Not sure about yours but on my 07 firebolt you don't need to use the clutch. Also what's a kill switch? I sure wouldn't want one of those. I'll stick to my Engine Shutoff switch.
So... I've had my 07 XB12Stt for a few months. Rewind to day one: I go to start the bike for the first time, turn the key to ON, check the transmission is in neutral, flip the kill switch to run, wait for the engine light to clear, and then with much anticipation, hit the start switch... Nothing.
Took me a minute to think of pulling the clutch, but that was the trick.
Well, fast forward to last night, I was reading through the owners manual (which I just obtained), and lo and behold, It says you don't have to pull the clutch to start the bike in neutral. So I go out this morning thinking I must have been mistaken two months ago... But nope!
What gives? Is the manual wrong? Or is something wrong on the bike?
Not sure about yours but on my 07 firebolt you don't need to use the clutch. Also what's a kill switch? I sure wouldn't want one of those. I'll stick to my Engine Shutoff switch.
Nothing is wrong with your bike. More then likely you are getting a false neutral. There are times when I have to rock my bike... It's just the nature of the beast.
I'll giv math at a shot tomorrow and see...
what was described above. your neutral switch(behind the front belt pulley) might be on the way out. test it as follows and if it's questionable replace it: bike off....level ground....you on bike....engage first gear....gently rock bike...now engage neutral and foot off shift lever....key on....run switch to on...CEL cycles thru....neutral indicator light on. now very gently touch shift lever with toe in light up and down motion but NOT engaging another gear. does the neutral light consistently flicker? if so switch is faulty.
Lunatic, I'll give that a shot tomorrow. No luck today on getting the bike to start after rocking it back and forth in N. I haven't noticed any particular issues with either finding neutral or the light staying on though. I always shut it down in N and it he light comes back on that way the next day when I turn the key to on.
yeah and that neutral switch was cheap from what I remember, I had to buy one a few years back.. I think it was like 15 bucks.
Lunatic's test resulted in a solid neutral light with no flickering... Any other thoughts before I drop $15 on R^2ing a potentially good switch?
In the meantime, I can still use the clutch to ground the starter... But that's puting a damper on my normal routine.
I never did get around to replacing my neutral switch. That's a good thing since I would have wasted $15 on a new switch. I was looking over all my fuses for a different reason when I noticed there was a diode on the fuse map but not in my fuse box! Anyhow, this diode is in the loop with the neutral switch, so if it's gone, a good neutral switch cannot close the circuit with the starter no matter what. I haven't yet put in a new diode because, as it turns out, these are impossible to find. The best I could do on a reasonable time frame was get one on eBay. I'll report back in a week to verify this fixed the problem.
I've no idea why the previous owner removed this, any thoughts?
IMG_1871.jpg
You can swap the kickstand diode into it, just be careful, and don't forget to raise it before riding