What the "S" light? Why is my bike dying?

[BigConna]

I was riding a friend's 2001 Honda Shadow 1100 Ace Edition today and the "S" light came on. I don't have access to a manual and can't think of what the S could stand for besides maybe "service". I can't find any reference to it online either.

Regardless, while riding I noticed that the bike felt a little "off" when accelerating and changing gears, but nothing too extreme and definitely not enough to be concerned. I was going about 45mph and all of a sudden felt something hit my ankle. I realized immediately that something had fallen off the bike. I looked down and saw that the breather was rattling around pretty crazy and decided to pull over at once. As soon as I came to a stop the bike died. I did a quick once-over of the bike and checked for any loose parts and couldn't find anything besides the breather. I assumed that what fell off the bike was a bolt or fastener for it and that the best thing to do would be end the ride turn around and head home for further inspection. But the bike wouldn't start. I flipped it in neutral and it started up right up. However, as soon as I put it in first or second gear it killed the engine immediately. So we ended up having to get it towed back to my house.

So my questions...

1) What is the S light? What does that indicate when it's on?

2) Why can't I put the bike in gear? Is it likely that something unrelated to the breather fell off? Is there a severed connection with the transmission? Is there a power issue? Is it something unrelated to all of these aforementioned issues?

Not sure if these problems are related but I wanted to provide all the information I could.

Any answers are much appreciated!

Cheers,
Connor

[tcanthonyii]

Kick stand Light I do believe. Is it down? If not you probably have a bad switch.


T.C.

[BigConna]

@tcanthonyii: The kick stand was definitely up. The light stayed on throughout the ride.

[SHADOW 1100T]

"S" = side stand, things get real dirty down there, clean it real good because I bet it's never been done.

[BigConna]

I made several stops throughout the ride and turned the bike off and on. Every time I turned the bike on that S light was on. I wonder how I was able to put the bike in gear with it on the first few stops, and then all of a sudden it wouldn't let me. That makes me think the detection system itself may be faulty.

[SHADOW 1100T]

That makes me think the detection system itself may be faulty.
==============================================
Or dirty, spray the heck out of it with WD40, if the stand doesn't go back far enough or the switch doesn't go back far enough because of dirt it screws things up.

[txironhead]

Unless the switch was loose, not enough to kill the bike entirely but intermittent contact, and then it fell off and THAT'S what hit your foot, and therefore it's not starting. Stranger things have happened.

Yet another example of why the kickstand switch gets bypassed on any bike I own.

[adlowe]

First of all, is it your bike or your friend's bike?

Honda didn't have a 2001 Shadow ACE. Maybe you mean ACE Tourer? It is a very similar bike but one that comes with a different 1100cc engine.

The "S" is, as stated, an indicator that the sidestand is down. Sounds like the switch is defective, though.

The sidestand switch would NOT prevent you from shifting gears. All it would do is kill the engine when you shifted out of neutral. Another clear indicator that the switch is defective.

As for why the bike has parts falling off, runs like crap and won't shift, the answer is that it is poorly maintained. Actually, it sounds like the bike isn't maintained at all.

[Easy Rider 2]

Originally Posted by tcanthonyii

Kick stand Light I do believe. Is it down? If not you probably have a bad switch.

"S" stands for Side Stand. Something is wrong with the safety switch.
That light should be on if you turn the key on with the stand down......and should go OFF when you put the stand UP.

This makes me think, however.........(dangerous!) what would happen on MY bike if the side stand safety went open while riding down the road ??

Is there something in the circuit that ONLY comes into effect when the transmission is in neutral AND the clutch is pulled in ????? That could explain why the circuit for that seems a LOT more complicated that is necessary.

Some testing may be in order.

[BigConna]

Originally Posted by txironhead

Unless the switch was loose, not enough to kill the bike entirely but intermittent contact, and then it fell off and THAT'S what hit your foot, and therefore it's not starting. Stranger things have happened. Yet another example of why the kickstand switch gets bypassed on any bike I own.

So it turns out my friend *had* disconnected the side stand detector but since it was just hanging there it had adjusted itself to the "down" setting, likely when I went over a bump, which prevented the bike from starting. I imagine he'll try to make it more secure.

Originally Posted by adlowe

First of all, is it your bike or your friend's bike? Honda didn't have a 2001 Shadow ACE. Maybe you mean ACE Tourer? It is a very similar bike but one that comes with a different 1100cc engine.

It is my friend's bike and you are correct, it is actually a 1997.

Originally Posted by adlowe

As for why the bike has parts falling off, runs like crap and won't shift, the answer is that it is poorly maintained. Actually, it sounds like the bike isn't maintained at all.

I can see why you would assume that but the bike is actually very well-maintained. After further inspection of the bike we noticed that the exahust pipe was missing its upper heat shield and realized that's what fell off the bike and hit my foot. Here is a picture that won't necessarily prove it's been maintained well mechanically, but perhaps show some of the aesthetic maintenance.



Thanks to everyone for your help and ideas, I really appreciate it. Cheers.