Hey cool, a new way to look stupid!

[dyls]

Was the first nice day yesterday in ages so I took the bike out for a blat.

Went all round the bays out by Miramar, good way to practise my leaning / cornering which is my weak spot...

...anyways get all the way out past Island bay and heading towards Brooklyn when I hear this 'tink tink' sound...hmm that's odd I think, haven't heard that sound before...few seconds later I glance down and SHIT! where's my key???

pull over, scratch my head at the fact the bike is still happily running with no key in the ignition, use the kill switch to stop it, check I can still start it with no key, yup I can....so roll a smoke and go for a wander up the road till I can find it, lol.

Luckily last time I had it serviced the key came back with a big yellow tag on it and I never got round to taking it off, so it wasn't too hard to find a few hundred meters back up the road, lol.

The barrel is really loose, I almost get the feelign I could just stick a screw driver in there to turn it on, is that a dumb idea?

[FJRider]

Not silly or uncommon in older bikes. Any key will fit. But that key is needed to fit the seat /helmet lock.

[Slyer]

Was it a key on its own or did you have other junk attached?

[slimjim]

time to arrange a clip and shoe lace to assist if falls out, least you know where its dangling lol

[bezajel]

Never occurred to me that the key could just fall out!

Sounds like you were around the vicinity I went for a newbie ride today

[MentalFacility]

Where exactly do you live? Also, could you park your bike outside tonight?

[gijoe1313]

I guess the biker gremlins were having their little mischief session with you and decided to see if you were onto it and notice if it went missing!

I see you took a chance to switch it off! And this thread would be different I guess

Anyway, you must have been doing something good since good karma got the key back to you!

[Xman]

...snip...
I see you took a chance to switch it off! And this thread would be different I guess ...

Actually, not taking much of a risk there. The key came out with the ignition still switched to on. Of course it would still start, otherwise the engine would have died when the key fell out.
To turn the ignition off without the key would be kinda tricky.

Anyway, to he original poster - glad you got your key back, but if that was my bike I would be doing two things:
a) relegate that key to just opening the seatlock and get a new ignition lock that actually needs a specific key to turn it, not just a vaguely key shaped bit of metal.
2) avoid having anything bulky or heavy on you key/keyring at all (including the bright yellow thing).

[Broomrider]

The key on my bike sits in a very loose barrel, I have a key tag attached and velcro attached to that and some on the bike. I stick the key in the barrell and stick the key tag to the velcro on the bike, it's worked so far. If it does fly off I can get the spare key out of my jacket pocket and carry on.

[Ixion]

Had this happen many a time over the years. I always put a ring or cable tie loop through the key, and another cable tie loop round the bars or other suitable place on each bike. A wee carbineer clips the two loops together. Keys aren't going anywhere.

The carabineer serves double duty, when I stop I clip the key(s) to the D ring of my helmet. No lost keys.

[Subike]

Now you can understand why most harley riders have a chain attached to their belt on the left hand side. Cause thats where the ignition is on some of them, under their left thigh. And they fall out real easy, Im sure some will agree.
Several years ago, I went to Nelson from ChCh, got to Blenheim and filled the tank, got to Nelson , NO KEYS! FUCK!. They had fallen out on Queen Charlotte Sound Drive.I had to break the lock on the tank to fill it and use the kill switch to start and stopthe bike, like the thread owner did. To park the bike up, I had to remove the main fuse! Dam Dam Damb!
Got back to CHCH after the weekends rage, started cleaning the bike, under the tank, lodged in between the coils, were they KEYS! Yeah!, But now I had a broken fuel cap lock. Took me a year to get another clip to fix it. (was lazy).
So to stop this ever happening again, a dogs choker chain went onto the keys, with a small dog clip at the other end. I now attach the keys to the bike whenever I go anywhere.
Yes. Old bike ignitions do wear, and it is wise to have a chain or cord attached to the keys. One of those, ""dont leave it chance"", things.

[FJRider]

It pays to have the key number in your wallet. Then getting a new key isn't so hard.

[dyls]

hey, thanks for the replies.

I don't know how to multi quote (noob) so i'll just post random stuff here.

" Was it a key on its own or did you have other junk attached?"

Nah, it's just the key, and a yellow plastic tag. That's one reason I was surprised, it's not like it had lots of other heavy keys on it...but then, that said, the key sits in there REALLY loosely so maybe it's not surprising it popped out, I probably went over a small bump, or a series of them, given I had been out for a couple hours at that point.

Never occurred to me that the key could just fall out!

Sounds like you were around the vicinity I went for a newbie ride today

Me neither hey anytime you want to go for a ride I'm keen, it's a good little route that one, lots of nice twists and turns, and decent scenery if you do get stuck behind a line of cagers driving at 30kmh, and can spare a few seconds to check it out

I see you took a chance to switch it off! And this thread would be different I guess


yea as someone said I kind of used logic to figure it out. "well, if the engine is still running, when I stop it (using the killswitch), it will still stay in the ON position, therefore I should be able to start it again..." and I was right.

even though I was convinced I was right there was still a second or two of 'oh shit' before I started it in case I was wrong

Hey anyway, call me crazy but this is my latest plan. 1) get a key or 2 or 3 cut just in case. then 2) use the key to start the bike, then once it's running take it out and put it in a secure pocket or my wallet or something. 3) when I've arrived (like at work) use the key to switch off the bike, then put it back in my pocket.

Is that totally retarded? I can't really see the down side to it. If this was a new bike, or at least not something 20+ years old, I would see the value in getting the lock rebarreled. But I just don't know if it's worth doing given the overall value of the bike.

[JMemonic]

Another option as opposed to getting a new ignition is to have the present on rebuilt by a good locksmith, then as suggested get the key number and keep it safe.

[-easy--rider-]

hey, thanks for the replies.

I don't know how to multi quote (noob) so i'll just post random stuff here.

" Was it a key on its own or did you have other junk attached?"

Nah, it's just the key, and a yellow plastic tag. That's one reason I was surprised, it's not like it had lots of other heavy keys on it...but then, that said, the key sits in there REALLY loosely so maybe it's not surprising it popped out, I probably went over a small bump, or a series of them, given I had been out for a couple hours at that point.

Never occurred to me that the key could just fall out!

Sounds like you were around the vicinity I went for a newbie ride today

Me neither hey anytime you want to go for a ride I'm keen, it's a good little route that one, lots of nice twists and turns, and decent scenery if you do get stuck behind a line of cagers driving at 30kmh, and can spare a few seconds to check it out

I see you took a chance to switch it off! And this thread would be different I guess


yea as someone said I kind of used logic to figure it out. "well, if the engine is still running, when I stop it (using the killswitch), it will still stay in the ON position, therefore I should be able to start it again..." and I was right.

even though I was convinced I was right there was still a second or two of 'oh shit' before I started it in case I was wrong

Hey anyway, call me crazy but this is my latest plan. 1) get a key or 2 or 3 cut just in case. then 2) use the key to start the bike, then once it's running take it out and put it in a secure pocket or my wallet or something. 3) when I've arrived (like at work) use the key to switch off the bike, then put it back in my pocket.

Is that totally retarded? I can't really see the down side to it. If this was a new bike, or at least not something 20+ years old, I would see the value in getting the lock rebarreled. But I just don't know if it's worth doing given the overall value of the bike.

my gn is the same. i have half a lanyard thing tied to the handle bars and it has a clip on the end which holds the key in. once i accedently droped by key in my tank. luckily it was still in the on postion. another time i ran outa gas and i broke the key and i had to borrow some petrol off some one and take the tank off and take the tap off and fill it up through the hole in the bottom.i have a good spare barrel off a gn off a 2007 that i never got round to putting in. my honda barrel is the same. just pays to keep a spare key on you or on the bike somewhere. i used to jam mine in my helmet. bit hard to get out but it stays there.