[Skwerlee]

My friend just inherited a 1988 Yamaha Virago 750. He wants to sell it but he’s having a problem with it. He says it fires up *in neutral* and runs just fine but as soon as you click it into gear it just dies. He says it doesn’t lurch forward or make any strange noises…just dies as if you turned the key off. I told him it sounds like an electrical issue like a neutral safety switch malfunction but I honestly don’t know if this bike is even equipped with one. He says the kickstand was up when it dies. Any tips or suggestion would be much appreciated.

 

[ratboy]

I think you hit the nail on the head with the safety switch. However, there is on some bikes a tiny bit of load when you put the bike in gear even with the cluch disengaged, especially if the cluch is slightly out of adjustment. It shouldn't stall, however, unless the idle is really low. Increase the idle and see if it still happens. But my money is on the safety switch.

 

[ktourville]

Check the kick stand switch with an ohm meter. If you push the plunger on the switch in and it creates a loop in the circuit then you can jump the wires coming into the switch to test it. If it opens the circuit then just remove the wires from the switch. This will tell you if the switch is bad.

 

[Skwerlee]

Thanks for the input guys. i think we're all on the same page.

 

[Skwerlee]

we were right...i told him i thought it was the kickstand safety switch. he checked it and it turns out it had been unplugged.

 

[ktourville]

Good news. Electrical bugs can be a pain in the ass.

 

[cecil]

i have a yamaha sport bike i think it is in the eightys 750 or 850 cc it shifts up but wont shift down any thing would help