On/Off Switch 2020 GT.

[GTAgAu]

My ‘26 won’t start if the ignition switch is off. I turn it off everytime I park it, as per the owners manual. It always starts when I turn it back on. I view it as another layer of anti-theft which I appreciate.

 

[Einar]

To expand on what Rockatansky said, the switch does nothing while the ECM isn't trying to activate the ignition relay. It only comes into play if the switch is turned off but the ECM is commanded (via the handlebar control) to activate the relay, at which point it only prevents the ECM from doing so by interrupting that circuit. Like he said, this switch isn't used outside the US/CAN market. Also, other makes with keyless ignition in the US market don't have this switch. It's a weird Triumph quirk added for no discernable reason (U.S. regulations certainly don't require it). The only way it might help with theft is if the thief has your FOB (or a working clone of it).

 

[vsteel]

US regulations do require it or at one time they did. It was a DOT regulation that you needed to have a physical disconnect to the ignition, like the old kill switches. For whatever reason Triumph used that switch because they either didn't try and convince DOT their system was good enough or for some reason their system didn't satisfy the regulators.

I don't ever switch it off because it is like turning the bike off and then hitting the kill switch as well. I don't see it as any kind of theft device because if someone is smart enough to bypass the key, they are smart enough to switch it on. I don't know if it is still the case but there was an issue after a while those switches would wear out and that is why they had the service bulletin to stop using them. Keep in mind when they have a manual for a new bike, there is a ton of cut and paste from an old bike and people don't proof read those very well.

 

[Einar]

US regulations do require it or at one time they did. It was a DOT regulation that you needed to have a physical disconnect to the ignition, like the old kill switches. For whatever reason Triumph used that switch because they either didn't try and convince DOT their system was good enough or for some reason their system didn't satisfy the regulators.

I don't ever switch it off because it is like turning the bike off and then hitting the kill switch as well. I don't see it as any kind of theft device because if someone is smart enough to bypass the key, they are smart enough to switch it on. I don't know if it is still the case but there was an issue after a while those switches would wear out and that is why they had the service bulletin to stop using them. Keep in mind when they have a manual for a new bike, there is a ton of cut and paste from an old bike and people don't proof read those very well.

Since at least April 12, 1972, the requirements in the CFR relating to this have not changed at all. It requires only that the supplementary engine stop ("kill switch") be located on the right handlebar, and that the ignition's off position be counterclockwise from other positions. (And no requirement to have a physical disconnect.) Triumph chose to break these functions out into separate controls, when they could have been combined in a single control on the right handlebar (See the Harley-Davidson Pan America).