BRAKE LIGHT SWITCHES

All of a sudden your brake light stops working, the tail light works fine, but the brake light doesn't. So you tried changing bulbs, you checked the fuses, and changed the bulbs again. A possible solution to this relatively common problem is to replace the actual brake light switch.

The last thing you want is for a car to come crashing into you from behind because your brake lights didn't work. The standard brake light switches are of a considerably weak construction considering the job at hand, basically what has happened is that one or both of the switches has stuck 'inwards' meaning that the switch won't close when you squeeze the brake hence the brake light not switching on.
 

Above: is the brake switch, there are two of these, one on each brake. Squeeze the brake hard, and look inside between the finger grip and the bar-mount, and you can see if the small white button is popping out. If it is, your switch may be ok, in that case check the other one to see if it is broken.
 

Above: a shot of the brake showing the nylon tip stuck in the switch housing. The mechanism has broken, either the weather and dirt gets into them and jams them up, or the nylon 'mushrooms' at the tip and it jams. An appropriate replacement would be a better switch with a dust boot and a brass plunger instead of nylon. Nylon is simply too soft a material and more prone to wear.

Above: a shot of the brake switch which isn't broken, notice that the white nylon tip (circled) is still visible indicating that the brake light switch mechanism still functions. Obviously the brake light will come on if this is so, if not then you can deduce that the fault is for some other reason, in which case check the bulb or replace it. If the brake light still doesn't switch on after replacing the bulb, then you may have an electrical fault in which case take your bike to your dealer, particularly if it is still under warranty and have your bike fixed free of charge.

The replacement switch then looks like this:
 

They are easy to fit and just screw in with a pair of pliers. They cost around $9 each plus shipping from Italjet USA (212) 242-1600 or you can order them via your local Italjet dealer. You might be better off purchasing more than one, this seems to be a fairly common problem on the Dragster, and you will save shipping costs by buying a few of them.