My kickstand interlock is not working - engine keeps running when sidestand is down and in gear. Before I tear into it to see what is wrong, does anyone have any helpful hints on what the problem/fix might be?

Thanks. Time to go riding w/ the grandsons.

 

And that's a bad thing? I ditched the sidestand switch weeks ago. I ditched the clutch switch the first week I had the bike. Just more things to get fouled up with mud/dirt/water and leave you stranded in the woods.

There's a switch on the stand itself which is unbolted via two 8mm bolts (the black plastic thingie). Make sure that it is still in the slot and moving back and forth. If it doesn't kill the bike, then trace the wire up the frame to underneath the seat. There's a plug (on the 06/07 its two separate wires with those clear plugs; on our '09s its all together in a black plastic plug). Maybe the wire is shorted somewhere, although I would think that would default the bike to the "off" position. Make sure the switch itself is functioning properly, that'd be my guess; that the mechanisim itself isn't moving open and closed.

 

I'm with cliffsta, removed them both. I used an ohmeter to figure out how they worked... whether the circuits needed to be open or closed for normal operation. Both the clutch and kickstand circuits need to be closed which means you simply eliminate the switches and crimp the wires together. On my '06 I removed the kickstand switch and wire up to the connector under the seat on the right hand side. Cut the wires and crimp them together. You can do it after the connectors so it can be put back to stock, or cut the connectors off and eliminate some connections. Same story with the clutch switch, the connector is in the wiring bundle just above and behind the headlight. Fewer wires & less complexity = less to go wrong when you're 50 miles from nowhere.

 

I removed both of those troublesome sets of contacts.

Best Wishes,

 

I removed my entire sidestand switch. Just like Cliffstaand TC said, there are too many stories about the switch breaking on the trail.

I took off the switch and followed the wires up to the main harness (under the seat on right side) cut the wires and spliced them together.
One less thing to break

 

I think I might remove mine too, I go through water all the time (I know hard to believe)

 

Never had a problem with mine, both are in place and work fine

 

I lived with mine on the kickstand until it actually decided to fail. It is a good safety mechanism to have on the bike, and can be easily unhooked on the trail and fixed with as little as a knife, in a pinch.
Personally I say leave it, and if it never brakes good, if it goes bad on you, remove it.
I would say what's happening to your switch olderthandirt (haha), the switch is likely just getting stuck in the "kickstand up" position. Probably if you took it off and gave it some lube, it'd fix it.
Oh yeah, and 1 advantage I found with the switch disabled, was lubing the chain in a hurry, I just clicked the bike in gear, tipped the bike up on the sidestand, and slowly let the wheel spin while I sprayed the chain.

 

You make some good points Green, but on the 09 the two wires are together in one plug, so you would HAVE to have a knife and then tie the wires together and hope they stay till you get home. On the older bikes the wires plug through two separate connections so its easy to bypass.