This happened twice so far. First time I was driving up hill slowly and the bike went dead, hit the starter button and nothing, turned off and on the ignition switch, started right up. Second time it was idling waiting for me to open the garage door to put it away and once again just went dead and only re-started after I turned the switch off and on again. Any ideas? I'm thinking the ignition switch is going bad. Taking the bike to Sturgis this year and would like to resolve this before I go. I should mention it's a 1986.
Sounds like the contacts on the underside of the ignition switch are worn out. Time to replace the switch.
If that's the original switch you may want to change it out anyway. In the after market world they are available in either mechanical or electronic. I've had better luck with the the electronic. Just make sure it's for your year model. tourbox
Thanks guys for the comebacks. Yes the lights do stay on when the engine dies. I'll check the cables and the kill switch, and look for a new ignition switch, which I did replaced a few years back. Replacing the kill switch isn't such a bad idea either. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Please do. This is so important when folks come here with an issue. When you figure out the fix, sharing it here helps out so many people in the future!
Also check your battery ground, I have seen similar actions when the battery ground was loose, bike would start then all of a sudden quit, yet it would start up again. It only takes a moment of no ground for the ignition to quit. worth a quick check Chuck
Thanks guys.... I replaced the ignition switch and went with the electronic one. Works great and yes the contacts were pretty dirty on the old switch.
