According to the 02 Yamaha Grizzly User manual, I'm supposed to be able to start my Griz in any gear as long as the "rear brake" is applied. However, this only works when I use the handlebar rear brake lever. My Griz will not start when using the rear brake foot pedal, however I can shift gears by applying the rear brake pedal. The user manual does not specify that you must use the hand rear brake lever for in-gear starting. Do I have a defective Griz, or did Yamaha design the in-gear starter safety switch to operate on only the hand rear brake lever as I strongly suspect?

 

The start in any gear looks at the switch on the rear brake hand lever only. Your Griz is normal.