Bike dies when put in gear

I had this problem on top of Mt Evans and I may have posted before about it. I too replaced the ss switch only to have the problem recur again. Here is how I permanently fixed mine. Note that this repair leaves you without a "safety" if you put the bike in gear with the sidestand down. IMHO if you do that maybe you shouldnt be riding a motorcycle!

Remove the 8mm bolt holding the switch on. There is a tang on the switch that fits into the hole of the ss. Very thin material. Break the tang off. Now move the part that moves all the way in either direction. Bolt the switch back in place. Try it doesnt start? Move the thing the tang was part of a little bit. Bolt it up again and try to start. Repeat until it starts. The 8mm bot will hold the part the tang moved in place. Mine not only would die shifting into first, it would die while riding along like on the freeway going 80 in bumper to bumper traffic!

Right... I even sent him a direct email, but no reply yet... it is nearly 3 year old. Just hate to have to take it into the shop via tow.

I feel like this would only be a solution if the issue was the side stand switch, which could also be resolved with a bypass of the switch. I tried that, and replaced the switch altogether... no luck yet.

Good point, I didn't consider that. I'll check that tonight.

Trump said:

IMHO if you do that maybe you shouldnt be riding a motorcycle!

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All well and good but many an accomplished rider (maybe even maybe some here) have made an occasional mistake. That happens with non-perfect humans.

Me I feel that if it came with the bike it should be kept in working order. I'd only bypass some system/part if it proved to be such a poor design or implementation and wasteful expense. Because 'I don't need it' wouldn't be enough for a permanent solution.

ST Gui said:

All well and good but many an accomplished rider (maybe even maybe some here) have made an occasional mistake. That happens with non-perfect humans.

Me I feel that if it came with the bike it should be kept in working order. I'd only bypass some system/part if it proved to be such a poor design or implementation and wasteful expense. Because 'I don't need it' wouldn't be enough for a permanent solution.

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I'm old enough to have started motorcycling before the advent of the sidestand switch. Back in the day, Honda's next best idea was to put a rubber foot sticking out of the sidestand, in the hope that that would hit the ground first and flick the stand up, if you forgot to retract it. I disproved that in a quick right/left flick, shortly after setting off; this resulted in a low-side crash. I still double-check that I have retracted the stand to this day (a mere 36 years later...).

Safety interlocks like the ss switch are a Good Thing to have, but in the process of diagnosing a fault, I would happily bypass on my own bike it temporarily.

If the sidestand switch is not a problem (i.e. it gives continuity when retracted) then the wires connecting it to the rest of the bike electrical system should be investigated.

TerryS said:

I'm old enough to have started motorcycling before the advent of the sidestand switch. Back in the day, Honda's next best idea was to put a rubber foot sticking out of the side stand...

Safety interlocks like the ss switch are a Good Thing to have, but in the process of diagnosing a fault, I would happily bypass on my own bike it temporarily.

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Yes I remember that foot. I'm sure it worked under some circumstances. But even seat belts don't always save lives.

Agreed on bypassing the interlock for diagnosing and even to get back home.

ST Gui said:

Agreed on bypassing the interlock for diagnosing and even to get back home.

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And another thing with having that switch disabled, isn't that switch a part of diagnostic for the FI light blinking and such? I remember something about that anyways. Also, I wouldn't permanently disable a safety switch on any device or piece of machinery, Those are there mostly to protect me from myself.