Installing a kickstand warning on my GL1100

[WingAdmin]

One of the things I really miss on my GL1100, is a warning that my kickstand is down. Every motorcycle I have ever owned, except for the GL1100, has a safety feature that kills the engine if you put it in gear with the kickstand still down. The GL1100...does not. I have more than a few times taken off with the kickstand down, only to be rewarded with a huge BANG and an adrenaline-inducing jolt the first time I took a left turn. I have heard of other people who have done the same thing and been thrown off the bike as a result. Last year while on a trip to Canada, I pulled off to the side of the interstate for a bio-break. When I jumped back on the bike and accelerated (hard) back into the flow of traffic, I looked down, and to my horror realized that I was travelling at 70 mph with my kickstand down. I don't need to tell you what that could have caused.

I considered putting an engine-killer in so that it would kill the ignition if the kickstand was down while in gear...but doing so would have just too many points of failure, potentially leaving me stranded somewhere should a relay, kickstand switch, or neutral switch fail. Putting in an audible alert wouldn't really work either, a lot of the time I have the radio on, and I run the chance of just not hearing it.

So I was left with a visual alert. I decided to put a very bright flashing red light in my field of view, that would flash as long as the bike ignition was on, and the kickstand was down.

For the switch, I decided I wanted to use a sealed unit, to avoid any mechanical parts that could cause failure. I used this sealed, normally closed reed switch. I also got this magnet which is matched to the switch. This switch is normally closed, but opens when in the presence of a magnet. Placing the magnet and switch in such close proximity to steel (the kickstand and mount) weakens the effect of the magnet considerably, so I had to have the two quite close, with tight tolerances.

I ground the flanges off the switch and the magnet, cleaned and sanded the spot on the kickstand I was using, sanded the switches, and epoxied them in place. Once that epoxy had set, I added some more epoxy around the perimeter of each unit, for extra adhesion and protection from foreign object damage:



I may paint the epoxy black just so that it doesn't stand out so much against the black metal.

As for the warning light, I used this blinking LED from SuperBrightLEDs. I've used them for quite a few LED projects in the past, and they are quite good quality. They also sell panel mount bezels for mounting the LEDs in panels, which I used. The LED requires 5 volts, so I used a 7805 voltage regulator to bring the bike's 12-14 volts down to the 5 volts the LED requires. Because the LED has flashing circuitry built into it, it does not require a resistor.

I installed the LED in the housing of the right speaker, and the voltage regulator inside the speaker housing, where it is protected from accidental bashing while working in the fairing. It works quite well, and it's EXTREMELY bright - there is no way I can miss it when sitting on the bike. It doesn't show up in the picture as bright as it looks shining into your eyes. Incidentally, just in case you're wondering, that's the antenna for my satellite radio that's mounted on the speaker above it.

[WingAdmin]

I had someone ask me about the circuit that I used for this, so I thought I would publish it here.

First, the parts I used:

Magnetic Reed Switch

Magnet Actuator

LM7805 Voltage Regulator

Flashing Red LED

The circuit is as follows:



Power (12 volt) comes from the motorcycle - I tapped into a wire in the fairing that was powered when the motorcycle was turned on. It runs to the IN leg of the LM7805 regulator (looking at the regulator as oriented in the picture, with the numbers on the regulator facing you, the IN leg is on the left). The middle leg of the regulator goes to ground. The rightmost OUT leg connects to the anode of the LED (the longer leg). The cathode of the LED connects to a long wire that runs all the way down to the kickstand, where it connects to one of the wires of the magnetic reed switch. The other wire of the reed switch connects to ground (any metal part of the motorcycle).

That's it! Fairly simple.

[Anon]

Do you find that the magnets pick up debris that needs to be pulled off every once in a while?

[WingAdmin]

The magnet (there is only one, and it's the one mounted on the kickstand) is actually very weak - only strong enough to trigger the magnetic reed switch. It is covered on all sides by epoxy except for the surface that mates against the reed switch - and when the kick stand is retracted, that surface is only about 1mm away from the reed switch.

So I haven't noticed any debris, iron shavings or anything at all sticking to the magnet.

I did do two modifications: I noticed some of the epoxy on the magnet starting to separate from the kickstand, so I pried it all off, brushed the kickstand with a wire brush, then re-mounted it using JB Weld instead of epoxy. Once it had cured, I spray painted the whole thing with flat black spray paint, to both make it blend in, as well as protect the area on the kick stand that I had wire brushed. It's been perfect ever since.

[actionpack]

that was a good setup on the kick stand warning lite , i like it

[thrasherg]

WingAdmin,

that's a nice circuit but seriously over kill, you could replace the 5 volt regulator with a resistor and it would have been cheaper and simpler.. R=V/I you have 12 volt, the LED requires 3mA so a resistor of 3K ohms (nearest value you will find is 2.7K or 3.3K, I would go for the 2K7), just replace the 7805 with the resistor (you won't use the gnd connection on the 7805) and you are done.

Regards Gary

[WingAdmin]

Yes, but what voltage do you use to calculate the resistor? Immediately after start, you could be as low as 10 volts. At higher RPM, you can be as high as 15 volts. Using a 15-cent 7805 regulator, you don't have to worry about it - you'll always have exactly 5 volts fed to the LED.

[thrasherg]

Wingman, the light output of an LED is pretty constant over quite a wide range of current, if your volts vary between 10 and 15 that means the current will change from 2.7mA to 3.5mA, you will not notice the change in light intensity.. Your design is sound, it just costs more and needs an extra gnd connection and you have to make sure the metal tab of your voltage regulator doesn't touch anything..

Gary

[WingAdmin]

Except for one thing: The flashing LED I used is not just an LED. It's got circuitry in it to do the flashing, which in itself limits the current.

Like I said...a 15 cent 7805 (of which I've got tons of sitting around anyway), and I don't have to worry about anything. And the tab is just ground, so if it touches anything, no big deal - there's nothing for it to touch that isn't already ground.

[Fred Camper]

Well, I put my version of a Side Stand Switch in today, following the exceptional instructions of Greg Foresi.
http://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic. ... e=CH406-ND

And epoxy it into position with a magnet added to the stand per the directions above.

But since I already had a normally closed plunger switch from a central vacuum door that I replaced last week, and I hate to throw anything out, I stuck to fabricating a “glue on” bracket and then following Greg’s build from there.

I also changed out the lamp for this one;

This one is a 12 volt neon lamp and is not very deep and just presses into place and seems plenty bright in this flash picture;

I also put in a headlight modulator after all the talk of left turn driver/motorcycle incidences lately, and put a bypass switch on it so that at night I still have a choice of low or high beam and during the day I can choose to turn the modulator off if in a group ride where it is just an annoyance. I used the modulator in the high beam circuit as I typically use high beam in daylight hours when modulating is legal. That allows me to just switch to low beam to stop modulating or leaving it in high beam and flipping the bypass switch.

Doing the side stand light and the modulator at the same time is the way to go, as much of the disassembly is the same for both features.

[DragonRider]

I used a car door pressure switch (got free from a junk car) and a standard relay and hooked mine up. When stand is down switch is closed and light is on (if key is in ignition and in run position) if stand is up switch is open and light is off.
But I do like the flashing LED, I'll look at updating mine.

[WingAdmin]

Be careful if you DO use that magnetic switch listed above, as the NC version required has contacts rated for 200mA maximum - that's more than enough for an LED, but not enough to drive an incandescent bulb directly. That's why I used an LED for my flasher. You could also have it drive a relay as long as the coil of the relay doesn't draw much - I would keep the maximum to about half the rating of the switch (so 100mA draw maximum). Or you could use a solid state relay, which, while more expensive, will never fail mechanically, and typically don't draw much current at all.

[littlebeaver]

I think it's a great idea to have a flashing light tell you your stand is down,..So the light starts flashing while the stand is down once you turn the key on, right, when you lift the stand the flashing light goes off..Cool stuff...

[eklimek]

I love the concept.

I take it from this that the rubber warning tip does not function as intended (part number 50548-356-700) to return the stand to normal positon if inadvertently left down?

[WingAdmin]

I love the concept.

I take it from this that the rubber warning tip does not function as intended (part number 50548-356-700) to return the stand to normal positon if inadvertently left down?

Sometimes. I've tried experimenting with it to see how reliably it works. If you turn slightly, it may move the kickstand back a bit, but it doesn't flip it up. At higher speeds, it just shaves rubber off the tip instead of moving the kickstand. If you make a sudden left turn at low speed, the kickstand jams and digs in before the rubber tip has a chance to flip it up. Once in a while, at certain speeds and at certain lean angles I could actually get it to flip it up. So...I'd say no, you can't depend on it.

[riddinglowcr]

thats really important. I have had a few times that i leave with my kick stand down thank god nothing major just realize that its down but this is a big helper...

[Fred Camper]

too many guys with shoulder injury, I do not need to collect personal injury data prior to fitting a reminder to my bike. I already use a starting sequence, but a light just seems wise as a sequence can be overlooked.

START=
Stand up
peTcock open
Air (choke) on
electRicity (kill switch)
igniTion on

Yet an idiot light is a much more effective indicator.

[macka]

Dummy light, Idiot light call it what you want, this light is on my to do list for my new to me 1100. Wonder why Honda never did this?

[Fred Camper]

Honda does it now, just not 30 years ago. So that is where we come in.

[WingAdmin]

If you want to see a scary picture of the result of what can happen if you forget to put your kickstand up - have a look at this picture from RoadRogue on his post: Pay more attention, or install a switch?.....

[ourgangmn]

Wow, two months ago I broke 5 ribs and my left scapula due to leaving the kickstand down on my 1100. This would have been a quicker (and cheaper) fix. Thankfully, I discovered the mistake at about 30 or 35 mph, and began coasting. Unfortunately, I couldn't lean left to avoid the curb I was heading towards, due to the pitch of the road. Somewhere at or below 20 mph I had no choice but to hit the brakes and I panicked a bit as the curb grew closer, squeezing the handle too hard, causing the front tire to wobble uncontrollably. I lost control as the kickstand scraped the ground and the bike tipped over, sliding on its side, sending all the force of the impact to my left side. The one bright spot is that the highway peg and crash bars took almost all of the damage to the bike. The paint hardly had a scratch.....Thankfully no surgery was required because the next day we flew to Brazil for the summer for a family mission trip. It was a rough trip, but I made it.

I will be installing one of these when we get back this fall.....

[WingAdmin]

I stopped on the side of an interstate on my GL1100 to get something out of the trunk. I got back on, saw a bunch of traffic a half mile behind me, and decided to hussle back onto the road to get in front of it. I dumped the clutch and revved hard and in no time flat I was back on the interstate doing 70 mph. I suddenly remembered something, looked down, and to my horror saw my sidestand still hanging down. I leaned right and kicked it up, but 70 mph with the sidestand down was heart-stopping. I decided right then and there that I needed to do something about that.

[HawkeyeGL1200]

I like the idea of an indicator light that provides "at a glance" confirmation if the sidestand is up or down. What I hated on previous motorcycles was, the "safety" switch that caused some to stall if the clutch were let out in gear and the switch was "open." I had a Virago that the spring loaded switch was "lethargic" (I thought I'd pick a not so unkind word for it today) acting. Sometimes on a cold(ish) day, I'd have to wait 5 minutes or more before the plunger would actually extend after the sidestand was "up." So, I eventually bypassed the switch...

I have ridden down the road on a few occasions with the side stand down. Fortunately for me, the worst that has ever come of it has been a horrible scraping sound... which had my attention immediately, leading to the sidestand being raised by way of a swift kick from my left heel.

I don't think I'll install the light thingy on mine, but it's great you have provided detailed information, pictures and instructions for those who would like to do a project like this. Keep the gears turning Admin... you're doing well!

[WingAdmin]

I like the idea of an indicator light that provides "at a glance" confirmation if the sidestand is up or down. What I hated on previous motorcycles was, the "safety" switch that caused some to stall if the clutch were let out in gear and the switch was "open." I had a Virago that the spring loaded switch was "lethargic" (I thought I'd pick a not so unkind word for it today) acting. Sometimes on a cold(ish) day, I'd have to wait 5 minutes or more before the plunger would actually extend after the sidestand was "up." So, I eventually bypassed the switch...

I have ridden down the road on a few occasions with the side stand down. Fortunately for me, the worst that has ever come of it has been a horrible scraping sound... which had my attention immediately, leading to the sidestand being raised by way of a swift kick from my left heel.

I don't think I'll install the light thingy on mine, but it's great you have provided detailed information, pictures and instructions for those who would like to do a project like this. Keep the gears turning Admin... you're doing well!

I didn't want to put a mechanical switch in there for the exact same reason - which is why I used a sealed reed switch actuated by a magnet instead.

[DJnRF]

I stopped on the side of an interstate on my GL1100 to get something out of the trunk. I got back on, saw a bunch of traffic a half mile behind me, and decided to hussle back onto the road to get in front of it. I dumped the clutch and revved hard and in no time flat I was back on the interstate doing 70 mph. I suddenly remembered something, looked down, and to my horror saw my sidestand still hanging down. I leaned right and kicked it up, but 70 mph with the sidestand down was heart-stopping. I decided right then and there that I needed to do something about that.

I, too, have done this. Actually, four times just since I got this GL1100i. Fortunately, for me, each time it
has happened has been when I was parked on a covered concrete slab at home, and have been taking off
out the dirt/ gravel drive of only fifteen feet to the dirt/ sand road in front. As I take off I am immediately
making a slow turn to the left. Of course, I discovered it almost instantly when the stand was 'bumped' up.
One of the four times I was along a four lane divided roadway, and was taking off into approaching traffic.
Again, I was making a slow, but slightly leaning turn to the left with a road where it was dipped slightly
down on the left side, and I was moving to merge with the traffic. It was just perfect on the road to have
the stand bumped up for me.

It's funny, but in all the years of riding just about every type of machine I have never had this happen
before this GW model. I think it has a lot to do with the way the design of the stand, engine guards,
and floorboards cause this model to sit almost straight upright when parked. Every other machine I have
owned, or ridden have always had more of a lean to them, which always was a good reminder to
raise the stand. I think that if Honda had put on 'real' crash bars instead of engine guards the stand
would allow for more left lean of the machine, and this would not be an occurrence to happen as
often. The engine guards protect the engine fairly well, but do very little to protect a leg from the
bumper of a car that strikes you broadside. (I have had this happen, and .... Thank Goodness for
Real Crash Bars! I am saving up to have a real set made for me. I could make them, but can't do
so with the proper steel, and strength needed.)