The top part of the switch came out OK, but it sloped off too much at the bottom, so it was back to the drawing board.
I visited Powersports Plus online today, and here is almost everything you want to know about Suzuki gear position switches.
As noted above, it looks like all bikes have the inner part on the shift drum that activates the switch. The hard part is finding the correct switch. Bikes that do not have a GPI on the dash use a simple 1-wire switch that is only activated when the bike is in neutral. Older bikes used a 6-wire switch, so apparently it was used on both 5 and 6 speed bikes. I'll call these the multi-wire switches. What the switch does is ground one wire at a time as the gear drum rotates, which then completes a circuit and lights the dash indicator.
Newer bikes use a 3-wire system, which is power, ground, and gear signal. I've read it is 1-5 volts. This is read by the bike's computer and either used internally or if the bike has a dash display, it is output there.
As near as I can tell, there are at least three multi-wire versions-
The ones used on the 8V GS motors like my 1000G
Larger diameter ones used on some 16V motors such as the 1100ES and 1150ES. The GSX1100G also uses a large diameter neutral switch.
Smaller diameter ones such as the one supposedly from a 2006 Hayabusa that I bought.
I'm going to skip the last one, as I don't think it was from a 2006 Hayabusa based on the parts diagram, the fact bikes of that era had 3-wire switches, and it doesn't fit anyway. I also looked at a 1999 Hayabusa and it showed the same as the 2006 model for this part. Looking at some older parts diagrams, it looks more like the switch used on the 1979 GS750E.
The key to finding one of these that will work with the GSX engine is finding one that has a gear position indicator and uses the same o-ring. It is Suzuki part # 09280-36001, which shows as 36.2mm ID and 2.4mm thick. You can also ID them when they are on eBay if the picture is good enough. The smaller diameter ones will have the brass terminals right up against where the o-ring goes. The larger diameter ones will have some extra room between them & the o-ring. The center-line/circle where the brass terminals are is the same for both small and large diameter switches.
Now for the good stuff.
The models that are known to have a gear position indicator are the GS750ES, the GS1100ES (rare), and the GS1150ES. All of these use the same o-ring as the GSX-1100G, so their switches will also interchange!
According to the parts listings, part #
37720-49211 fits the
84-86 GS1150ES and is still available for about $62.00. It uses the same o-ring as the GSX1100G. It shows as superseded by
37720-24A01, same price. There is no model listing for the 24A01 switch.
Part #
37720-31300 fits the
1983 GS750ES and uses the same 36mm o-ring. It is obsolete, and shown as superseded by #
37720-31301, which is also obsolete, but has a wider application range:
1985 GS700E & ES GEAR SHIFTING
1985 GV1200GLF, GLF2, & GLG GEAR SHIFTING
1985 GV700GL GEAR SHIFTING 1986 GV1200GLF, GLF2, & GLG GEAR SHIFTING
Part #
37720-49210 is available and about $62.00. It shows as superseded by
37720-49211 (see 1150ES above). According to the listings, this fits:
1980 GS1100-LT GEAR SHIFTING
1982 GS1100E & ES GEAR SHIFTING
1983 GS1100E & ES GEAR SHIFTING
This gives a fairly wide range of bikes on which to find a used one, or the option of buying a new one.