Motorcycle Repair: kawaski vulcan 800 cc 1999, coolant temperature, kickstand

Question
when should the fan run? sometimes, not often, the bike will kill when in neutral when I put the kickstand down and then the fan runs. does it have a kill switch when it is hot?

Answer
Heather,
yes, the fan can run often and is usually loud too.
It should come on if you do alot of start/stop
driving in town. The fan is turned on by a
sensor which connects when the coolant temperature
is high. The fan should have no relationship
to the kickstand. The fan just comes on when
the bike is hot. When your engine is off, the
water pump is off and so the temperature rises
momentarily causing the fan to start cooling.
If the bike stops when you put the stand
down, it is more likely the safety switch
on the side stand or the neutral start switch
on the engine.
NOTE: you can disconnect and bypass the side stand safety
switch and run a jumper across the connector it
connects to on the bike. If the bike works ok the switch is faulty.