Being in australia , i believe at the time these bikes were mandated to have hard wired headlights , same as my 916 was
so the headlight is on all the time , no matter what , this makes it hard for starting
so in other parts of the world did the switchblock allow you to turn the headlight off ?
or is there another switchblock around that i can use ??
There are switches that allow you to turn it off.
The European version was one. I think the wiring connections are different and you also need a jumper harness.
I know 2001cromo here on the board did it to his Monster. You might want to pm him.
You can also try a headlamp gizmo or a delay on make relay as shown here:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=779224&page=2 (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=779224&page=2)
I have a headlamp gizmo and I'm happy with it. It is a self-latching relay triggered by the neutral signal. You start the bike in neutral and only the parking lamp is on. When you shift, the relay latches and your headlamp is on. I've seen diagrams on the web, if you are a DIY and want to build your own.
Thats a nice solution, even with the switch for the headlight.