YellowBee

Yep, multi meter. Got it. Fluke T5-600 lives in my tool bag. I have more complex multi meters but I like the simplicity of the T5. I had the sneaking suspicion that's what DVOM meant. I'm a smart monkey with opposable thumbs and I like fixin' stuff... Rainy day here in Vermont so I'll dig into this today. Thank you for the very detailed trouble shooting; seems simple enough. It's either an open circuit or a closed circuit or the switch is bad. I'm always so grateful for experienced forum folks. Years ago, I rehabbed two, '82 Yamaha XJ750 Maxim barn finds and the process would have been so much harder without knowledgeable folks online. Thanks again.

"If I remember correctly". Got that one. DVOM is still a mystery. More disclosure: I have a flip phone so text speak shortcuts are beyond me.

Sorry, English, please. Explain in full text "IIRC" and "DVOM". I have been wrenching bikes for 25 years but I need a bit more to go on. Is this connection something that could have been damaged when I was swapping out the front sprocket? If it's aft of the clutch cover, then that's the other side, right? Must consult the manual...

By way of introduction, I took possession of this beautiful '00 Gen 5 last year, 2020, so I haven't had it long. It has around 46k MILES (74k kilometers) on odometer. The PO was a friend of mine who died suddenly of brain cancer. He bought it new and took very good care of this machine. I have since installed a charge port to the dash (switched power from the battery), new tires (Metzler Roadtec 01), battery, brake pads, chain and sprockets (they were hard to come by, at least the rear), engine oil and filter (10W-30 dino juice), and flushed the brake and clutch fluid. Regular maintenance kind of stuff. The bike runs and drives great, pulls hard, and generally runs like it should. Except for the other day when the neutral light wouldn't come on when I tried to start it. The gear box would go into neutral but the neutral indicator light on the dash wouldn't come on. Therefor, I couldn't start it with the side stand deployed. I could only start it seated with the side stand up and the clutch pulled in. Ideas on where to start? I have the full shop manual but I haven't started to dig into this issue yet.