Neutral indicator light delay

I often have the issue of the neutral gear indicator light not coming on after turning the ignition on, have to wait a minute or two until it actually comes on. I even tried shifting gears back and forth - 1st to neutral, 2nd to neutral ... etc - but doesn't appear to help. After about a minute or two however it always works. Anyone has this same/similar problem?

tibork said:

I often have the issue of the neutral gear indicator light not coming on after turning the ignition on, have to wait a minute or two until it actually comes on. I even tried shifting gears back and forth - 1st to neutral, 2nd to neutral ... etc - but doesn't appear to help. After about a minute or two however it always works. Anyone has this same/similar problem?

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Some oil has seeped into the switch so the contacts get a little oily. That makes the switch "wonky" as you have observed. I do think that shifting in and out of neutral helps wipe the contacts cleaner but the only real fix is to replace the switch.

Oil will do it, so will riding in a lot of rain ... R&R it.
Make sure you get the "right" one.

Thank you ... Pauls1150: how do I make sure it's the 'right one'? Any trustworthy supplier where I can order from?

According to the MAX fiche, the switch for a '94 1100RS is p/n 61 31 2 306 519.
The '93s and earlier use a different one (I think, but don't specifically recall, that the center alignment is different), and of course the 1150s use an entirely different one.

I don't know how closely their fiche correlates with the Actual Build Date, though...
Best bet would be to take the old one to the dealer (Leo's, Moon, Richfield) with you to match it up, or if you're not close to a dealer, maybe email a close-up photo to your source.

Maybe time to R&R the oil seal inboard of that, too...?

Using your VIN number on the Max or RealOEM fiche will normally lead you to the correct parts for your exact bike.

I checked the parts fiche too and they show the same part number for models built to 11/93 and the same number from 11/93 so it looks like the earlier models, like the one I have, use the same gear position indicator. They also list an item called connecting line which only is to 11/93, 61 12 2 306 520, anyone know what that is ? It is not shown on the diagram, but listed in the parts.