Keyed ignition stuck in "Park"

[bighamms]

When trying to start my bike earlier, I had the bike on the side stand and the wheel turned. I went to pull my key out and turned the key to the "PARK" position which locks the steering assy. Now I can't get the damn thing to unlock. I can see the metal pin at the bottom of the assembly. I can even use a screw driver to push is in far enough to straighten out the wheel. But the key will not go back to the off position. Have sprayed some WD-40 in the key hole, but that doesn't seem to make a difference.

Any suggestions? Looks like I might be able to take off the headlamp housing giving me access to the key assembly. But not sure take it apart is the answer..

Note: I posted this on the end of the another thread, sorry for the duplication. Bike is getting the best of me today.

 

[posplayr]

When trying to start my bike earlier, I had the bike on the side stand and the wheel turned. I went to pull my key out and turned the key to the "PARK" position which locks the steering assy. Now I can't get the damn thing to unlock. I can see the metal pin at the bottom of the assembly. I can even use a screw driver to push is in far enough to straighten out the wheel. But the key will not go back to the off position. Have sprayed some WD-40 in the key hole, but that doesn't seem to make a difference.

Any suggestions? Looks like I might be able to take off the headlamp housing giving me access to the key assembly. But not sure take it apart is the answer..

Note: I posted this on the end of the another thread, sorry for the duplication. Bike is getting the best of me today.

My suggestion is to not do that anymore

Sorry I have two ignition keys both from matched sets that did the exact same (81 GS750EX and 1983 GS1100ED)

If you get the ignition lock out and take it to a qualified locksmith I suspect they can fix it. I've yet to get around to that. Note the guts of the aftermarket ignitions are not the same as the OEM, so you will never be able to match key sets unless you can stick with OEM all around.

 

[Guest]

Are you pushing down on the key?

 

[posplayr]

Are you pushing down on the key?

No but I have pushed pulled snorted yelped and cried

 

[Guest]

No but I have pushed pulled snorted yelped and cried

Sh!t Jim
You just bought a new ignition switch.

 

[posplayr]

Sh!t Jim
You just bought a new ignition switch.

I'm talking about the originals. I'll try pushing again. I have aftermarket with separate non matching keys on both.

 

[Guest]

I'm talking about the originals. I'll try pushing again. I have aftermarket with separate non matching keys on both.

Both my 82 and my 78 did this. I managed to wiggle and jiggle the key on the 82. But not so lucky with the 78.
Sucks!

 

[bighamms]

I had a feeling the thread would play out in this manner. I have wiggled, jiggled, fussed and cussed this thing for about an hour. Walked away, got cleaned up and then attacked the bike from the back when it wasn't looking...still no luck.

I see a few bolts at the base of the assy. I think I'll try taking is apart and seeing where that gets me. if that doesn't work, looks like I'll be riding in circles for a while.

 

[jbs80106]

ur not alone...happened to me 2x...

ur not alone...happened to me 2x...

one in a parking lot! The other time was in the garage.

After much pushing, slightly pulling, forceably turning, turning and pushing the little locking nub thing with a screw driver, spraying with all kinds of lube...more cussing. I'd fiddle with it for about 15 mins till I got ****ed off, go back into the house, try again later...and after several cycles like this, next morning went out to try and on the first try it lightly and easily gave up and unlocked....


once I forgot to tell the shop guys who were looking at a problem on my bike (I dropped it off with them) they accidentally locked the forks. Dude said 'is there a problem with locking the forks because we did it on accident and it was a b1-acth to get unlocked.'.....I straight faced said 'WTF did you do to my bike...I NEVER had a problem with it before'....then told them just kidding. They didn't find it too funny though as many a time people will drop of a perfectly working bike for an oil change or new tires or something...then claim that something completely unrelated was now broken but was fine before.....

Good luck!

 

[bighamms]

and that my friend is the ray of hope i was looking for....

funny story about the shop guys. I will definitely pull the same prank if ever in that situation...

 

[bakalorz]

and that my friend is the ray of hope i was looking for....

funny story about the shop guys. I will definitely pull the same prank if ever in that situation...

Another Idea to try ... get a new key...

I had the same issue, it would be very hard to get out of park.
Once, all geared up in mesh, I got stuck in a parking lot on a HOT sunny day. The mesh works great when you're moving, but if you are not, it traps a layer of air next to your body and insulates you ... After 5 minutes of struggling with the key, I HAD to get out of all the gear ... helmet, gloves, jacket, pants (and the boots too, to get the pants off) ARRRGH !!!! before I could continue ... Took about half an hour to get it out of park ...

So I NEVER put it in park after that ...

fast forward a year or two, and someone was talking about having keys cut from the "numbers" on a key.

I had investigated this years ago, but the local locksmith wanted $30 to do it.
Apparently someone on e-bay was selling them, and Rapid Ray from here did some as well. Both were for more reasonable prices than the local locksmith.

Well, I wanted spare keys, so I had Ray make me two.

When they arrived, I compared them to the original.
They were similar, but the original was obviously much more worn.

The new keys opperated the ignition and helmet lock fine ... but what about park ... would it work now ... with some hesitation I experimented ...

And what do you know, now I can use park with no fear ...

So if worst comes to worst, rather than having a locksmith tamper with the lock itself, have new keys cut using the "numbers" and put them in the lock

 

[Danjal]

My GS has done this before to me. I just added a little bit of pressure to the key and she popped loose.

 

[drejal]

Not that it helps you right now with the key stuck in the ignition, but mine also gets jammed when turned to park with the original key. It's frustrating as heck to get it "un-jammed", but with enough fiddling, it comes out.

I was at a locksmith this past weekend, getting some door locks rekeyed for my apartment. Fortunately I had ridden in on my GS. Asked the old guy if he could make me a copy of my ignition key since I needed a spare, and the fresh copy will turn in and out of park smoothly now. Must have something to do with the worn older keys. The really odd thing I found.....he had me put the uncut key blank into the key holes to make sure it was the right blank. It actually opened the fuel cap. Anyone else come across this?

 

[posplayr]

Another Idea to try ... get a new key...

I had the same issue, it would be very hard to get out of park.
Once, all geared up in mesh, I got stuck in a parking lot on a HOT sunny day. The mesh works great when you're moving, but if you are not, it traps a layer of air next to your body and insulates you ... After 5 minutes of struggling with the key, I HAD to get out of all the gear ... helmet, gloves, jacket, pants (and the boots too, to get the pants off) ARRRGH !!!! before I could continue ... Took about half an hour to get it out of park ...

So I NEVER put it in park after that ...

fast forward a year or two, and someone was talking about having keys cut from the "numbers" on a key.

I had investigated this years ago, but the local locksmith wanted $30 to do it.
Apparently someone on e-bay was selling them, and Rapid Ray from here did some as well. Both were for more reasonable prices than the local locksmith.

Well, I wanted spare keys, so I had Ray make me two.

When they arrived, I compared them to the original.
They were similar, but the original was obviously much more worn.

The new keys opperated the ignition and helmet lock fine ... but what about park ... would it work now ... with some hesitation I experimented ...

And what do you know, now I can use park with no fear ...

So if worst comes to worst, rather than having a locksmith tamper with the lock itself, have new keys cut using the "numbers" and put them in the lock

Makes sense. I just tried one of my locked ignitions and it would open depending upon the key I used.

 

[Baatfam]

Another Idea to try ... get a new key...

OK...I'll try this first, as my ignition did the exact same thing this weekend on the Spring Fennimore rally...
It was somewhat frustrating...

We ended up taking the ignition off and apart so I could get home.
I don't have the original key with a number, but I understand it should be on one of the locks somewhere, correct?

 

[Joe Nardy]

OK...I'll try this first, as my ignition did the exact same thing this weekend on the Spring Fennimore rally...
It was somewhat frustrating...

We ended up taking the ignition off and apart so I could get home.
I don't have the original key with a number, but I understand it should be on one of the locks somewhere, correct?

Bob,

I believe the key number is stamped on the back side of the helmet lock. It is probably also stamped on the ignition switch somewhere as well. Since your bike is comprised of parts from ??? other bikes it would be best to get the number from the ignition switch if possible. Hopefully someone will verify whether the number is stamped on the ignition switch.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[Baatfam]

Bob,

I believe the key number is stamped on the back side of the helmet lock. It is probably also stamped on the ignition switch somewhere as well. Since your bike is comprised of parts from ??? other bikes it would be best to get the number from the ignition switch if possible. Hopefully someone will verify whether the number is stamped on the ignition switch.

Thanks,
Joe

Thanks Joe...I didn't see it last night on the ignition, but I was tired so I'll look again.
I don't have a helmet lock, (the OP saving weight again), but the seat lock is easy enough to remove.

Do you know any good, local locksmiths? I have an uncut blank.

I'd like to get this squared away before Lee Parks...although the custom ignition I'm running now is kinda cool...

 

[Steve]

One more thing, ...

After you are once again able to ride in a straight line (not in those tight circles imposed by locked steering), DON'T USE THE PARK POSITION.

Have you ever parked it in the PARK position then come back to the bike a couple of hours later only to wonder why it won't start? :-k
That's because in the PARK position, your tail light is on. :-\\\

If you insist on locking your forks, turn the key the other way, to the LOCK position, the tail light will not be on.

If you haven't yet gotten the forks unlocked from the PARK position, besides pushing down on the key, have you tried wiggling the forks a bit? It's just like the locking steering wheel in your car. If the wheels are turned when locked, the lock mechanism might be in a bind and not release until you relieve the pressure by turning the wheel (in the case of your bike, the forks).

.

 

[Baatfam]

OK...the new, cut by number key did not solve this issue....

I even went so far as to drill out the roll pins and pull the tumbler out.
Whatever is stopping the lock from turning is inside the tumbler and right now I don't see how to get into that without damage.

So it looks like two keys for me until I can find a match set of locks...
I'm going to steal the ignition off my '82 750E for the time being...

Darn.

 

[bighamms]

@baatfam... Yeah, I ended up doing the same thing. Tried all the tricks but no luck. I ended up getting an new ignition from Powersport. It was only $8 and change. Yeah, I have to carry two keys, but at least i have some piece of mind that this key will go in, start bike, and come out.