by Mister_T » Fri Sep 30, 2016 6:06 pm
The sidestand switches are a bit of a joke. It is not a matter of if will fail, but when. I bypassed the sidestand switch on my KLR600 early in its life.
The sidestand switch is not a bad idea for new riders but after a while you get into the habit of checking/lifting the sidestand as part of your startup drill anyway.
On top of that, the clutch lever switch is no work of art, either. I eventually bypassed that as well. Maybe they are better these days and more like the front brake light switch, I don't know.
Leakage from the High Tension ignition leads is possible. It generally occurs where the lead touches some part of the bike such as a retaining clip or part of the engine such as the rocker cover. Vibration eventually wears the insulation at the contact point. I had this happen on my RC17. A few layers of electrical tape can be enough to fix it but I replaced the affected leads and wrapped some cut fuel line over the contact spot to prevent a recurrence.
Coils can develop cracks in their plastic casing. A combination of age and heat will cause this. On one of my RC17 coils, I could see the copper windings through the crack. It only became a problem in wet weather.
Worn leads and cracked coils are more of a problem on old bikes.