Can anyone confirm if the side stand switch malfunction is a fairly common problem ?
Yes, it is. I've seen cases where a stone damages the switch. It is easy to bypass - there are 3 wires and with some experimentation you will find which of them need to be connected to each other or not.
On my 650 I had it permanently bypassed.
Thanks Charles
I have had problems with mine on a 1200 gsa.
it was replaced.