Motorcycle Repair: 1986 YAMAHA VIRAGO XV 700, regulator rectifier, yamaha virago xv

Question
I HAD CONTACTED YOU THIS LAST WEEK ON TESTING THE STATOR ON MY BIKE  AN SO NOW I HAVE FINALLY GOT THE STATOR BACK IN THE BIKE BUT I WAS HAVING ISSUES GETTING THE BIKE STARTED SO I WAS CHECKING ALL OF THE WIRING HARNESS FOR AN SHORTS AN I CAME ACROSS THE SIDESTAND RELAY AND TESTED IT AND IT IS BAD . THE BIKE WOULDN'T START WITH IT ON BUT IT WILL START WITH THE RELAY OFF. CAN  YOU TELL ME BY CHANCE  WHAT THIS RELAY DOES AND MAYBE WHY IT GOES BAD. DOES THIS BY CHANCE HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE REGULATOR/ RECTIFIER OR MAYBE WITH ME TAKING THE STATOR OUT?THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME!

Answer
Without the actual wiring diagram to refer to it is pretty much impossible to diagnose the problem. But most sidestand cutout switches operate a relay that is connected to the ignition circuit. The idea is that if you try to start the bike with the sidestand down, it will cut the power to the ignition and stall the bike.

However, this has nothing to do with the regulator/rectifier or anything else in the charging circuit, so if the reg/rect continues to cause problems then you need to do some more electrical troubleshooting. In the meantime, if you don't want the sidestand cutout circuit you can run the bike without it... you'll just have to remember to always check to see if the sidestand is up before you ride away.