Why not park in gear?

[Marclev]

Hi forum,

So during my CBT and DAS training I had it drilled into me that the proper parking procedure was to stop, put bike in neutral, then switch off with the key and put the bike on its stand.

Now that I've got my own bike, this makes very little sense to me though, and I typically just park by pulling up in first, and then flicking the side stand down to stop the engine while holding the clutch lever in (and then start her up in gear later). This way I know there's no chance of the bike rolling anywhere, either while parked or when I later mount it to take off again, and no chance of forgetting to put the side stand down leading to an embarrassing slow drop.

Question is, I'm assuming there's a reason I was tought to always park in neutral, is this a case of giving beginners a set routine to follow, or is there more to it?

Cheers,
M.

[weasley]

That's pretty much it. It is a good habit to get in because not all bikes have starter cut-outs, or the interlocks/switches fail and if you hit the starter when you have forgotten to pull the clutch in, you can find yourself in all sorts of bother (anything from embarrassing yourself in front of your mates to unintentionally chugging in front of a truck or off a cliff or through a litter of kittens).

I always park in neutral unless there is a specific reason not to (like parked on a hill, on a ferry, on a train etc).
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Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[DrDonnyBrago]

I leave it in gear when parked.

[doggone]

I've no idea why they'd advise that, the slightest nudge from anther vehicle or clumsy person and it could be off the stand and killing even more pretty kittens.
Leaving in 1st gear is like having the handbrake on - quite a good idea when parked. You are supposed to check if it's in neutral before starting.

[mauzo]

Once upon a time, I assume before bikes routinely had neutral lights or starter cutouts, my aunt started her bike in gear by mistake and it ran off down the road with her right hand. She had to write with her left hand for a year and a half and her right arm is still slightly fucked, 30-odd years later.

That said, I always park in gear, because I live in Devon, so I'm always on a hill. I also find it's easier to wheel the bike around in gear, since I can just let go of the clutch to stop it rolling. However, I don't start the bike without sitting on it with my foot on the brake unless I've checked it's actually in neutral by spinning the wheel.

[JP7]

When you're learning it's good practice to put it in neutral and leave it like that. When you start the bike they usually tell you to pull the clutch in as an extra safety measure. (In fact, my bike wont let me start it until I have pulled the clutch in.) This negates any chance of the bike lurching forward when you try to start it, and gives a learner fewer things to think about at once.

There's nothing wrong with doing it how you do it now, if it works for you then carry on.

[dydey90]

[Rogerborg]

Depends on the bike and the circumstances.

Nazi Tractor: sidestand cut out switch, gear indicator, reliable neutral sensor = pretty much impossibru to start it in gear with the clutch out. I quite often stop it by swinging the stand down, which tests that the cut-out is working if nothing else.

Enfield: has a cut out switch but it's disconnected deliberately to allow starting with the stand down, because of reasons. The kick starter only engages with the clutch out, and if I can kick it over while its in gear then I'll be astonished at my awesomeness.

GPZ500S: stopped to take a picture for a BCF bike challenge, didn't put it in gear. Picture was of a 10% gradient sign. Facing downhill. Hilarity ensured, for the passing traffic at least.

tl;dr version - it's your bike, make your own decision.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Triton Thrasher]

I park all vehicles in gear.

Once you pass your test, you don't have to listen to shit from instructers.
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Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Triton Thrasher]

Delete.
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Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[talkToTheHat]

One of my GZs had a sticky clutch, fine on a warm engine, but cold the damn thing would drag like hell. If I left it in gear for a few days it often would be stuck in gear and really difficult to push. Some mornings required rocking the bike back and forth until I could get it out of gear.

Apparently it's proper bad for bikes with weak starters (like the virago) to start in gear with the clutch when engine is cold. Fortunately saif bike is easy enough to get out of gear if i park in gear.

All of my bikes have had sidestand / neutral interlocks. The suzukis made me always pull the clutch in to start. The 535 only makes me pull the clutch in if it thinks i'm in gear. Neutral sensor is reasonably reliable but pulling clutch in habit is now formed.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Val]

Yes I can confirm there is a pretty good reason - you do not want to chase your bike in a parking lot.

I am sure that will never happen to you, but to be on the safe side wear a camera so that you can post it for us to laugh later
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Adrian Monk: Unless I'm wrong, which, you know, I'm not...
Yamaha Fazer FZS 600, MT09, XSR 900

[RhynoCZ]

The only time I don't keep it in gear, is when I park it in my garage. When I leave the motorcycle out, I keep it in gear. It makes me think the motorcycle won't move, if on a slope, or that if someone tries to steal it, it gives him another couple of seconds, or minutes to fiddle with it before he takes off.
I've got the ''GP'' gear shifter pattern, 1 up, 5 down, so a potential thief would kick it down to the 6th gear, then try to find neutral and so on. But that's not really the point. I keep it in gear because of the slope thing.

The '88 GPz 550 could start and go with the gear in and the side stand down. It made me try whether there is neutral or not. Just sit on the motorcycle, and move it forwards and back a bit, to check. It also taught me to check the side stand is up, when I ride.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Baffler186]

I've always parked up in neutral out of habit. Also, with a centre stand I don't want to bump it down and forward whilst in gear. If it's a really steep gradient then I'll put it in first, but usually I'd rather walk extra distance and park it on safe ground.

On the rare occasion that I leave it out in the open, I stick it in first and make sure the kill switch is set to off, just as a final security measure.
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Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic

[MCN]

The only reasonable reason to not leave it in gear is if the interlock fails and you start in gear. Un-likely.

I wouldn't use the interlock to stop the engine though for the same reason the stop button shouldn't be used.

There is rare possibility of damage to the switches caused by arcing and repeated use.

(If the switches have diode protection that won't be an issue.)

I park in gear if on a slope but regularly I look for level ground.

I have no evidence to suggest this but why test and fail when it is so unnecessary?
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[weasley]

[RhynoCZ]

What are you talking about, MCN?

The kill switch on the right handlebar is there, so you could keep your hands on the bars while turning the engine off, which is much safer, than turning the engine off using the key. That is also why manufacturers put the start button on the right handlebar, so you could have your hands on the bars all the time.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[MCN]

[MCN]

[doggone]

In practice it's not unusual you want to hold the front brake and clutch as you stop, there's no reason not to use it 'because it might wear out'
Provided you remember to switch it on again ...

[MCN]

[Wonko The Sane]

[RhynoCZ]

[MCN]

[Marlin]