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'09 R1200GSA won't start in gear but will in neutral

sagerat

Boxers uber alles
OK, this just started two days ago.

Bike in neutral, '09 GSA with 41,000 miles fires right up.

Bike in 1st gear, clutch pulled in, sidestand up, no love. Bike won't even start, all I get is silence.

Thoughts? Bike has not been ridden in the rain or crashed or anything else out of the ordinary.

My fear, of course, is suddenly the bike won't start in neutral, either, and the coyotes and buzzards will feast on my bones once they get past my textile gear. Thanks.
 
Most likely the micro switch located near pivot of lever.
Sometimes the little adjuster wheel can be screwed in to solve the issue...sometimes you need to pull the lever, clean around switch and maybe tweak the ribbon switch lever.
My 09 does this at least once a year.
 
OK, this just started two days ago.

Bike in neutral, '09 GSA with 41,000 miles fires right up.

Bike in 1st gear, clutch pulled in, sidestand up, no love. Bike won't even start, all I get is silence.

Thoughts? Bike has not been ridden in the rain or crashed or anything else out of the ordinary.

My fear, of course, is suddenly the bike won't start in neutral, either, and the coyotes and buzzards will feast on my bones once they get past my textile gear. Thanks.

Sagerat - my '09 RT did exactly this last year (58K miles). Microswitch in the clutch lever. Danger you run into is not being able to pull in the clutch lever and fire it up if you stall it getting started at an intersection. My research at the time indicated that it's not an unheard-of issue. Mine was intermittent (as apparently Henzilla's is) until it failed completely, couldn't even get the switch to open up on the bench.

JayJay
 
Thanks for the info. Bike is getting its annual service in about two weeks, so I'll have them check the microswitch at the clutch lever. Futzing with the adjustment wheel didn't solve the problem.

I'd attempt to clean the microswitch myself, but I have a long track record of causing more harm than good when attempting to repair electrical items or servicing that involves small delicate parts that streak from my garage floor to the center of the earth's core.
 
Thanks for the info. Bike is getting its annual service in about two weeks, so I'll have them check the microswitch at the clutch lever. Futzing with the adjustment wheel didn't solve the problem.

I'd attempt to clean the microswitch myself, but I have a long track record of causing more harm than good when attempting to repair electrical items or servicing that involves small delicate parts that streak from my garage floor to the center of the earth's core.
It's not really something that can be cleaned. Just remove & replace.

JayJay
 
It's not really something that can be cleaned. Just remove & replace.

JayJay

You haven't seen a few of the GS's I have:laugh
Not so much the innards of the switch...more like the goop that has found it's way to it...and like JVB said, out of adjustment at times.
 
try to adjust

Mine was doing that (05 GS). Started intermittently. Then wouldn't work at all. Pulled the switch and pulled the little metal strip out a bit. Worked for a day and stopped again. As I was on a trip, I tried to get a switch at a BMW dealer. Wasn't in stock so I said heck with it. Next time I tried, switch worked fine. Had been through some really heavy rain. Still working now and never did get the new switch.
 
You haven't seen a few of the GS's I have:laugh
Not so much the innards of the switch...more like the goop that has found it's way to it...and like JVB said, out of adjustment at times.
Yeah, you're right, Steve, I was speaking from the "tidy" RT perspective. ;) Different clutch assembly, and if there's a way to adjust it I couldn't find it. Once I got the switch exposed I tested it and it was kerflooey. So I didn't look too hard. The RT switch is totally enclosed within the clutch assembly and has integral cable. You have to cut and replace several cable ties, pull a bunch of plastic and the fuel tank, the connection is underneath. Not exactly easily field serviceable.

JayJay
 
My '06 1200GS developed this issue...it was caused by the micro switch having come out of adjustment. Here's how you can test for this on your bike. In a VERY quiet environment slowly pull in the clutch lever all the way. Listen carefully and you should hear a very faint "click" when the micro switch is engaged. If the click happens midway through the clutch lever's travel, then it's positioned correctly. However, if the click happens almost at the end of the lever's travel (that's the way mine was), then the switch needs to be repositioned.

My trouble came about as a result of not being able to loosen the set screw that holds the micro switch in place. It is a very small allen screw housed in an aluminum housing. It was VERY tight and I worried about breaking something. I finally got out my heat gun and applied heat to the housing that held the stubborn set screw. I also heated the allen wrench and let that sit in the allen nut for a minute to transfer more heat to the screw. It finally came loose and the adjustment was easy after than.
 
:banghead

I KNEW IT! Y'all bring this up and ...
My GSA's switch gave up today when I was prepping for a trip and moving the bike around, nothing revived it...107K and climbing so I guess I'll just get one ordered, seems I wore that one out:laugh

It's a 2mm allen on the set screw FYI
 
:banghead

I KNEW IT! Y'all bring this up and ...
My GSA's switch gave up today when I was prepping for a trip and moving the bike around, nothing revived it...107K and climbing so I guess I'll just get one ordered, seems I wore that one out:laugh

It's a 2mm allen on the set screw FYI
Well, better it happened now, at home, than on your trip. You can deal with it on your schedule. :)

JayJay
 
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