Keys/Ignition barrels

[xwhatsit]

A little while ago, I spent the weekend banging my head against the wall and posting on KB while I tracked down why my tail light wasn't going. Turned out to be the ignition barrel was a bit shit inside. Fixed it by soldering the concerned wires together and being done with it.

Anyhow, I'm about to head off to work today, warming up my bike while I tie my tie and put on my gear. No lights. This has happened before, normally jiggling the key fixes it, but no cigar.

Traced it to the ignition switch, yet again. Failed solder joint, also the terminal is corroded right through to the innards. Burnt insulation from the current for all the lighting having to go through a very small, high-resistance piece of metal.

Did what I did last time -- wired up that part of the loom so it's always on. Good thing it's just a capacitor, not a battery, otherwise having the lights on (even after you switch the key off) means it'd go flat pretty quickly. But not the best situation anyway -- and who knows when the rest of the barrel is going to die.

Anyway, I've got a spare ignition barrel amongst my spare-parts hoardings; can't for the life of me find a key, neither of the two I've got (ignition and tank, different, stupid) work.

I've contacted Econohonda and given them the little number that's on the bottom of the barrel (IF1234 or something). The woman I spoke to will pass it on to Malcolm, so I've no idea if they can help me. Can you get keys manufactured from the code? What sort of cost? If I have no options, I suppose I could get a new barrel, but I have Scottish blood and I'd rather not waste a good part.

[James Deuce]

Can you get keys manufactured from the code? What sort of cost? If I have no options, I suppose I could get a new barrel, but I have Scottish blood and I'd rather not waste a good part.

Yes. A good locksmith like the CBR600RR terrorist in Wellington would have you keys in about 15 minutes for maybe $50.

[xwhatsit]

Hey guys, got it sorted. New key cut for the old ignition barrel.

I highly recommend the guys who did the work -- Allied Locksmiths in Onehunga (Waller St, wot is parallel to Onehunga Mall). He asked on the phone what the key I wanted was for -- I said an old Honda motorcycle, and when I mentioned it was a CB250RS he got excited and said he used to have one -- now he's got a Fireblurt.

They said the barrel number didn't tell them anything because it corresponded to about 30 different keys, so they asked if it was OK to leave the barrel with them for a day. I got a phonecall half an hour later telling me it was all done; $30 please. They quoted $50. That's despite having to cut quite a few keys and then discard them when they didn't work.

Nice bloke, good taste in motorcycles (clearly, he owned a CB250RS), enthusiastic about his job, fast work and cheap results.

Ph# 634 4555

[FROSTY:Me]

sorry dude maybee I missed summat--why not remove the two lock barrels and swap the good innnards to the other lock?
Does than sound good english
Ie keep the old top bit wiith the lock in and just swap the electrical bits over

[xwhatsit]

I didn't know you could do such a thing; it looks like a one piece unit?

Also the old barrel was a bit dodgy anyway, I think at some point it had been forced with a screwdriver, as it was a little bit bent. Keys seemed to fall out very easily (they bounced out one time when I went over a pothole -- had to go back and look for them).

One nice thing I've noticed with the new barrel/key is that when it's turned to `On' the key physically cannot come out. It can only come out when it's switched off or on `Park'.

[jonbuoy]

Sorry mate could have saved you some dough only just seen this. There is a good write up on here on how to cut your own keys for old school barrels.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/SOHC4/Cutting_your_own_keys.pdf

[davereid]

Yep the key should stay in when its in the on position. Its actually a common fault. Lots of harleys suffer from it, and as the keys are oten on the side, its easy not to see them fall out.
HD tip No 32 = Start bike. (See tips 08-20 if difficulty arises.)
While its idling remove keys from ignition and put in pocket with beer money.

[imdying]

Mmmm, more than one rider has arrived at their destination and tried to turn their bike off with a key that is no longer there! That would fully suck

[breakaway]

So what causes the key to fall out while in the on position? Is it because the barrel has been forced at some stage?

[imdying]

Pretty good guess, although I guess like anything mechanical, it'll wear out eventually.