Won't crank after engine kill?

[deafen]

Twice now, I've done something to kill the motor - once accidentally hitting the kill switch, once putting it in gear with the kickstand down.

Both times, the bike has refused to crank at all (not even a solenoid click) for several minutes.  I tried a number of things - key off-on, kill switch off-on, in-out of gear, stand up-down, and various combinations - but both times it started up again after some random combination that had previously not worked.

When I pushed the starter, sometimes it reset the display (Interstate), sometimes it just did nothing.

The bike starts perfectly in all other situations.  Hot, cold, whatever.

Any ideas?  I'm afraid it's going to strand me at some point.

Is this just a time delay of some sort?

[Bone]

My 98 Tourer has been acting up. The neutral light has to be lighted for it to crank. That light is getting difficult to find sometimes. I have found if I shift into neutral before turning off the bike it cranks everytime I try and start. Sometimes pulling in the clutch lever worked but not always.

See if your neutral light is on before you push the start button 

[sandy]

Look in Shop Talk and do the starter button maintenance. Dirty contacts can do weird things.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Look in Shop Talk and do the starter button maintenance. Dirty contacts can do weird things.

I think he said its an Interstate. I've had to clean my standard start switch several times. Never the I/S though.

[Fazer]

Did you try cranking with the clutch pulled in?  That would eliminate the in-gear or kickstand down.  If no crank, then likely the switch.

[falconbrother]

My 98 Tourer has been acting up. The neutral light has to be lighted for it to crank. That light is getting difficult to find sometimes. I have found if I shift into neutral before turning off the bike it cranks everytime I try and start. Sometimes pulling in the clutch lever worked but not always.

See if your neutral light is on before you push the start button 

My neutral light can be finicky as well.  I suspect there's a switch in the transmission some place that I don't want to fool with.   

[deafen]

I'll definitely check out the starter button maintenance, or at least put it on my winter repairs list.  Looks like something good to do regardless.

A couple thoughts: I tried starting with the clutch pulled in, both in and out of gear.  Didn't work.

Neutral lamp was on unless I was deliberately in gear.  I don't have any problem with getting the lamp to light up when it's actually in neutral.

Didn't see if the headlight was cutting out or not.  Will watch for that next time.

Thanks for all the feedback!

[Valkpilot]

There are three points of wear in the clutch lever that can cause symptoms from not being able to start in gear with the clutch lever pulled in to failure to fully operate the clutch.  These wear points are shown in red in the diagram below.



The most common is the brass bushing labeled as "2" in the diagram.  As this wears, it won't properly operate the push rod to activate the master cylinder.

The second is the pivot hole that bolt 16 fits in.  As this wears, it gets out of round and sloppy, which can interfere with clutch engagement and operation of the clutch safety switch.

The third is the face of the lever that operates the safety switch. As this wears, a small depression forms and eventually it will not trigger the switch that lets you start in gear with the lever pulled in.

These may not be the root cause of your problem, but they should be checked out nonetheless.

[gordonv]

Didn't see if the headlight was cutting out or not.  Will watch for that next time.

Was going to be one of my questions.

I know the display resets when no power, as in battery disconnected.

As mentioned, starter switch. Shouldn't be a problem on the IS, but something to clean during your down time.

I would start with the battery. Check, tighten, and the ground connection on the frame/engine. A test jumper from the battery to the frame. A volt meter, bike off, bike running and RPM higher than 1500.

When it isn't starting, get a jump from a known good battery (your commuter car), but engine not running.

The issue with having to wait a time could be the battery, but also could be the start switch needing cleaning, so don't be afraid to do it sooner than later. This is why you want to see what the head lights are doing.