Afternoon All, Has anybody managed to remove the ignition barrel from the alloy casing? . I have the ignition lock and key from a 90's 900ss but wish to remove the barrel to use the lock and key in a 748 housing. Any help appreciated. chris
After an unsuccessful theft attempt on my bike , I tried .... .... I tried hard ( and I've got a fair bit of locksmithing experience ) . I've even got some photos of the internals somewhere , but I'd have to dig deep to find them now . I had to chuck the towel in eventually , and I bought a used lock off a similar model that was being broken up , so now I have to carry two keys for the bike ( tank and tail locks still work with the original key )
Meanwhile , back in sensible world ( at least as far as this forum is concerned anyway .... ) This is the biggest part of the problem ..... To get the cylinder out , I think you need to get the back plate off , and it's attached with rivets , so before drilling the heads off them , you need to think about closing it all up again . These are the only pictures of my own locks that I've found so far ..... ... that's the original ignition switch I took off and the used replacement that I bought . BTW -the replacement lock did not come out of the factory looking like that . Someone in the past has cut slots through the casting , and also through the rivet heads .... probably in the hope that they could be " unscrewed " .... that's my guess anyway . It's how it came to me , together with working keys . I haven't found the pictures of the lock internals yet , but this is a very good site showing how to modify the locks on panniers .... ..... the general principle is the same for any lock that works using wafers . https://motorcycleinfo.co.uk/multis...k-tumblers-to-suit-a-different-key-index84a3/
They are not rivets they are shear bolts. Drill a hole into them and hammer in a torx bit. They will then unscrew.
This is the barrel from a fuel cap. To remove it the silver washer has to be removed from the end of the barrel and the retaining bar (indicated) fully depressed. I used a penknife blade. The barrel then slides out from the front.
Ok all sorted folks. The answer is below!! The lock cylinder has a spring loaded tumbler the is deeper than the key and sits under a lip in the bottom of ignition casting. When the barrel is installed the bottom tumbler is depressed and the barrel eased into the casting. The key is then inserted into the barrel and the barrel pushed home to the correct position. The key is turned OFF & ON as in use and then pulled out. The barrel is now retained by the lower tumbler under the lip to prevent it all sliding out when you remove the key or vibrating out at traffic lights. So, to remove the barrel you need to depress the lower tumbler and ease the barrel out. Remove ignition lock and plastic shroud. Drill a 3mm hole as shown in the photo. Drill right in the knuckle of the casting on the steering lock side. (It will be in line with the key blade at the ON position) Go steady, it’s made of monkey metal and you only just want to get through it and not damage the brass retaining tumbler below it. Then with a dental pick or small driver push the lower brass tumbler until flush with the barrel and with a little upward force ease the barrel out. You now have the barrel out to exchange, change the tumblers, make a key, etc. Reinstall as above after depressing the locking tumbler and pushing in the the key with a little grease. Then either grease or a little silicone in the 3mm hole that was drilled. The other option would be take it to a locksmith and he will pick the lower tumbler and remove the barrel, but where’s the fun in that for an enthusiast.
Fantastic work there .... Looking back to your first post , you made stunning progress .... and rapido , .... and I've got to ask .... How did you work out exactly where to drill , so as to get at the locking tumbler and in just the right place ? Those close-up pics from yourself and @chrisw are just what I need to get my tank and ignition keyed alike . I couldn't find the photos of my original ignition lock internals , but they wouldn't have been any use to anybody . When somebody tried to steal my bike it got "modified" , using a hammer and a large screwdriver . Anyway , thanks to all for taking the time to share in detail , and also for the pics .
Here's how I did it. First job is to remove the shear bolts that hold the back plate on. They are soft metal and drill easily. Either drill the head off completely or drill a hole and hammer a torx into it (you can then unscrew the bolt). I had previously been into the back of this lock so I just sheared the heads of the brass screws that were threadlocked with superglue. Remove the switch gear along with the back plate and the white plastic molding. This is what you will see It helps if you have a key. If not, the lock will probably be in 'OFF' if it has been removed. If you have the key, rotate it slightly and the cam mechanism will line up with the rectangular casting's slot. The casting will then fall out if you tip the lock up. The steering lock can then be removed. If you don't have a key then the rectangular casting will probably break if prised with a large flat blade screwdriver. Below you will see Remove the two screws The release peg is arrowed. I used a penknife blade to depress it. The lock barrel then comes out of the front of the lock. Reassembly is the reverse. Use some suitable screws and threadlock to secure (or some new shear bolts)
Great write up ChrisW. That’s interesting Chris W. If only I’d seen those pics earlier. Some time ago I tried to go into the lock lock from the underside. I removed the shear bolts and cover but if I recall it seemed very tight to remove the switchgear itself. From memory I’d decided they were installed and an epoxy type material poured in to seal. Maybe this was just the switchgear itself and a little more waggling would have eased it out. I didn’t want to prise too much as the cast ally is similar to an old corgi model car. I’m sure we’ve all had them and broken them. Looking at ChrisW photographs the cam mechanism for the steering lock is eccentric so as chris says you would need the key to remove and release the cam. As for my investigations I had an attempted theft damaged lock mechanism smashed to bits. I was fairly certain the barrel would have a retaining pin as most locks like this have. From the damaged lock I could identify the bottom of the lock cylinder reach and then the retaining groove/lip. I was certain it would be in line with the key blade so with the alignment and position of the retaining lip I drilled steady away. As with all research and development it’s a learning curve. I will be honest and I drilled the wrong side first. Well it a was a guess and the odds were 50/50 and easily rectified So I’m thinking if you have a key you can use ChrisW method, I had a key but I believe you wouldn’t need one if you drilled the side of the housing. Just another thought everybody, if the key was removed with steering lock or side lights on the hole would need to drilled in the corresponding position in line with the key blade.
If all that is required is the lock barrel then some mole grips would snap the cam mechanism. It is only cast and probably brittle.
First of all, thanks for this write-up. My Duc also recently got its ignition barrel "modified" by a stranger who took a liking to my bike and after a few hours of Googling and finally stumbling upon this thread, I was able to remove the damaged barrel. Since I couldn't use my key to move the barrel at all (50% of it is gone and was jammed into the casing), I found I was able to use needle nose pliers to move the shaft and simultaneously use an O-ring pick to pull out the steering lock casting. Now I just need to figure out where to get a new barrel...
Hi Doubleohseven, sorry to hear the s rotes have been at your bike too. In the paperwork for one of my bikes, I have an invoice from a locksmith that put a fuel cap back together quite recently. It was posted to them for repair and reassembly. I’ll dig it out and forwards the info. What bike is it for out of interest? Cheers Chris
Its an '05 Monster 620 Dark. I'm eyeing an ignition switch for a Monster 797 (no exact year posted) on eBay. The ignition assemblies all appear to be exactly the same, even the ones in this thread, so I'm hoping to dig out the barrel and have it re-pinned to my key.
