Look on the underside of the gear box. 

Will do.

It's a good thing to change when you're doing your annual gearbox oil change. 

I have zero R65 experience, but I know on most (all?) airheads, getting the neutral switch out with the transmission in place can be a task. My understanding is that you must remove the rear engine mount “bolt”, and remove the spacer tube it passes through under the engine. I’ve heard that can be challenging. Then, get it back in there when done. Hope it’s easy on an R65!

Right now the swingarm and most of the rear end are off which would make it easier. I just had the gearbox off to lube the splines but that's back together now.

Besides the 'Neutral lamp' on the dash not working, the switch also controls when the electric starter is allowed to work. So, getting it in good operating condition will save you some aggravation.

► Tip of the Day: The gearbox oil is not changed by mileage, but rather by time. This is because water (from condensation, rain and bike washing) builds up inside the gearbox enclosure. It will continue to collect unless the bike is ridden long enough and far enough to thoroughly heat the oil and "cook off" the water.

This collected water then causes rust on springs and bearings inside the gearbox. Rusted springs are very prone to breaking. Rusted bearings begin to "growl". Then, for want of $5 worth of oil, you'll have a several hundred dollar gearbox job to pay for. Prevention is the key. This is why I suggest changing the G/B, drive shaft, and final drive oil once a year.

That would explain why Matt thought that was the root of my starter gremlin.

So, occasionally the starter will not operate?  Does the neutral light also not work at the same time?  Curious. So, if you fiddle with the shifter and the neutral light works, then the starter works also?  Would seem logical. 

My R100 also has a clutch switch built into the lever. That allows the starter to operate without being in neutral, if the clutch lever is pulled. 

This bike will start not in neutral but my R100 will only start in neutral. Can't remember if the neutral light works or not, I'm thinking no. 

My starter gremlin is when the bike gets hot after the 2nd or 3rd gas fillip it won't start then I'm into bump starting. 

Posted by: @4949

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My R100 also has a clutch switch built into the lever. That allows the starter to operate without being in neutral, if the clutch lever is pulled. 

And that small switch is the item is the part of the "starter system" most likely to fail ! And the reason for that is that the switch gets physically exercised (not necessarily electrically used) every time you shift gears. So that must be on the order of 1 million times a year. 

Over the years I have owned my bikes, I have replaced personally many more starter relays than clutch interlock switches.  On four bikes with two of them at over 200K miles, I have never changed a clutch lever switch.  I lost count on relays.   I am lucky with the switch I guess but unlucky with relays.  I personally believe the switch is more robust than the internals of the relays.   St.

On my ‘78 /7, I think the little clutch switch has been dis functional more than functional over it’s 45 years. I just live with it when it quits. Finally got around to fixing it with a new switch from EME. Maybe this one will work for the rest of my riding life!

Ha! Success! Just had to get on the floor to look a little closer underneath. Now I see what people were talking about it being a bit of a bear to get at. Having the rear end off made it much easier. The biggest challenge was to figure out how to lift it off the lift to pull the through bolt. Having a friend to steady the machine helped. Thank you all for your help and insight...again.