Nick Taylors blog

As it’s spring, I was giving my F650 it’s annual service. It’s a reliable bike that’s easy to service (except for the mess the frame drain makes when removing the used engine oil). I’m a member of The Chain Gang, which is a great resource for BMW F650 owners (Ford F650 owners will have to go elsewhere).

I noticed that I had a sticky brake light when using the front brake lever. It turns out there’s a small normally-closed microswitch which operates the brake light. I’m not sure if it’d just gotten old and worn out, but jiggling didn’t fix it and it needed replacing.

The Chain Gang had a great write-up on how to do this. Even though there’s a $2 switch and method for replacing the switch, they were backordered from Happ Controls, the only place I could find the switch outside of a BMW dealer (who incidentally do a nice range of vintage arcade machine parts). As the weather is so nice and I felt the need to ride, I put down the $20 for a $2 switch from the local BMW dealer at Foothills BMW. I suppose it came with a nice wiring harness for my $20… Anyway, after you remove most of the body work, it snaps into the plug and attaches easily onto the brake lever hosing – be really careful you don’t loose the tiny nut, bolt and washers.

And to celebrate – I gave it a wash!