failed my cert. Neutral safety swith 83 gs550es

[$hitfoot]

1983 gs550es fork seals leak and a problem with my neutral safety switch?
forks should be doable but never heard of that feature, so if in gear and the kick is down it will kill the motor. anyone have any experience with this switch and what to look for, I get my bike back tomorrow, is in a legit shop and they have no time to do it or trouble shoot it, rather do it myself anyhow.

any insight appreciated.

[twistedwankel]

Wow. You Canadians are really screwed. What's with all this certification stuff on old bikes?

[Billy Ricks]

Never heard of a neutral safety switch and honestly don't think there is any such thing. I think someone is confusing the clutch switch for a neutral switch.

[$hitfoot]

starter interlock switch?, looking at this electrical drawing I cant find a clutch safety switch.http://smokeriders.com/Technical/wir..._diagrams.html only thing i can think of is the starter interlock switch, guy said it to do with the bike in gear and kick stand down.

Im sure its an easy fix and the shop has more money coming in the newer bikes oil changes than putting a 20 yr old 'zook on the stand that needs nothing but a switch.... good thing is he will cert once I do the work and just pay the balance of 30 more bucks

[Billy Ricks]

Look up under the clutch perch and you should see the switch for the clutch lever. It's set up the same as the front brake light switch. It could just be unhooked inside the headlight bucket. Usually yellow wires with green tracers. The previous owner may have disabled the switch by disconnecting the leads in the bucket. Once you do that you just connect the wires the switch was disconnected from to defeat the switch. The switch may also just need cleaning and/or adjustment. Under the little cover for the switch is a tiny circuit board that a jumper slides across to complete the connection. Be careful if you take it apart. There is a tiny spring under that jumper that pushes it out to make good contact.

[$hitfoot]

I will do what you mentioned while I'm at the shop. If and when I do get it going it I'm going to tell them Billy Ricks is 10x the mechanic than they could ever wish to be, if not then it will look like im clearing some webs out or something. Thanks for the help. Tomorrow is busy and thurs I start my M2 training after work. Maybe I play around friday and sort it out then.

ANy one know if that drawing is correct for 83 gs550 es, the web page has 5 or 6 that don't match up too well as far as models go.

[spyug]

Mr. S.,
What exactly did they say? Did they show you the part they were referring to? I think they are possibly talking about the side stand switch. If that is the case it should be an easy enough fix. Do you have a manual to refer to? It should tell you what this switch is and how it works and I would think changing it out would sort it.

I don't know your experience or knowledge of bikes so pardon me if I tell you something you already know. With older bikes, you will likely have difficulty geting some parts and if you get them they might be pricey. Try and find a shop that does used parts. Often they will have a used part at a good price and or they may be able to help you find something from another bike that would work for you. The biggest bike wrecker in Ontario is Zdeno Cycle in Kitchener but I think there are several others in your area do a Canada411 search or ask around.

I have reread the inspection requirements for safety certificates (RRO 1990 Reg. 611 schedule 6) Subsection 5.2 Electrical , "The neutral safety starting switch, if originally fitted, shall not have been removed and shall function as prescribed by the manufacturer and the neutral indicator light shall operate only in neutral". That is the reference for the failure. If you want a copy of the full Safety Standards inspection go to the MTO site and punch in the title as I quoted above.

You can sort this out. The seals are not hard and I think the switch is fixable as well without too much effort. A manual is definitely going to help.

Please PM me if I can help you get this bike sorted.

Good luck mate.
Spyug

[$hitfoot]

thanks for the offer of help, we only talked on the phone today so tomorrow when I pick it up I will have him point it out. the side stand light functions but he told me something about have the stand down and bike in gear it should kill the engine.. thanks again .

[$hitfoot]

ps the manual i have is 78-82 GS 55- 750 i think clymers, im sure something in there will be similar to what Im dealing with.

[Clone]

My 83 has no such feature and just passed its out of province inspection. And I regularly pull out with the side stand down, despite the idiot light on the dash
I usually bring it up after i scrape it on the the pavement in a lefthander.

[Billy Ricks]

thanks for the offer of help, we only talked on the phone today so tomorrow when I pick it up I will have him point it out. the side stand light functions but he told me something about have the stand down and bike in gear it should kill the engine.. thanks again .

He's full of it if that's what he meant. Once the bike is running the only way to stop the engine short of stailling it is with the kill switch or the ignition switch. We're just making assumptions though. Let us know what he points out.

[Killer2600]

I'm with clone, I don't think your bike has that type of safety...modern bikes do but I know my '82 doesn't and I guess the '83 doesn't either....

So long as you have to pull in the clutch in order engage the starter your safeties are working fine. Just go back to the cert place and tell them your bike never came with such a safety.

[baldbastard]

thanks for the offer of help, we only talked on the phone today so tomorrow when I pick it up I will have him point it out. the side stand light functions but he told me something about have the stand down and bike in gear it should kill the engine.. thanks again .

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but..

The kickstand switch is for an idiot light only. These bikes did not have the kill (if you will) feature newer bikes have which would prevent shifting into gear with the kickstand down.

[Billy Ricks]

My '85 only has the clutch switch and an idiot light for neutral.

[robertbarr]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but..

The kickstand switch is for an idiot light only. These bikes did not have the kill (if you will) feature newer bikes have which would prevent shifting into gear with the kickstand down.

I know that's the case with the '82 850's sold in the U.S. I don't know if Canada had a different standard (doubt it, though).

Lots of modern bikes have an interlock that will kill the ignition if the bike is put into gear (out of neutral, actually) with the sidestand down. (I love that feature, by the way). I'm guessing these guys saw the switch and assumed that's what it was for.

An owner's manual would be the 'definitive' source for this, as in something you can show these guys in black and white.