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I'm baaaack!

mikeym

New member
Hi, Guys! Back again after a long absence! Still have two Beemers: a 1991 R100GS airhead and a 1994 R1100RSL.

The R1100 just developed a gremlin wherein with ignition on, plenty of battery voltage, the neutral switch has apparently malfunctioned; no neutral light, no crank, even with clutch pulled in, sidestand retracted. Shut her down yesterday with the little rotating kill switch below green starter button and extended side stand. Went to fire her up again - no joy. No crank, no neutral light, no nothing. Everything else works...

With 23 years of flawless operation, this is the very first glitch. Hmmm?
 
Welcome back sir.
Not a mechanic by a long shot but it sounds like your side stand ignition interrupt switch has gone bad. There’s a scene in long way down where this happened to Charlie Boreman’s bike. Rock had kicked up and damaged the wire leading to the side stand.

Good luck in getting her fixed, again, welcome back. Always encouraging to the club to see members returning.

Most sincerely,
Reece
 
Put bike on centerstand.
Put side stand up.
Turn on the key.
Turn on the kill switch.

You should hear the fuel pump turn on as soon as you do the last of the three switches.
If not - flick the kill switch back and forth. Fuel pump?
If not - sidestand up and down. Fuel pump?

If the pump turns on and then quits in a few seconds you have ruled out those three switches.

Now - as for the starter:

You need either the clutch pulled with a working clutch switch or the transmission gear selection switch in neutral. One or the other or both. Absent at least one of these the starter will not be energized.

Assuming you did get the fuel pump to turn on, it would seem to me that you have a bad clutch switch and a bad or dirty transmission switch.

The transmission gear selection switches are notorious for having a little gear oil seep into the switch which may make the contacts erratic. I would try shifting into and out of neutral a bunch of times. This often wipes the switch contacts a bit and you get a neutral signal.

If the clutch switch is bad the easy way to replace it is to cut the wire and use a deep 10mm socket to remove it. Installing a new one only needs to be finger tight - the wire will prevent it unscrewing on its own.
 
R1100 - No start

Hi, Guys! Back again after a long absence! Still have two Beemers: a 1991 R100GS airhead and a 1994 R1100RSL.

The R1100 just developed a gremlin wherein with ignition on, plenty of battery voltage, the neutral switch has apparently malfunctioned; no neutral light, no crank, even with clutch pulled in, sidestand retracted. Shut her down yesterday with the little rotating kill switch below green starter button and extended side stand. Went to fire her up again - no joy. No crank, no neutral light, no nothing. Everything else works...

With 23 years of flawless operation, this is the very first glitch. Hmmm?

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! Yup, did ALL of that, with sidestand, center stand, all the switches, etc. Did get fuel pump and ABS computer cycling. But, no neutral light, no crank, no nuthin'. May have to tow her to the local dealer,,,
 
Thanks for the suggestions, guys! Yup, did ALL of that, with sidestand, center stand, all the switches, etc. Did get fuel pump and ABS computer cycling. But, no neutral light, no crank, no nuthin'. May have to tow her to the local dealer,,,

Since you got the fuel pump to run you have verified that the ignition switch, kill switch, and sidestand switch work OK.

So you seem to have a failure of both the clutch switch and the transmission gear switch.

The simple way to make it start is to replace the clutch switch.
 
No neutral light, no start, regardless of position...

Not sure which to try cleaning or bypassing first: clutch swtch or sidestand switch....
 
Not sure which to try cleaning or bypassing first: clutch swtch or sidestand switch....

The clutch swith is a screw-in plunger type switch. I doubt it is cleanable. The neutral switch is at the back of the transmission and a bit hard to get to.

You bypass either at your own peril. Starting in gear is never fun.
 
It's alive! It's alive!(

Welcome back sir.
Not a mechanic by a long shot but it sounds like your side stand ignition interrupt switch has gone bad. There’s a scene in long way down where this happened to Charlie Boreman’s bike. Rock had kicked up and damaged the wire leading to the side stand.

Good luck in getting her fixed, again, welcome back. Always encouraging to the club to see members returning.

Most sincerely,
Reece

It's alive! Guys! Thanks so much for your suggestions! I got her back! Cycled the sidestand several times noting a distinct click midway through its arc. Then i sprayed the area around the base of the clutch switch with copious amounts of electronics cleaner. Then ran the trans through several gears and back to zero. Suddenly, i had the green neutral light and she cranked! She's back! Yeah!
 
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It's aluve! Guys! Thanks so much for your suggestions! I got her back! Cycled the sidestand several times noting a distinct click midway through its arc. Then i sprayed the area around the base of the clutch switch. Then rN the trans through several gears and back to zero. Suddenly, i had the green neutral light and she cranked! She's back! Yeah!

Awesome Awesome Awesome!!!!! This is what the forums are all about.
 
Now test the clutch switch. Put it in gear, pull the clutch, and see if it will start.

If not, replace that switch. They tend to be reliable for a long time. The transmission switch not so much. They get oily and wonky.
 
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