Kickstand Safety Switch

My kickstand switch is intermittent and has killed the engine going down the highway.

Any experts out there with an easy fix?

Probably just dirty and gummy. Try cleaning it out with a good carb cleaner or electrical cleaner and work the button in and out. Make sure it's adjusted right. Also your side stand spring might be getting weak and the arm is flopping down when you hit a bump??

I found two ways to fix it, one way would disable it completely and one way would still throw up the warning light but not kill the engine. I did it the first way, but will go to the second when I rebuild my engine so it doesn't drip as much oil on the switch (which caused it to get gunked up and not work). I think I found both solutions on here, not sure which threads they were in.

Basically, IIRC, there are three wires going to the switch, and by grounding out two together, you by-pass it, I don't recall which ones. You DON'T CUT any wire that I remember, tho. If I get a chance, I'll either search the site or go out and look at the bike and see what I did.

-Andrew

As stated above. Just tie all three wires from the side stand together and it will act as if the stand is in the UP position.

One of the three is ground already, the other two need a ground to tell bike its good to go.

I don't advocate this as a permanent fix. That first left turn is painful if you leave the side stand down and take off.

Gary

As stated above. Just tie all three wires from the side stand together and it will act as if the stand is in the UP position.

 

One of the three is ground already, the other two need a ground to tell bike its good to go.

 

I don't advocate this as a permanent fix. That first left turn is painful if you leave the side stand down and take off.

 

Gary

Those left turns can be nasty. I would pull it clean it and lube. Make sure it is working before you put it back. Mine took about 1/2 hr of playing with it. Just working it to get lube into it and make sure it was working without sticking. Tried lubing it twice with it on the bike and it worked for a while then started acting up again.

Ok, I don't know who to credit this to, as I made a copy but didn't make a note of who did it.

This is done at your own risk.

There are 3 wires, black, green w/ white stripe, and blue w/ yellow stripe. If you splice the black and blue/yellow together, WITHOUT CUTTING ANY OF THEM, you still have the warning light on the dash if it is down, but it will not cut off the engine. All wires still need to go to the switch. It is still recommended to clean up the switch so it functions properly.

-Andrew

I found the switch contaminated by my small oil leak in the same area. I sprayed it with electrical contact cleaner, worked it a few times and it is now working normal again. This simply shows that I need to wash and de-grease the poor thing more often . . .

Thanks to everyone for the recommendations!