Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum and new to riding in general. So i bought my first bike today (2007 GS500F yay!) and keenly started riding it around the neighbourhood. Unfortunately I managed to drop my bike on the left side at the top of the hill, and the clutch lever snapped off. I had to walk home and get my family to help me push it back home. I bought a new clutch lever about an hour later, and replaced it. After I replaced it I tried to turn the bike on to move it, but it wouldn't start. I could press the button and the lights would dim, but nothing would happen. Do you guys have any idea what the issue could be?

Some things to note:
- I left the bike on its side for a few minutes and when I picked it up I noticed that there were some dried liquid marks down its side - oil?
- After pulling the new clutch in and releasing, it doesn't fully pull in all the way at the end, it slacks a bit.
- I had dropped it once before, and the engine took a while to catch after that.

The first thing I'd check is if the clutch switch is broken. It's on the underside of the clutch lever assembly and will only let you start the bike if the clutch is pulled in*. You can bypass the switch by pulling the plugs loose and jumping the connections with a paperclip.

Also, check the sidestand switch is working as it should, and that you didn't accidently hit the kill switch in all the kerfuffle. Plus, check it's in neutral (real neutral - spin the back wheel to check - rather than just the light coming on).



*At least, that's what my Bandit does and I'm pretty sure the GS is the same. 

I'd agree with TQM regarding the clutch switch.

Also, were you careful that the switch was in the proper position when installing the new lever?  Will the bike start without pulling the clutch lever in?  If so, it could be backward (though I'm not 100% sure if it's possible to get the lever back on if the switch is in the wrong position).  If it won't start with the lever in either position, I would assume the switch could be damaged.

I always like to use white lithium grease around any pivot points.  When I installed new levers (brake and clutch) I neglected to grease them first, and found that they didn't retract fully back to the proper start position.

I also dropped my bike in my first week of ownership (last year).  Someone else may have much more experience and understanding of the mechanics, but I think it's pretty normal for the bike to hesitate on starting up again after being tipped.  I would attribute that to the carbs being dumped, but again, I may be wrong here.

Either way, good luck!

I would add that there should always be a small amount of slack in the clutch lever.  This ensures that the clutch is not partially released while you aren't pulling the clutch lever.

Hey everyone, I fixed it! when I attached the new clutch lever, I must havd not positioned the sliding thing on the switch properly, and it wasn't registering that I was clutching in

Quote from: cheelees on March 13, 2016, 06:04:18 AM
Hey everyone, I fixed it! when I attached the new clutch lever, I must havd not positioned the sliding thing on the switch properly, and it wasn't registering that I was clutching in

Awesome!     Glad to hear it. 

Wow funny thing is about 3 weeks ago I did that same thing with my 06 gs500f and had trouble starting the bike after fixing the clutch lever. I felt stupid when I realized what I did wrong after taking things apart repeatedly.

so in the interest of not starting a new thread on a fairly well covered topic, i'll piggy back upon this semi recent one.

I have heard that some newer bikes that have ecm's and such don't like having the clutch switch bypassed and it will do something with the ecm and not let it go into the correct map for riding.

I've got an '04 gs and I don't think it even has an ECM that would have a map to worry about.   The guy I bought the bike from, a year or 2 before was having issues with the clutch switch and it not always registering that the clutch was in and would sometime not let the bike start for him.... he was worried that it would die at an very inconvenient time and not be able to be restarted quickly.   So he bypassed the clutch switch by simply using a butt connector to both ends of the wire plug (cut the plug off and  connected wire basically.  Its heat shrinked and taped well so its water tight.

I got to talking to someone yesterday about it when they saw the switch was bypassed.   I disagreed that on this vintage bike that it made any sort of difference in performance.   I think while he is very knowledgeable, just grouped into his knowledge of newer bikes and assumed.

Quote from: shaun b on May 24, 2016, 09:36:05 AM
I have heard that some newer bikes that have ecm's and such don't like having the clutch switch bypassed and it will do something with the ecm and not let it go into the correct map for riding.

i've got an '04 gs and I don't think it even has an ECM correct that would have a map to worry about.   the guy I bought the bike from, a year or 2 before was having issues with the clutch switch and it not always registering that the clutch was in and would sometime not like the bike start for him.... was worried that it would die at an very inconvenient time and not be able to be restarted quickly.   so he bypassed the clutch switch by simply using a butt connector to both ends of the wire plug (cut the plug off and  connected wire basically.  its heat shrinked and taped well so its water tight.

The GS500 is very simple mechanically. Without Electronic Fuel Injection, there is really no reason for an ECM on this bike. We use old fashioned voodoo magic to power our bikes.

Copy that.... one of the things I like about it  

all the clutch switch on the gs does is interrupt the starter solenoid circuit via the same relay as the side-stand switch, its quite safe to bypass it, or do like me and just remove it and all its wiring completely..... i had to do a rewire and who needs all these safety systems anyway....

i hope you ride safe and keep her upright from now on

As yet another of those who has bypassed the clutch switch, I can verify that it is not needed. Some years back I as having problems with the switch, so I simply removed it and bypassed it with a paperclip and taped the switch to the handlebars with electrical tape. It has been working perfectly for about four years now. The only danger is that you could try and start the bike whilst in gear, but that hasn't happened to me......yet (touch wood).

Clutch in should be proper starting procedure anyway.  Having an electrical switch as a physical restriction to ensure you do this is unnecessary in my eyes.  Either be sure you're in neutral, or be sitting on the bike and have the clutch in.

I like the side-stand switch, as it has the potential to really prevent accidents.  But for the clutch cutoff, I mean if you start it in gear without the clutch pulled in it'll lurch but won't really hurt anything or take off from under you.  I don't think the starter has enough torque to actually start AND launch the bike while it's in gear.