My bike will only start in neutral

Tarzan

Member
Oct 18, 2017
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I bought this bike new a couple months ago . Now at about 3000 miles it won’t start in gear with the clutch pulled in. I seem to remember being able to start it before.
 
The bike should start in gear with the clutch pulled in. There is a neutral safety switch in the control housing that may not be working or is broken. Have you changed out the levers ???? I know mine works good unless I'm riding in the rain and it gets wet then it stops working for awhile guess it has to dry out.
 
I got a 2017 bike and had the levers changed before I took possession of it. It has never started in gear...has to be in neutral. Are you saying that isn't normal?
 
They've had to replace the switch pack on mine twice for the very same reason. It's under warranty, the bike should start in gear with the clutch pulled in.
 
Well, I had my bike checked at the dealership and nothing needs to be replaced. Apparently, the adjustable levers are the issue. They aren't making contact in the position I have them in (6th, or closest to the grip). It will start in gear with the clutch pulled in at the fourth position. So, I either get used to a change in the friction zone or keep starting it in neutral. The problem with this for me is that they are HARLEY adjustable levers...... they should work regardless what position they are in.
 
well, i had my bike checked at the dealership and nothing needs to be replaced. Apparently, the adjustable levers are the issue. They aren't making contact in the position i have them in (6th, or closest to the grip). It will start in gear with the clutch pulled in at the fourth position. So, i either get used to a change in the friction zone or keep starting it in neutral. the problem with this for me is that they are harley adjustable levers...... They should work regardless what position they are in.
^^^^that^^^^^
 
Well, I had my bike checked at the dealership and nothing needs to be replaced. Apparently, the adjustable levers are the issue. They aren't making contact in the position I have them in (6th, or closest to the grip). It will start in gear with the clutch pulled in at the fourth position. So, I either get used to a change in the friction zone or keep starting it in neutral. The problem with this for me is that they are HARLEY adjustable levers...... they should work regardless what position they are in.
Didn't know Harley made adjustable levers. do you have a link, I could not find them?
 
So, I talked to the Dealer a week ago and they said it would be the neautral safety switch, and that they had to replace the left hand control. I got it in Yesterday morning and they had it done by 10am. It’s fixed for now. I hope it stays fixed, but from what I’m reading, it sounds like that switch is a weak link on these bikes.
 
Didn't know Harley made adjustable levers. do you have a link, I could not find them?

I must correct my prior post. I THOUGHT they were Harley levers, but since Mike asked for the link...I thought I'd do him one better and look up the part number on my parts list. Guess what..yup, you got it. NOT Harley levers. They are a PSR Anthem lever set in Chrome. The Part number is 174076 (around $230). See the following link: https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/psr-anthem-adjustable-levers-for-harley-1996-2017
 
Mine wouldn’t start unless in neutral for about 6 months. I never really thought about it until I read this thread. I had it fixed under warranty about 2 weeks ago.
 
Somebody in "another forum" mentioned an old Techie trick to get it to work again - with the clutch lever pulled in, use a fine screwdriver to push-in the black plastic tab and let it snap back out. Do it multiple times and often the switch will start working again. Internally they are normally built so that the contacts clean themselves, but the slow action of the clutch lever often doesn't let them contact with enough force/speed to self-clean.
 
I’ll give that a try. My bike wouldn’t start in gear a couple of times on my last ride and I couldn’t figure out why. Thanks!
 
Bump cause this thread just helped me.

I was having strange issues with the idle dropping really low after I pull in the clutch (pull in the clutch while coasting, it would drop to 500-700rpm then blip back up to 1200 before settling out) and no day noticed I couldn't start in gear. Also when slowing down with the clutch pulled in, it kept showing me random gear #s on the speedometer. Pulled in the clutch, used a screwdriver to let it snap back out a few time and viola! Both issues fixed. I can start it as I please and it doesn't hunt.

if it happens again I'll take her in. If Harley has to warranty enough of these maybe they'll do a recall. Wishful thinking.

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I experienced the same issue this past weekend while on a trip out of town. I'd like to know more about this plastic tab trick. Is it at the base of the lever??
 
The button is towards the rider, while looking from the side of the lever. Pull the lever in and you can see the button pop out.

My 'fix' lasted a day. Once I know when my next day off is, I'll schedule service.

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FYI I just called my dealer to get my switch repaired (apparently they have to replace the entire left side control). He said he may have a part for me, but it's a common problem so they've been suing a lot of them.

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