I just took the Basic Rider Course last month, and they taught us to use the switch and then the key.

@hearkat – yea thats what ive been doing and it seems right. today for the hell of it tried using the key first and it did/sounded exactly the same thing! but ill continue to use the switch first. thanks!!

Safest thing to do is use the “kill switch” first, followed by the key. The switch will still leave your lights on, which would be a safety feature say when you are parking your bike at night, and on some bikes, the cooling fan will continue running which will aid in cool down. Then shut down everything with the key. Getting in the habit of using the kill switch is also a good idea so you can get to it quickly in case of an emergency (accident), which is why it is strategically located by your grips (on many bikes, the key is hardly handy). See ya…...Gary aka wtf

On my motorcycle the key is by the forks so the kill switch is the only practical way to shut down.

I always use the kill switch first. Otherwise I think it’d mess up the tranny.

Never heard this before, will now start doing this, fluther is great :)

Kill switch. You don’t have to move your hand off the grip to get it. Don’t forget to switch back after you use the key. It’s embarrassing if you are riding in a group and you are the only one left trying to kick start.