hunting neutral

Tonight I couldn't get the neutral light on so I could start the bike. It was in Neutral and it cranked, but the indicator light wouldn't come on and it wouldn't start. Eventually I got the light on and took a ride, by rocking back and forth and playing with the shifter. Had the issue again when I had to stop for a train, but once I got home and shut it off it seems to be happy again. I'm just worried this is the start of something going bad.

Could simply be the neutral switch is reaching the end of it's life - I wouldn't expect a "mechanical" fault in the transmission to be intermittent (generally speaking "if it's broke, it's broke")

Thanks. I see a testing procedure in the manual so I'll run through that

It could be a loose wire or loose terminal.  you may have to crimp the terminal a little to get a snug fit. your motorcycle has a belt, so it may not be too dirty, but on a chain drive motorcycle the neutral switch and wire terminal get covered in chain sling gunk.

My bike used to have a belt, but has had a chain for over 10 years now (see avatar).  So that's good to know. Yesterday it worked fine so maybe I can get through the season

you could go ahead and investigate the neutral switch. probably have to remove the LH foot peg and shifter so the chain cover can be removed. all very easy. have rags and solvent handy. it's probably going to be a mess.  a 30 min job at most is probably going to be maybe a couple of hours w the mess. or less.