Well, that sucks - for sure! I'm a motorcycle salesman, and every time I deliver a bike to a customer(every day), I tell them to NEVER trust a neutral light on ANY bike. ALWAYS assume that the machine's in gear when starting. It'll save a lot of embarrassment and money. By the way, I sell Jap bikes, but I do have a deposit on my third Duck - a Hypermoto S. Glad to hear you OK, and now you bike has some cool scratches and scrapes!!