Motorcycle Repair: 1976 Honda 360T, beam headlights, volt ohm meter

Question
I have a few questions. My motorcycle will only start in neutral with the clutch out. Is that normal? or is there a problem? Also, When the low beam headlights are on, the tail lights are not on. The brake light and blinkers work but not the tail lights. Any suggestions? And lastly, when I flip the headlights to High beams, it kills the motorcycle. Any suggestions? Thanks for the help

Answer
Neal, there's a diode that prevents the starter from engaging unless the clutch is pulled in or the neutral light is on.  There's a switch in the clutch lever housing that could be bad or missing.  As far as the electrical problems, you need to check the bulb first and then work back from there.  The light brown with white stripe is the tail light power wire.  You need to take a volt ohm meter and check the voltage and then check the connectors in the wiring harness all the way back into the headlight to make sure they are clean and tight.

The only thing I can think of that would cause the engine to die is excessive power demand on the headlight, high resistance in the ignition circuit or a battery that is too low on charge.

Regards
Rich