It is good for all of our members to know the symptoms of a failed sidestand, clutch and neutral light switches - so you can bypass those switches to get home and do a proper repair.

SIDESTAND SWITCH FAILURE - The engine stops immediately when you put the bike in gear.  The switch can be bypassed by finding the connector on the left side of the bike - on the frame just above the pulley cover.  Take the connector apart and stick a jumper wire or paper clip between the two wires in the connector...then tape it up to prevent the wire from touching the frame.

CLUTCH SAFETY FAILURE - When this fails the starter won't run when you hit the button.  This can be bypassed by removing the two wires connectors at the bottom of the clutch lever pivot.  Run a jumper wire and tape it up to prevent a short.

NEUTRAL LIGHT SWITCH - If the neutral switch fails........the engine won't start if the kickstand is down - as the safety system believes the transmission is in gear all the time.  This one is a little hard to bypass as the connector is on the right side of the frame backbone, and the tank has to be removed to access it.  The neutral switch creates a ground for the starter relay to work - the wire comes out of the bottom of the engine just below the oil inspection window and it has a black covering.  The wire then goes up the frame to the backbone under the tank, and the wire is blue.  You need to either disconnect the wire under the tank and run a jumper wire to a ground - or in an emergency you can cut the wire and ground is somewhere.

I am not recommending the removal of any of the safety switches by any of the new members on this group - however I am old and go "Old School".  I started riding a very, very long time ago (about 48 years).....my first bikes were kick start and didn't have a neutral light.  I have a routine for getting on my bike and getting ready to ride - and after this long it is now a reflex.

1) Put on all my riding gear.
2) Get on the bike and grab the handlebars, level the bike, put kickstand up.
3) Turn on petcock and move choke lever if needed.
4) Rock bike a bit forward/back to confirm bike is in neutral.
5) Turn on Ignition, pull in clutch lever - kickstart or use starter button.
6) Warm bike up for about 30 seconds - turn off choke.
7) Pull in clutch, put bike in gear......ride off.
8) Let the engine warm up and use gentle throttle for a few minutes.

I like keeping things as simple as possible on my motorcycle, and the kick stand and clutch safety have been know to fail.  I really don't want to have those kind of issues when riding the Savage - so I have removed the switches on my Cafe' bike.  My bike will take off if you hit the starter button while the bike is in gear and the clutch is out - so I never start the engine if I am not seated on the bike and the clutch is in.......and being seated on the bike automatically triggers my reflex to put the kickstand up.

EDS, I prefer to use the kill switch ,always! this switch shuts the bike off,and more importantly kills power to the ignitor(cdi ) and the spark coil. While this may not seem important ,but if you forget to remove the key,power is still on and can burn up the diodes in the cdi ,a very costly mistake,and frequent use of this switch (exposed to weather) tends. to keep it in working order, if the contacts become dirty do to non use the bike will fail to start.

Some great info - thanks!!

Morm , the kill switch is to shut the bike down any time, the key is to shut the bike off . It's best to use the switch every time  ,If you use the key to shut off the motor the bike will have to be in neutral,Unless you've used the kickstand to shut the motor off(which wont stop power to the CDI)  I feel it's safer to park my bike in gear ,and you have to reach down an blindly remove the key, what if you turn it to park instead ,pull the key, and walk away?(dead battery?)What if your distracted by a riding buddy, forget to turn it off, and walk away? (fried CDI ?)I get off the bike and remove the key as I'm looking at it, this insures that I remove it in the off position ,using the kill switch insures no damage to the CDI, and the bike in gear lessens the chance that it might roll ,the kickstand fold ,and the bike fall,  if bumped or on an uneven surface . In an emergency turning off the kill switch will be an "automatic "reflex, and you'll know it's going to work.

batman wrote on 11/16/17 at 21:01:42:


This is your routine - not mine.

I use the key to shut the bike off - works every time!

buster6315 wrote on 11/17/17 at 06:37:10:


Harley kickstands are a bit scary for those of us who only ride them once in a while.  When the kickstand touches the ground.....and then the bike continues to lean over until the kickstand engages - that always causes my heart to skip a beat!

MMRanch tried to reach over and shut my Kill Switch off while we were riding down in Lynchburg........luckily he missed!

(I think it was a payback for when I tried to make it look like he had a big oil leak by dumping some used motor oil on the floor under his Sportster)

Dave ,I might use the key too, if it was sitting where my speedo use to be ,instead of under my butt cheek.