S.O.S How can i take off my lock to get it fixed? S.O.S

[BikerJake2010]

stupid i know, and seriously i feel like a ass that i have lost the only key i have to my baby zxr =( .... ironicaly i was going to get a key cut this morning but chose to go for a ride out to the park to have a kick around..... and then the key has gone =(..... Basicly i know this might be the wrong section but its attatched to my steering i need to remove the key barrel to have a locksmith make me a new key (make it 1000 new keys and one sergicaly attatched to my head)... i have followed the cable from the lock hoping there was a connection to break somewere but it seems to just go into the frame. Can i dismantle the lock still connected to the wire to just get the lock barrel? Im ok at using a spanner and tools so i dont mind a bit of gettin my hands dirty to fix it. Anything would be helpful on this.
Btw my bike is a KAWASAKI ZXR 400 1998 ( L8 )
Cheers.
Jake.

[zimm]

whip the tank off and investigate the rats nest of wiring behind the headstock, the connector should be in there somewhere

security bolts holding the barrell to the top yoke will be fun if they havent already been replaced with cap heads

and err .. you cant just yank the top yoke and seperate on the bench .. well you can .. but only if the ignition is switched on (steering lock secondary function)

[BikerJake2010]

Finaly got the bike home ... had to use my road side assistance to come pick it up (just myself and one other bloke dragging it practicaly up a 30 degree angle on a huge 4 ton flat bed )

Ok, i think i have gone a little overboard on this. (ill upload what i have done shortley) I have taken the fairings off, the clocks had to come off to get to the two bolts holding the ignition to the top yoke. The two funny lookin bolts came out no problem with one of my mini socket kits, now this is the anoying part. There seems to be a "extended" metal thing on the front of the main fraim of the bike with a black clip like thing on the back of the ignition that stops me from just pulling it free..... Now the only sulution i can see is to remove the top yoke plate ... but i am very cautious of messing with the steering..

Can anyone tell me if its a str8 forward undo the two allen keys on each side then remove or loosen the middle steering nut to lift the yoke and thus allowing me to remove the ignition block? .....

Cheers again.
Jake

[BikerJake2010]

Also one more thing, when taking the tank off how do i isolate the fuel? or is this done from the left hand side reserve fuel turny thing? (very technical talk )

[BikerJake2010]

you cant just yank the top yoke and seperate on the bench .. well you can .. but only if the ignition is switched on (steering lock secondary function)

zimm, how do you mean by this?, The steering lock is on..... is this going to stop me from taking the top yoke off ? *gulps*...... im trying to do this all myself as i have just splashed alot out on the zxr so funds are tight to go through a payed mechanic.... I have found a new lock set [ ignition, and fuel cap ] for cheap on ebay so im thinking of getting that if the locksmith fails to somehow make me a key up by looking inside the lost key ignition barrel..

[zimm]

I mean,

you cant take the top yoke and ignition barrell off the forks as one unit.. because unless the key is inserted and the ignition switched ON then the steering lock jams on the lug on the headstock.. its an anti theft measure ..

shouldnt actually matter if the two bolts holding the barrell to the top yoke have come out anyway.. slide the barell out the bottom.

[cargo]

Zimm as ever is correct you cannot remove the top yoke while the steering lock is on...............equally even if you can remove the security bolts that hold the ignition barrel in place you can not remove it......................you should be grateful for this as it is for anti theft reasons. Cutting it is only way to get it off.............

Now you do have a nasty little problem non of the solutions will be easy or cheap and however a little lateral thinking might just help................here's a few ideas to try

If you can track down the orginal owner of the bike when it was new he/she might have the key number................
The shop which sold the bike when new might also have the key number
Kawasaki UK might have the key number but I suspect they will charge a fee.........you'll need year model frame number etc etc

But here's a idea out of left field..................................the key that turn your ignition on and unlocks it is the same key that open the fuel cap.....................so you take your tank to a GOOD locksmith and he'll make a key to open the tank if you are lucky it will work in the ignition barrel as well worst case is that you'll have a key for the tank worth a shot I think..............also this key if it doesn't work in the ignition barrel it will at least be a starting point to cutting a key that will.

You could of course just take the whole bike to a locksmith and ask him to cut a key to fit................however you will want it done while you wait.this might be expensive but

cheaper than calling out a locksmith to where ever your bike is.....................scary numbers on cost for this.

I suspect that if you remove the ignition barrel security bolts and cutaway the circle of the top yoke that surrounds the ignition barrel it might just come away..................but I cant guarentee that one at all and your bike would be very much easier to steal once you replace the ignition barrel...............

If it was me I'd try the tank off and get a key made for it and hope it fits and failing that I'd take the bike to the locksmith...............thing is I know a good one and he know me so the price would be right

[cargo]

Have you made every effort possible to find you key ??? just a thought

Oh and best not to use mini chat to ask difficult questions.......................you may get quicker answers but not always correct ones

[Tyrant]

My ignition had had the security bolts changed for cap heads, that made life easier when I lost my key. I did manage to wiggle the barrel down and out of it's mount despite the steering lock being on. So worth having a try once you have disconnected the wiring for it.

[BikerJake2010]

Okies, yup cargo i have tryed every way to get the key so far, unfortunatly the previouse owner is someone i dont speak to anymore as they tryed to push me for more money for the zxr when i already payed well over the odds for it and had to replace the engine inside ..... I have taken the security bolts out and to me it moves around freely enought to just remove the top yoke and just slide it out... Thats what it looks like... Im going to try phoning the police station one more time to see if som1 very very nice has handed it in *fingers crossed*... As for taking the tank top off to have a key made for, that is a fantastic idea, and mayb it might work hopefuly, problem is i cant take the filler cap off as the final screw is under the cap itself... and i presume the numbers on the barrel are also under it. The key cutting guy said there "should be some numbers on the lock that can be read by a trained eye* to make another key..... i can only hope.....

I wont use the mini chat again, soz, i was just a little like Wtf to do ? ...... atleast shes home safe in my garege, just megga annoying as its my only form of transport and lol my family live 130miles away ...

Looks like this one is going to be a very very difficult one to solve =/...... and all over such a dumb thing :smt013 :smt013 :smt013 :smt013 :smt013

[cargo]

OK so you've got the ignition barrel unbolted and it's wobbly.........................you should be able to lift the top yoke off.....................and the ignition barrel should come away.
However be carefull that you have the front end supported the weight of the bike on the front end might just be enough the kink the forks a little once the top yoke is off and it could be hard to get it lined up and back on again. It could be possible to just slide the top yoke up enough to allow the ignition barrel to come free without the yoke actually coming right off ? ? ?

This reason this is a bollox of a job to do is that it protects you bike from theft....................hang in there you've winning......................slowly

[BikerJake2010]

Cheers cargo....yup thats what im going to try nd tackle later this morning, and that is a good bit of advice of the forks getting dis aligned. I think it would come up enough to let the barrel out as its wobbly as hell at the moment so just a little lift of the yoke and some good old wd40 around the plastic bit should do the trick.... failing that im goin to take a angle grinder and hack the whole lock barrel in two (seperate the key barrel from the ignition block). I can get hold of a new lock key set fairly easely so im just weighing up the costs of just replacing it or having it looked at to make a key up for it. Hehe i should be greatful its so hard to bust into but my god when you as the owner need to bust into it, they dont half make you wanna just scream and throw a wobbly at the bike (think im on the 5th one now :smt013 ).. Tryed the police station and all the shops in a half mile radius where i lost them, and nothing...... what makes me mad its probs a littl kid picked them up thinking "oooooo loook shiney keys ay!?!?" and there mommy was probs like "ooooo go on kid take them do what the **** you like with them!" and that has cost me a ton of cash........ if only it was handed in lol...... or i had a spare key .... i wish lol... ill let you know what happens.

[cargo]

I lost the key to my car.................and have managed with the spare one for years................cos they wanted £70 for a new one with the button on it to open and close the doors.
Feck that..................then I discovered how much it would cost if I lost the spare key and had to replace it........................scary scary numbers in fact it would have written my car off......................... cos the cost of a new key when you don't have one to copy was more than my car is worth...............................

Best of luck

[zimm]

I lost the key to my car.................and have managed with the spare one for years................cos they wanted £70 for a new one with the button on it to open and close the doors.
Feck that..................then I discovered how much it would cost if I lost the spare key and had to replace it........................scary scary numbers in fact it would have written my car off......................... cos the cost of a new key when you don't have one to copy was more than my car is worth...............................

Best of luck

horribly true isnt it .. I abandoned a VW lupo in scotland because of a lost key ... the keys are chipped, the car is on an island .. the carriage to get the car to a dealer who can encode a key = more than value of car.


any scots want a lupo for spares ?

[BikerJake2010]

Ok, here is how it all stands now, this is what i have done.

Removed all fairings
Tank off (To get to the ignition cable plug)
Top yoke off (now the ignition barrel has dropped str8 out )

so a big assed job for such a little thing lol....

I looked at the ignition barrel whilst attached to the lead and noticed a metal plate just were the cable come out, so i investigated a little further to reveal that its a easy job to take that off and the little white plastic bit with the connectors ( which thank god only can go on one way down to the T shaped spindal it has to go back on ) then under that is a black almost circle with cut out tabs thing, which i pulled out to reveal that is what the cord is connected to. So now i have the ignition on its own without having to mess with the rats nest of cables around the bottom half of the airbox. Willl this work still if i get a key made up 2moro and assemble it back the way i found it????........ I will post this in the electrics fourum 2 just incase its anything i need to do.

Cheers all, and thanks for the advice, has helped sooooooooooooooo much ( and finaly i feel like there could be light at the end of a very dark tunnel!!! )