To me, it is easy enough to see things like when it is in neutral when stopped and whether the side stand is down. But yesterday I took the bike out of her garage, was getting off to go lock the door prior to going for a ride, and the bike started to fall over - forgot to put the side stand down, So I was straddled the bike, not wanting it to go over all the way, yet not able to lift it upright either. Finally got my leg over to the left side and could then lift it. I'm afraid I'm learning by doing things wrong, and so far it hasn't hurt much, but I'm hoping my luck doesn't run out before I get more conscious of doing things right.
Indicator lights won't work for me, too much sunlight and too poor eyesight!
One other thing, about running into the store while leaving it on idle. I'm finding that if I leave the bike idling for more than a minute or so it begins to warm up. I'm trying to figure out the effect of humidity and think that if one is riding, creating a breeze, then humidity is positive as it helps whisk away the heat, but in dead air at standstill, it creates a sort of blanket over the engine and heat isn't dissipated as well. The bike is very easy to start so I'm just going to shut her down whenever I'm stooped for even a short time.
But back to the original topic, I'm finding that my four speed needs a firm foot, if not, I get a false neutral. Also tweaking the engine when downshifting is getting more refined.