it?

Your "new" KTM Brembo MC, like most Brembo's, has the double banjo bolt threading up into from the bottom and whereas it has a built-in (or screwed on) brake light microswitch that you are not utilizing it (why not?), and instead will use a single switched banjo bolt down on one of the calipers (which one and why) and then will run the wire from the switch up the fork tube and presumably tie it into the OEM front brake switch pos & neg wires. Correct?

Its not going anywhere. It will just become more red.

Edited the other post have a try again.
And if it makes you feel better, what you responded with was not what I had said, so I really must have been unclear in what I wrote. Not sure why, made sense to me :eek: (not really, hence the edit..thanks)

Back to the kill switch question - rustoleum makes spray paints especially for plastics. Lightly sand the red switch to remove any haze, and shoot it red.

Erik,

I think my reply was accurate even after I reread your edited version and you did not answer all my questions, particularly my second paragraph.

Cheers.

Bud, you did fine translating that mess of a post.. I just edited to be more clear and was not sure if that would change your questions...
But it didn't, so to answer...

It interferes with the bar mount (touches) and does not let the brake MC assembly move up tight to the bar mount at the angle I want. It may not be an issue for others that want the assembly farther out on the bar, or at a much different level angle than I do.

Yes, a standard double banjo bolt (well titanium for show but standard in sizing)will be used at the MC, and I bought a single banjo bolt switch for the right caliper.. Whose leads will go up to the harness behind the fairing.

Of note, the OEM wiring for front brake switch is not hot and ground..it is just one side of the circuit. Power goes to one side of the switch which is normally open, (be it OEM mechanical or aftermarket hydraulic) when the switch is activated, and closed, the circuit completed and the brake light ...lights up.

Hope that answers your questions :thumbsup:

PS. if you can retain the mechanical brake light switch Id recommend it. less complicated, more robust. The hydraulic ones fail after a while, much sooner than an OEM style mechanical type. They either start to leak through the switch, the wires fail at the end of the switch, or the contacts inside fail. 4 ~ 5 years at most is all I get from them, sometimes less. Or like this time, only used the double for a year before I moved it to new location and needed a single in different thread for the caliper.

Thanks Erik. Yes, I had a brain fart about the brake light circuit, I knew that.

Running the wire up from the caliper also exposes it to damage from getting snagged or worn from movement which you'd never know about unless you checked regularly.

back to work.

Not the least of my concern.. but not a big deal for me at least.
Wires will be inside a long run of heat shrink tube and routed behind the fork leg, fixed to the leg with adhesive mounts. and then following the brake line.. So unless a piece of debris is large enough to damage the fork leg or rip off a brake line, no harm will come to the wire. And If the fork leg or brake line is damaged, pretty sure I'll notice. :)

Worse case, the brake light actuated by the front brake lever stops working, something I would notice at least every time I mount the bike as i check lights every time I get on.