04' v11 Neutral Woes

[Guest Fly4hire]

My new 04' V11 just started giving me fits with my neutral light/side stand switch. After only 1800 miles the neutral light started becoming intermittant, then mostly off. No light and bike cuts out, fuel pump off with stand down. Works fine with stand up, but still no light.

 

Per posts here I checked the connection (purple wire) behind the starter. It was a bit lose, and I tightened it, as well as cleaned and used dielectric grease. When I wiggled the connection I did get the neutral light, but it is back off again. Suprised at how flimsy this wire is. Possibly a relay?

 

Is there any other connections or areas I should check for this circut? I have read the neutral parking thread, and it makes sense, but with this few miles it shouldn't matter.

 

Yeah, it's under warranty, but the dealer is 80 miles from here on the other side of a major metro area....If it's an easy fix I'd just assume do it myself.

[Guest ratchethack]

If it's an easy fix I'd just assume do it myself. 

57105[/snapback]

I think you're absolutely on the right track with this strategy, Fly. Can't wait for a reply on GuzziTech, eh? Just pullin' yer leg. Sounds to me like your neutral switch has the "tired contact" symptom that you're already familiar with, but there might also be another bad connection somewhere. Al has dealt with this one pretty substantially as I recall, so I'd be sure & see if you can get his take. Sorry man, that's all I got on this. Keep after it & Good luck.

[jrt]

I wonder if some of the neutral switches weren't heat treated correctly for springyness. Some of them seem just seem to get loose and various owners have talked about always parking in gear to avoid wearing it out. It shouldn't wear out; I always park my bike in neutral and it always seems to work. So, does your bike maybe have an ill-tempered tang?

[Guest Nogbad]

I have always parked my bike in neutral too, so far no problem.

[al_roethlisberger]

Yeah, who knows on that old superstition, but I can say that as soon as I started parking my bike "in gear", it stopped acting up

 

 

So maybe the "rule" should be modified to say:

 

If your neutral switch never sticks, don't worry about it and keep doing what you've always done.  If it does start to stick, try parking the bike with the bike in gear if you've been doing so in neutral, or vice versa.