Start in neutral only, even with sidestand down

[Chubber]

My new-to-me 1100GS will only start when in neutral with the green light on. Even with the clutch pulled in and the sidestand up.

 

My '94 RS would start in gear if the clutch was pulled in and the sidestand was up.

 

Where should I start, with the clutch switch or the side stand switch?

[harleyjohn45]

same with my 1100 rt. i really would like to let the bike idle when i close a gate instead of having to restart it each time. every time you put the kickstand down, the bike dies. i know its a safety thing, but it does get old.

[russell_bynum]

Chubber, it sounds like your clutch switch is failed. It detects with your clutch is in. If the clutch is out (or the switch is bad, so it thinks the clutch is out) then the bike will only start with the sidestand up and the bike in neutral. Replace the switch and you'll be able to start the bike with it in gear.

 

HarleyJohn, that's the normal behavior for the 1100RT, but I believe you can modify that by installing the sidestand relay from the RT-P. I'll see if I can dig up the info on how to do that.

 

Edit: Here it is....I couldn't remember if it was Eebbie or iBMWr. Turns out it was Eebie's article on iBMWr.

[Chubber]

Thanks, Ill look into the clutch switch. It is annoying as the neutral light takes forever to come on sometimes because the bike has not been ridden much. It should loosen up with more shifting, but I still want to be able to start it when I want to, not after waiting. Handy if I stall at a light or something....

[Jim Moore]

You can also simply cut the wires going to the clutch switch and wire them together. The bike will think the clutch is always in.

[Paul Mihalka]

Thanks, Ill look into the clutch switch. It is annoying as the neutral light takes forever to come on sometimes because the bike has not been ridden much. It should loosen up with more shifting, but I still want to be able to start it when I want to, not after waiting. Handy if I stall at a light or something....

The neutral light switch slowness has nothing to do with not riding a lot. It is a fairly common defect on the R1100 bikes. It will not get better, probably get worse and the neutral light will not come on at all. If that happens and you did not fix the clutch switch, it won't start at all. As said, you can cut the clutch switch harness and wire it together, but you are eliminating a safety feature. If you do it it will start even in gear and the clutch not pulled.

[Jerry Johnston]

Don't know if I totally agree with your first statement. My 96 never failed once until the bike sat for most of two seasons. When I first got the bike out the problem existed and went away after riding a few times. It never came back all last summer and I'm wondering if it'll be back the Spring when I get the bike out. I'm guessing the contacts corode from lack of use, where as some maybe get oil in the switch which won't get better.

[flars]

Has nothing to do with sitting unused. I ride a lot and the light is still lazy. Sometimes. Whenever it wants to be.

[russell_bynum]

Don't know if I totally agree with your first statement. My 96 never failed once until the bike sat for most of two seasons. When I first got the bike out the problem existed and went away after riding a few times. It never came back all last summer and I'm wondering if it'll be back the Spring when I get the bike out. I'm guessing the contacts corode from lack of use, where as some maybe get oil in the switch which won't get better.

 

You're both right.

 

The switch is prone towards failure. But...sitting for a prolonged period can make it fail for a while, then start behaving again.

 

Lisa's RS sat for several months without being ridden. When we went out on our Christmas Day ride, the gear indicator was flakey...it was slow to respond, and wouldn't indicate any gear higher than 2nd. By the time we got to the top of Palomar Mountain, it was behaving normally again.