Switches & starting for 81 XJ550 Q?'s

Background - I’ve rescued a 1981 XJ 550 from a barn. It has been in the barn for 2 years, but P.O.(previous owner) claimed it did run last summer(6 to 8 months ago.) It is missing parts & pieces, but mostly cosmetic. The weather in my part of the world is winter, cold & rainy right now, so I haven’t been doing much wrenching. When the weather clears I will attempt to start the engine & get it running.

I’ve won an older Clymer repair manual on Ebay for a small price, & it arrived a few days ago. I've been turning pages and looking up the simple stuff - capacities, tire pressures, spark plug gaps, etc. I went to the wiring page - here's were my questions start - mostly about the starting proceedure for the XJ.

A) Micro switch at the clutch - does the clutch need to be "held in" when starting? My Kawasaki 550 is this way - even if the bike is in neutral, you have to hold in the clutch lever or the bike will not start.

B) Side stand (kick stand) switch? Is this a "idiot switch"? (my ridin' buddy calls them that.) What use is it for, how does it "notify" you that the side stand is down, is it another cut off switch - meaning bike won't start with the stand in the "down" position?

C) Does the XJ CD come with "owners manuals?" The little booklets that usually cover the most basic information - start proceedures, basic how to operate the bike, signal & warning lights & what they mean, etc.
Example: on the Kawasaki - if the rear brake bulb has a broken filiment - the "brake warning light" in the gauge will flash or blink - telling the operator that there is something out of order. This little tid bit of information is generally not covered in the Clymers repair manuals - only the owners manuals or word of message boards - KzRider.com or XJ bikes.com

P.S. I dug a little deeper in the Clymers repair book, under a section "starter curcuit", & found "starter relay cut-off." This section gives the 3 switches - Neutral, clutch & side stand (kick stand), & that the bike must be in Neutral, or the clutch lever held in AND side stand up BEFORE the bike will start.

I guess I answered my own questions - but if there’s something else I'd appreciate any replies good or bad.

Thanks

 

A) I don't think it does - but it doesn't hurt. (Mine doesn't) (Ah - the ps answers why - I always have it in neutral starting, with the clutch in)

B) Idiot switch - or safety switch. I have on occassion left the side stand down and started moving - holy hell does that give you a scare... it usually happens when you break up your routine. It can be VERY VERY bad to do and has cause some serious accidents ( riding with the side stand down)

C) I think so - but I'm not an XJ CD owner - I do know that it is very comprehensive and certainly worth the ~10$

have fun - woot!

 

Welcome aboard.
The xjcd does include the owners manual and service manual. Not just for your bike but for all xj's. Lots of other good info, tips , and tricks.
Like Woot said well worth the $10.00.

 

Buenas tardes amigos yo compren una xj700x y tiene dañado el rele del arranque y el rele del caballete y no prende quería saber si hay alguna manera de prenderla vi un video donde hacen un by pass y prenden un suzuki dr si alguien me puede ayudar se lo agradezco