bike will not start in gear if the kickstand is down, bike will not start without the clutch pulled. The kickstand and clutch switches can go bad and cause the bike to not start even with the stand up and clutch pulled. These can be bypassed.

Unless the bike doesnt KNow it is in neutral.

Or like the rest of us bypass the switches when they go bad or before.

Bypassing safeties is very seldom a good idea, regardless of the "It might fail and leave me stranded" mentality. With perhaps a couple of exceptions, all of us are human and all of us make mistakes. If the safeties are working correctly they are "transparent" in the sense that if you do what you are supposed to do you will never notice them. If you do notice them, chances are you have made some mistake.

True, it is possible for any of the safety switches to fail. True, knowing how to bypass them TEMPORARILY is a good idea. But then, when you get home, repair them and don't leave them bypassed. The old adage about safety rules being written in blood is true. Safety interlocks are generally an engineering way to keep people from making the mistakes that have gotten others hurt or killed.

OK, you old school "simple is better" guys, flame away. And don't forget to put in the part about the "nanny state rules."

The larger bikes like the 800 Intruder have the transmission switch, haven't delved deeply enough into the Savage's wiring to see if it does or not. I know there was a rash of interlock switch failures in the tech section of the Intruder forum. And it is not a switch that can be easily bypassed, rather hard to get to. If the neutral light comes on, and the other switches have been bypassed yet it still won't crank... it has an interlock that needs attention. Or a relay somewhere has failed or is failing.

The big problem with the clutch and side stand switches is their permeability. They aren't weather tight, so they corrode from the inside out. The side stand switch on mine was kaput at 2 months of riding on the Gulf Coast. Salt air + high humidity = dead switch. I autopsied mine, the little contacts inside were rotted to the base plastic.

Charon wrote on 10/10/12 at 06:36:00:


Nope.  There are two wires that go down to the sidestand, and there is a little plunger that is depressed when the sidestand is up, and that activates the switch that is located right down there in the footpeg/sidestand mount.

WD wrote on 10/10/12 at 06:15:10:

I see what you're saying,but I have to add YMMV. My Savage is a 96,which was purchased in Mobile,AL and has lived here all it's life.
So far the switches haven't failed.It had 5200 miles on it 2 years ago when I got it from the original owner and now has 22000 miles on it.
As much as I hate it,it has had to live outdoors the whole time I've owned it. I live about 10 miles from the Gulf.
Of course now that I said that,they probably will all crap out at once!