Clutch switch - bike starts without it

[Zwerski]

Hey, guys. This wouldn't be a big deal if I didn't have a surprisingly mechanically-inclined 4-year-old son who likes to climb up on my bike and pretend to race. A few weeks ago, when installing DL650 hand guards on the GS, I disconnected the clutch override switch and forgot to reinstall it before starting the bike in gear with the clutch out. It was on the stand, so no real harm done.

However, I don't like the idea of this feature not working, just in case my kids get get in a situation where they could be in danger. The side stand and kill switches are fine.

Where can I look to find where maybe a PO has bypassed this?

I honestly never tested out the functionality before the guard install.

[Worm]

They had to short the wire that goes through that switch, God only knows where. Check your wiring against the diagram, you should be able to find where they messed with it.

Now I'm going to say what everyone is thinking...If you're letting your kids play on a 400lb motorcycle that could possibly fall over on them and break something, at least take the key out of it.

[adidasguy]

What year is the bike?
89-2002 it would be in the headlight bucket probably.
2004+ hard to say.

I bet your switch was already broken from someone removing the clutch lever.

The wires are color coded so get your Haynes manual (newer Clymer I see are in color) and trace the wires using the wiring diagram.

The start button is in series with the clutch safety switch. It is possible it was bypassed along the wires from the right hand control.

[Zwerski]

Now I'm going to say what everyone is thinking...If you're letting your kids play on a 400lb motorcycle that could possibly fall over on them and break something, at least take the key out of it.

^^^ No sh!t?

---
As for the symptoms, the bike is a 1997 E. It's not the switch, since the leads are unplugged from the switch and it still starts. I'll start poking around in the headlight bucket and follow the clutch switch leads and right hand controls there. Thanks for that useful advice.

[adidasguy]

What I mean is your switch was already broken. That's why the wiring was bypassed. The wires falling off of the switch only alerted you to that because you, like me, always pull in the clutch to start. Trey had a frkled clutch switch and didn't notice it until I swapped clutch levers. I guess we both have a good habit of pulling the clutch to start out bikes.

[gsJack]

On my long gone 97 GS I disconnected the clutch switch, didn't feel the need for it since my kids are senior citizens now.     The male/female connectors are reversed on the 2 wires so you can just unplug the ones from the switch inside the headlight housing and plug the two together that they plugged into.  Easy to do and easy to reverse just look for 2 wires plugged together in there that color match the ones from the switch.

They changed that on my 02 so the male/female connectors are oriented the same now so I just let it go, wasn't that Important.

[IAmSpartacus]

Yep, look for two yellow wires in your headlight bucket that are mated together. Unplug them and look for two other yellow wires that aren't hooked up to anything. Plug males into females so that ALL yellow wires are connected to something, and your clutch switch should be functional again. My PO disabled the clutch switch too 

[adidasguy]

Test the switch. Most likely it was overridden because it got busted.

[ohgood]

Hey, guys. This wouldn't be a big deal if I didn't have a surprisingly mechanically-inclined 4-year-old son who likes to climb up on my bike and pretend to race. A few weeks ago, when installing DL650 hand guards on the GS, I disconnected the clutch override switch and forgot to reinstall it before starting the bike in gear with the clutch out. It was on the stand, so no real harm done.

However, I don't like the idea of this feature not working, just in case my kids get get in a situation where they could be in danger. The side stand and kill switches are fine.

Where can I look to find where maybe a PO has bypassed this?

I honestly never tested out the functionality before the guard install.

start down there at the clutch, trace the wire to the headlight, if there is one on the clutch at all. i know some people that use the front brake circuit for this, partially for safety, also as a theft deterrent. i'm not very good at wiring, and disable all these things on mine - so i have no idea how - sorry.


as far as kids, this is a great time to explain and teach them what is a safe area, and what is not. (i'm sure you already have) i'm with you on this part. my 6 and 4 year olds have temptations around the motorcycles in the garage. we've talked about 'hot' and 'falling on you' and i've put a pumpkin on the floor, then dropped my drz on it, to demonstrate. for 'hot' i  melted a shoestring on the header, it stunk, they got the idea. setting self-imposed limits on them pays off in spades, trust me. to KEEP it safe, park on the centerstand, and remove the key. a 4 year old doesn't have the strength to move the bike off the centerstand, but could possibly bump it off the side forward. i'm not bashing you at all here. good on you for proactive thinking.     kids will apply limits much better with a good presentation. try it out