Gear indicator help

P=park gear position (no gear selected)
R=reverse gear position
N=neutral gear position (no gear selected)
D=top gear
2=fixed highest gear (used for speed when climbing an average incline and to control speed on decent)
1=fixed lowest gear (used for climbing steep incline or descending slowly)
Note-: Never engage Reverse gear when traveling forwards and never put into Park when moving forward or backwards, also towing most autos should be done no more than 10mph, fast towing can damage the gearbox, also make sure gear is in Neutral when towing.

If the gear indicator changed to neutral without you doing anything, I would say the transmission selector switch has failed. The switch tells the computer what position the shifter is in.

Try starting with gear indicator in neutral if it starts replace your neutral start switch if this was helpful please leave me good feed back if it still wont crank I would suspect (1) low battery (2) bad or dirty battery conections (3) bad starter solonid or (4) Bad ignition switch.

Are you sure you have any other gear indicators?

My 2008 FLHRC only has a neutral light and a 6th gear light.
No lights for any other gear.

The gear shift lever indicators tell you what gear you have an automatic transmission in on your vehicle. The shift solenoid tells the transmission when to shift gears and what gear to shift into. Newer model automatic transmissions have electronic shift solenoids that are activated and change gears based on the speed the vehicle is traveling. Troubleshooting either one of these transmission components is relatively easy if you know a little about automobile mechanics. With the right tools, you can determine whether the transmission shift solenoid is having a problem. Gear shift indicator problems can be determined simply by moving the gears into their designated position.
Transmission Shift Solenoid

• 1 Raise each corner of the vehicle up with the car jack and place jack stands under the frame. Make sure the car is raised high enough so you can work under the car freely.
  
• 2 Slide the drain pan under the transmission fluid drain plug. Remove the drain plug with a ratchet and socket, and let all the fluid drain out of the transmission. Remove the transmission pan bolts with a ratchet and socket. Pull the pan away from the bottom of the transmission, revealing the transmission shift solenoid.
  
• 3 Wipe off the shift solenoid with a shop towel. Disconnect one of the two plugs that attaches to the shift solenoid. Turn the knob on the volt meter to the ohms setting, so resistance can be measured. Set the volt meter on 200.
  
• 4 Take the black lead of the volt meter and touch the negative battery terminal wire. Take the red lead of volt meter and slide the tip into the terminal plug you just disconnected from the shift solenoid. Look at the reading you get on the digital display of your volt meter. Determine if the reading is between 12 and 25. Readings below 12 or above 25 tell you that the shift solenoid is not working. Reattach the plug to the shift solenoid and pull the second plug attached to the solenoid. Perform the same procedures on this plug wire. Replace the transmission shift solenoid after determining it is bad.
  

Gear Shift Indicator

• 1 Move the gear shift into the desired gear. Look at the gear labels and the arrow, or other indicator, to see if the gear shift indicator lines up with the selected gear.
  
• 2 Move the gear lever to another gear and look to see if the indicator lines up with the selected gear. Misalignment of the arrow will tell you if there is a problem. Moving the gear shift to "neutral" but having the indicator show the transmission is in "drive" tells you the gear shift indicator is not working properly.
  
• 3 Try each gear position to determine how much misalignment is in the indicator. Slide under the car and check for a loose gear shift cable. Check all the gear shift cable connections to ensure they are all tight and are not missing. Tighten any loose gear shift cable clamps or bolts. Replace the gear shift cable if you find that this is causing the misalignment with the gear shift indicator.
  

Okay....I'm a longtime Yamaha Venture owner that has gear indication to...so FWIW...it sounds like your gear indication switch coircuit is bad. If BMW is designed like other makes, the neutral and gear indication works by grounding the wires at the switch (crankcase end). You'd first want to locate the connector for the switch, make sure its secure....no evidience of wiring damage.
If it does ground at the switch any unhooked harness would give no neutral or gear position.
You could unhook the connector....test the top side into the main harness with key on see that the is voltage on the wires....should have N+5 gears for 6 wires.....if you have no power from the harness....the problem would be further up. If power is present....test the engine side of the harness for ground continuity...should be grounded on one wire...N, 1, 2,,3 etc....no ground...possibly bad switch or the contact point that rotates across the terminals as you shift. The contact point wears over the years till contact is lost.

You should be able to start the bike if the kickstand is up and the clutch is in, thats how in gear restarts are normally interlocked.

shift linkage needs adjusting,,could be bent, easy fix, located along firewall to fram beneath the column, ask your son wut he ran over and didnt tell u about... hope i could help...:)

does it start in neutral and park? if yes, linkage should be ok. The trans has it's own computer. you can buy used for about $50 from EBay or car-part.com

check this site for more help

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/villagerquest/