will not start in gear....

81 750 seca. will not start in gear with the clutch pulled. i tested the switch in the clutch lever with a multimeter and it works. also, when i got this bike, there was a wire unplugged from the ignition that i later found was a kill switch. when i plug it back in the bike shuts off when put into gear. not sure if that is related.

it is not the biggest deal, but the bike is my wife's and she is pretty new and if she stalls at a light or stop sign it would be faster if she didnt have to find neutral to re-start it.

what do i check next?

 

The sidestand switch or sidestand relay. It WON'T start in gear, clutch in or out, if it thinks the sidestand is down.

Because of its rather rude location, the sidestand switch is always high on the list of usual suspects.

I DO NOT recommend bypassing it. The sidestand on XJs is such a stubby little thing you can't easily see that it's down, it hides behind your foot. The geometry is such that if you roll into a left with it down, it can drop the bike.

 

thank you. i ordered a manual but until it arrives i am working with a blurry scanned manual i found online. i think both stands are bypassed on this bike. one was the wire unplugged out of the tci box and the other is a white plug by the battery he crudly jumped with a piece of wire right inside the end of the plug.

plugging the wire back into the tci makes the bike shut off when put into gear, does that sound like a relay problem?

thanks for your input....

on a side note, you suggested in my intro that i check the rear shoes. they actually look brand new but it didnt work very well. i found that the arm was really tight against the drum plate and the shaft that goes through the drum plate to spread the shoes was all gummed up. works great now

 

Sound like your PO knew brakes about as well as electrics.

The safety circuit works by grounding out the TCI, so that part of your discovery makes sense.

The sidestand switch is hidden down below/behind the shift mechanism somewhere (my Secas are 550s and a 650, no 750) and if it's bad or simply disconnected, it can cause the problem you're experiencing.

While it could be the relay, it's more likely a wiring issue or bad sidestand switch. The neutral switch is obviously working; and the way the bike is behaving points to the relay functioning as it should, being fed "bad information."

Another big tip: If the bike has the original fusebox, rebuild or replace it. The original fuse clips crystallize and break all on their own (or when you take a fuse out and squeeze them together hoping to "improve" the connection.)

 

thanks, i will check out the side stand switch tomorrow and report back. does the center stand have a switch in the same circuit too?

while i was getting this bike running, i broke one of those fuse prongs just touching it and replaced the box with one i had laying around

 

Clean work, good job.

 

Center stand does not have a switch I believe. Not positive though.

 

Nope.

Kinda hard to ride off with it down, what with the rear wheel off the ground and all...

 

ok, thanks guys. the wire that was jumped by the battery cover was the side stand switch. when i put a meter on the switch, i would get occasional continuity. i took it off and under the boot was oily and the pin that pushes into the switch was cruddy and sticking. i sprayed the shaft with electrical contact cleaner and worked it over and over until it moved freely and is now working perfectly. plugged everything in back where it belongs and can now start it in gear with the clutch pulled and if i put it in gear with the side stand down it shuts off. now onto the next thing....

 

Stainless Steel brake lines and a full rebuild of the front brakes?

Yours look original.

The original rubber lines have date codes molded in them or stamped into the ferrules. They had a factory recommended life span of four years. Caliper and master cylinder seals had a recommended lifespan of TWO years.

Granted, there may have been a certain "margin of safety" in those recommendations. I doubt it was 30 years.

The original rubber lines' inner liners deteriorate; you can't "see" a bad brake line until it pops under hard braking.

 

Actually brakes are next. But watching a few sets of dual 4 piston calipers and radial master cylinders on ebay. Probably will cost as much as the rebuild kits for thr stock brakes