I thought I'd share my near-failure experience so others can avoid my ignorance.
Today, I lubricated the pivot points of my front brake and clutch levers. First, I removed the lock nut on the clutch side. (19 mm socket). I noticed that there was a circular bracket that the nut secures which holds a micro-switch which has a plunger activated by the clutch lever. Using a wood block, I tapped upward on the pivot bolt, cleaned it and the lever, and applied some thick grease. Fastening everything back in place, I was done with that side and figured the other side would be a breeze, since I now knew how everything worked.
Not so fast: I ran into near disaster. I repeated the same steps, but noticed that instead of a plunger on the micro-switch, there was a small activator button which fits into a hole. (There's also a longer, vertical pin that fits into a much smaller hole to align the switch properly with the housing).
After fastening it all back together and turning on the bike, I noticed my brake light was on and stayed on regardless of operating the leverl or the rear brake. Hmmm...
Using a flash light, I noticed that where the switch button fits into the housing is a long way from lever itself. Pushing on the small button with my thumb turned the brake light off and releasing it turned it back on. Unlike the clutch switch, the brake switch is normally closed. Obviously the switch wasn't being triggered by the lever. Aha! That means there must me a small cylindrical piece that fits in the hole, connecting the lever and the button.
Unfortunately I had been working out in my driveway which is concrete with a high amount of gravel in it, making it very rough and very busy visually. After a long time looking on my hands and knees, I finally spied a tiny black rod, about 2 mm in diameter and about 3 or 4 mm long. I have no idea how I ever saw it!
Putting it back in the hole returned my brake light to functioning the way it should.
So... if you ever service the front brake pivot, BEWARE THE TINY PLASTIC PART!
