Just had a new issue develop in the last week or so. For some reason the bike will not start unless it's in neutral. Yes, I'm pulling the clutch in the the kickstand is up. How do I trouble shoot this?
The issue is almost certainly going to be either the switch at the clutch or the switch at the sidestand. in 99.9% of cases it's the sidestand switch. The switch is a standard BMW sidestand switch so you should be able to find out pretty easily which pins to jumper across to bypass it to determine where the fault lies. Google should find some results which will assist.
I'll look into it but if it is the kickstand switch wouldn't the bike shut itself off once I put it into gear?
Not 100% what you're asking. It will start in neutral but in gear it doesn't even turn over if that's what you mean. Come to think of it I couldn't get it to bump start the other day either so I'm guessing it's somehow related.
Look at the sidestand switch. If you have been riding in dirt, gravel or road grime it sometimes wedges this matter onto the switch. If it's clogged up clean it and try it again. It is s simple lever switch located under where your sidestand retracts. You will be able to see it from underneath with stand down.
It sounds like the clutch switch to me. Turtlemoye I believe you are right, if it was the side stand switch the bike would shut down when you put it in gear. Side stand kills the bike, clutch only prevents it from starting.
I had a similar issue months ago. I'm not sure what fixed it because I did several things in quick order. I disconnected the battery, pulled the kickstand switch for a quick cleaning and some dielectric grease, reconnected the switch and then the battery. Haven't had the problem since.
If the sidestand switch is failing, wouldn't the bike cut power as soon as he puts it in gear after starting? I know that when I lower my sidestand with the engine running, it dies.
Hopefully I'll get around to figuring this out tomorrow. Spent most of today installing the breather kit on my TE511.
As several mentioned it was the kickstand switch. Took it off, put a dab of dielectric grease on it and it's a good as new.
