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Is losing the key ignition possible?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ironriot
  • Start date Start date
I

Ironriot

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I've been wondering if I can somehow bypass the key ignition and set up the bike to turn on with a killswitch or something else of the like. Is it possible or am I just stupid?


Before you say, 'well then anyone can steal your bike.' Know that I've already thought of a pretty nifty idea for a killswitch that I'm pretty sure NOONE will ever figure out how to use
 
Ironriot said:
I've been wondering if I can somehow bypass the key ignition and set up the bike to turn on with a killswitch or something else of the like. Is it possible or am I just stupid?


Before you say, 'well then anyone can steal your bike.' Know that I've already thought of a pretty nifty idea for a killswitch that I'm pretty sure NOONE will ever figure out how to use
Click to expand...
Well, the only prob i see is having to lock out the accessories from being on all the time. You could do this however...

Wire the accessories wire to a toggle, so that you can always turn them off and on. And then wire the "ON" wire to a toggle or push button. Ive seen it done on a couple of cafe bikes. Slickest one had the starter button hidden under the seat pan. Climb on, reach under and push to start. Seems pretty simple.
 
TheCafeKid said:
Well, the only prob i see is having to lock out the accessories from being on all the time. You could do this however...

Wire the accessories wire to a toggle, so that you can always turn them off and on. And then wire the "ON" wire to a toggle or push button. Ive seen it done on a couple of cafe bikes. Slickest one had the starter button hidden under the seat pan. Climb on, reach under and push to start. Seems pretty simple.
Click to expand...

Awesome so its doable..... I got some badass gauges off of Paulyboy and would you know, they interfer right with my ignition. So I knew it was gonna get moved. But then the more I thought about it the more I knew that I wanted to lose it altogether. I don't have the sharpest memory and I only have one key, so no key ignition would be best probably
 
TheCafeKid said:
Wire the accessories wire to a toggle, so that you can always turn them off and on. And then wire the "ON" wire to a toggle or push button. Ive seen it done on a couple of cafe bikes. Slickest one had the starter button hidden under the seat pan. Climb on, reach under and push to start. Seems pretty simple.
Click to expand...

This is how you take your average family sedan and turn it into a racecar / speedway racer etc. I have built heaps of race cars and none have keys. The last thing you want to be fiddling with when you are strapped in a racing seat is a key. It's always toggles and push buttons. Racing bikes are the same. The key / lock is just another thing that can go wrong.
 
I saw a neat setup on a custom where all you saw was a neat row of five tiny switches. All five had to be in the exact correct position for the starter to work. Once you started the bike, you just flipped 'em all to one side so no one has a chance to memorize the 'combination". There were other tricksy hidden switches as well to turn on the lights and energize the ignition.

It's called "security through obscurity" -- if someone wanted to steal your bike, they'd have to know the trick and then spend some amount of time experimenting. At some point, it's easier to just get a pickup and a couple of strong guys and steal the whole thing.

You can also put in some dummy switches, wire the kill switch backwards, add a big red "start" button that doesn't do anything, require the rear brake lever to be pressed, etc. There are all sorts of ways to keep things yours without depending on a small lump of wiggly metal. Maybe you could figure out a way to adapt one of those computer fingerprint scanners.

With race cars and bikes, you don't want things to be obscured, of course. In these cases, you keep it under surveillance, keep it under cover (in a trailer or garage), and/or put on a disk lock or lock it to something big and difficult to move or demolish.

There's also the obscurity of the bike itself. Hardley-Ableson based customs are perfect thief targets because there's a large and ready market for the parts. In some areas, it's the same with late-model sportybikes.

With a GS, the market is pretty small, and most of us know each other. Unless the thief is just out for a joyride, they don't have much of a reason to steal a GS since they'd have a very difficult time quickly generating cash from a stolen bike or parts.
 
I hate keys too.
I hate getting my bike stolen even more.
So I rigged a stick of dynamite under the seat to blow if someone starts the bike up without putting in the secret code.
Pretty smart, huh?
 
Replace the key with a relay, activate the relay with the kill switch
 
tkent02 said:
I hate keys too.
I hate getting my bike stolen even more.
So I rigged a stick of dynamite under the seat to blow if someone starts the bike up without putting in the secret code.
Pretty smart, huh?
Click to expand...


As long a YOU Remember the code.*:shock::-D
 
tkent02 said:
Dyslexia is a bitch.
Click to expand...
Dyslexics of the world,...UNTIE \\:D/

My mother was founder and president of D.A.M.

That's Mothers Against Dyslexia. :-\"




Now back to your regularly scheduled thread...

Ironriot, yes, you can lose your ignition key. As others have mentioned, you will have to be a little more concerned about security when you leave the bike.

One other area that has not been mentioned is the LOCK function that the key provides. By not using the key, you will definitly lose that feature.
 
If you've got a decent memory, throw a combination padlock on the front disc or rear sprocket and wire up a switch to replace the ignition as other people said.
 
tkent02 said:
I hate keys too.
I hate getting my bike stolen even more.
So I rigged a stick of dynamite under the seat to blow if someone starts the bike up without putting in the secret code.
Pretty smart, huh?
Click to expand...

I saw a rabbit with a Brooklyn accent do that to his Acme Roadster once. Turns out a black duck with a speech impediment tried to start the bike and his bill blew half way around his head.
 
Ironriot said:
I've been wondering if I can somehow bypass the key ignition and set up the bike to turn on with a killswitch or something else of the like. Is it possible or am I just stupid?


Before you say, 'well then anyone can steal your bike.' Know that I've already thought of a pretty nifty idea for a killswitch that I'm pretty sure NOONE will ever figure out how to use
Click to expand...

I'm debating something like this too, since my ignition key is getting worn, and sometimes hard to turn.

The only problem is that you still need the key for the gas cap.
(and in my case the helmet lock if I use it)

Any easy way to make the gas cap not require that key ?
 
Griffin said:
I saw a rabbit with a Brooklyn accent do that to his Acme Roadster once. Turns out a black duck with a speech impediment tried to start the bike and his bill blew half way around his head.
Click to expand...
You're dithpicable!!!!
 
bakalorz said:
I'm debating something like this too, since my ignition key is getting worn, and sometimes hard to turn.

The only problem is that you still need the key for the gas cap.
(and in my case the helmet lock if I use it)

Any easy way to make the gas cap not require that key ?
Click to expand...

Remove the tumblers from the lock, then a screwdriver or anything will open it.
 
It kind of defeats the purpose though when you still need to carry a key for the padlock (on the front disc) and a screwdriver to open the fuel tank??????
 
Zooks said:
It kind of defeats the purpose though when you still need to carry a key for the padlock (on the front disc) and a screwdriver to open the fuel tank??????
Click to expand...
and that's why you use a combination lock for the front disc. On my GS the gas cap is removed in a somewhat strange way, you put the key in and then rotate the entire top of it (but not just the key) - I suspect you could break a key off in there or something and have it work fine.
 
A couple of things to consider. Make sure your switch is waterproof. Or at least water resistant. The same goes for the pushbutton or whatever you intend to use. Waterproof switchest get kind of expensive when you start meiking them handle the load of a starter or ignition switch. You probably could use a micro switch wired to a realy. That way you could take advantage of the selection of really small switches that are out there and still power your bike.
 
Is the ignition not relay-based on the GS? Wow. I'd be very surprised if all of the power for the starter runs up to the handlebars and back, but I suppose it's possible.
 
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