Interesting quirk.

On my 82 Maxim 750 when I turn the ingnition to the lock position the tail lights stay on. I would like to be able to lock the steering but don't want to drain the battery. Otherwise everything else seems fine. It starts and runs normal (except for the fine tuning that will be done to the carbs this weekend). Any ideas?

 

There are two lock positions, the first is "lock" then turning the key further put it in "park-lock" which keeps the taillight on. Common cause of unexpected dead battery especially if the label around the lock is worn away. Some kinda goofy Euro-required "safety?" feature...

 

I thought it was going to be a wiring issue. Thanks for the info :-D

 

I found that out the hard way, too. Parked the bike in the driveway and went away for two days. When I got back, the side cover was laying on the ground, and the battery was disconnected. My mother in law had spotted the taillight on, called a friend who is a mechanic/bike rider, he came over and disconnected the wire so the battery wouldn't drain out. When I got back they told me what had happened and then told me that there is a small notch before the last one. So..........welcome to the club.

dave

 

I think the Park-Lock setting was for couriers/delivery guys to use when temporarily parking on the street/curb.

Same idea as parking lights on a car - to let people see your vehicle better and know you're only there for a short time.

Herb

 

Or a hazard type light when the engine needs to be off

 

Been there done that, late one night after everyone else had left for the day.

 

I think we all have. It was late when i did it, all alone at the plant. Luckily the guy that does our trucking left his truck out there, and i was able to scrounge up some old pieces of wire to use for jumper cables and i managed to get home.

which brings up a good point: I was told to never jump your bike off, that it could fry the rectifiers. Anyone care to elaborate on that?

 

I don't know about long term effects but when I am cranking for the first time after carb off repairs or a long term storage I find the bike fires better when jumped. Jumping off a car battery gives the hottest spark and quickest crank rpm's for best compression. I have never run into any problems doing it. Just make sure you hook the bike up first as sparks that close to carbs are not a good idea. Theoretically if the bike is charged there will be no spark but who wants to gamble?

 

When I have lock engaged and the tail light on I can not remove the key. So are you leaving the key in? I can remove the key in the lock poistion.

 

mine does that too, i didn't know it was by design.

i did leave mine on once all day, (9 hour period) but i must have a decent battery, it was fine to start.

I do have a related question... is bump/push starting bad for the bike? I don't mean constantly doing it, just use in emergancies.

 

I think bump starting will not harm the bike. Its just a big pain. I like to flex my right thumb and push the start button!

 

Well that is preferred but some times one has to do what one has to do when one has to do it. Fortunately I haven't had to do it.

 

These bikes bump start easy. I had to bump start my bike 3 times in one ride. Had to replace battery. My thumb is vary happy now!

 

I can actually take the key out, like I say though the tail lights stay on when I do. Unfortunately unlike my car they don't have a timer to shut them off.

 

These bikes have a feature that shuts the lights off right after the battery dies.

 

If you have to jump your bike off a car, it's best to do it with the car not running.

 

I got one better I can lock the bike Maxim x 750 TAKE THE KEY OUT AND IT'LL STILL RUN. When I shut off the bike kill switch the lights stay on??

 

Now that's funny :lol:

 

Ducez wild- - - Welcome!! , and it sounds like you need to clean out or work on that ignition switch. They can be taken apart.

It's easier to push the bike in Neutral, then clutch, second gear, pop the clutch. Rather than select second or third, push dragging clutch, pop the clutch. Clutch drag sucks the energy right out of you. Find a hill.

 

Yes, you can take it out when you go one click past lock. Been there, done that. With practice you'll get the feel for stopping at lock.

Deucez, I had a car that I could take the key out of once I started it. It was handy if I needed to run into the store.

mikeg

 

I realy don't mind it the way it is accept that the previous owner made a little modification to shut all power down and everything seems ok. I just don't want something going wrong with the wiring or battery because of it. But Mikeg I can take the key out while in the off position, and the bike will run there is a shut off switch that works si I will start with the ignition switch. Thanks TIMEtoRIDE for a starting point, I checked all of my wiring but so far so problems.