Hey guys/girls,

This is my first post, so bear with me. I have had my 2004 GS500F for just about a year now, and now I'm having my first real problem. I read some previous threads about similar issues, but I wanted to get some experienced opinions about my specific situation before I decide what to do.

The other day when I went to start  up the bike for he first time in about a week (I know, I shouldn't have neglected her for that long!), the plastic slidepiece that covers the ignition was stuck. Thinking that it was just hung up a little, I tried kinda prying it open with the key to no avail. This is when I made a mistake that I am having to deal with now. I tried lightly tapping the back of the key with a hammer. In retrospect, it was dumb, but at the time I was thinking it would just pop the little guard out of the way and I would be on mine. However, as you might have guessed since I am making this post, the key just smashed right through the plastic cover, pushing pieces of plastic down into the ignition tumblers. I read some general online discussions about this very problem, not specific to the GS500, and I have tried all the ideas I read about that do not involve removing the ignition switch, including using heated dental probes and needles to try and fish out the pieces. Needless to say, nothing has worked, and I really can only get the key in about half an inch. I can see black plastic all the way at the bottom, but I am not sure why I can't ge my key in at least a little further. In any case, I do not forsee being able to get the key in there without doing some more intensive work. I also am not sure if the whole ignition set-up is screwed up from my tinkering around.

My real question involves what amount of work will be necessary to get my bike going. I have looked up prices on new ignitions, and they are reasonable, but I am afraid I do not have the tools nor the know-how to do this myself. Mind you, I am living in a temporary house and I do not have access to a lot of equipment as I haven't really been on my own for long and I haven't built up much of a tool collection. I figure to have this done in the shop would end up costing me somewhere between 200 and 300 dollars with labor. Not to mention I would have to get my bike to the shop, which is sort of a problem because I can't start it and it is in the locked position.

What do you recommened I do? I have done only very minor repairs/adjustments to my bike, and I feel like this will involve removing fairings and loosening bolts that will leave me stuck with my bike in pieces and me in over my head. Should I try to tackle this myself or just get it to the shop? Is there any way to get the bike started without using the key if I remove the ignition switch? I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I will need to replace the part, so where should I go from here?

I would appreciate any responses, sorry for the long post but I really hate not being able to ride the poor girl, and also being so helpless at taking care of her...

if you cant clean out teh ignition switch, youll ahve to replace it. i could tell you how to bypass it, BUT since its locked, and for liability reasons i wont ( sorry)

lock-smith? maybe able to clean it out

The switch itself can be tricky to replace, its held in position with shear-bolts which are intended to make removal difficult and it involves removing and dismantling the front suspension. The procedure for replacing it is covered in the workshop manuals.....maybe you could borrow one and decide for yourself if its something you could do yourself. Some contributors in here have replaced the switch themselves and may make comment in time.
Hot-wiring it is not difficult, the info is there in the wiring diagram for all to see. If you want to know exactly how PM me, I dont want to say how its done in the forum.......however hot-wiring will not release the steering lock.

To sum up these are your options:

Get a manual and decide if you can and are willing to do the replacement yourself
or
Force the lock using a hammer and screwdriver, hot-wire it if needed and ride the bike to the dealers and let them do it.