I'm in the process of installing a new inginition switch. Can someone tell me what type of socket I need for the two screws that hold the ignition switch unit on from underneath. They look like some sort of star shape.

I thought the ignition unit was held onto the bike from above so I took off teh handlbars but I was wrong. It seems there are only those two strange nuts or screws that hold it on from underneath.

Those are tamper "proof" torx bolts. You can either order a bit to fit it from Suzuki for one milllllliion dollars or you can get one from Harbor Freight or a similar tool place for about 3-5 dollars.

The head of one of the tamper proof bolts is all that we have left of the GS after it was stolen. Seems they are not as tamper proof as Suzuki would like to think.

It's a torx bit (i'm pretty sure it's a torx..) but it has a hole in the center of it (the bolt has a pin  kinda thing in the center ...) .

I don't know who has the ones with the holes in the middle for sale ( the bits).. for cheap...(never looked too hard ..)

There are a few ways to get them off without havin the right bit/torx drive assuming you  have the  top clamp off the bike.....(possible to do on the bike MAYBE but I've never tried these methods on the bike)...

Is the ignition  busted from a theft or is it just missing a key?? If you can get the top clamp off:  

If you have a Really steady hand and can manage a drill... take a  small bit and drill the pin  from the center of the bolt...then use your torx...
If you bugger it up just put a larger drill bit in and  drill the head off...
the bolts will come out by hand once you get the ignition off if you have to drill the heads off....

The other  more "crude" ( hey if it works it works..) method ... is you take a hacksaw  and  cut  right where they bolt together/into the igntition switch housings-casting a little... and cut the bolts off---Iif the housing is going to be tossed in the trash anyway...assuming  a theft  damage is the reason for replacement...  

Or find the exact right  tool and buy it.....

I've just used Hex bolts  as replacements.... Hey if the the thief  has time to get  at your bike with tools and swap out an ignition so he can take off on it.... he's had PLENTY of time and was gonna get it no matter what...

My 42.5 cents...

I'm just replacing dues to a broken key. Before I take the method of drilling it out does anyone know the exact size of the torx screw or the exact size of the torx bit I need?

I use a pair vice grips to remove the blind bolts.

overstock.com carries a set of "security sockets" that have torx and other "locking" head bolt pattern tools.  I bought the set a while back and it works well for odd shaped nuts and bolts.

Don't dill out the pin.  Just buy a cheap set of Torx bits from Kragen (or similar) for about $12.  Or, buy the individual bits from NAPA.  They will have the correct bit and it will have the security hole in the center.  If your local store does not have them, pick one up from Lowes, they do have these bits.  Buy one and save yourself a headache.

Aaron

Thanks for the reply. I just found out they are external torx screw. My local autozone and menards do not have them. I will head out to Lowe's tommorow to check. Thanks for the heads up.

Might want to double check the bolt. An external torx bolt is something else entirely. Unless a previous owner or a shop replaced those bolts, the stock bolts are not external torx, they are tamper proof torx.

External torx has the star pattern raised from the bolt head. Regular torx or internal torx have the star shape recessed into the bolt head. Tamper proof is a star shape recessed into the bolt head with a small pin in the center to prevent a flat tool from being inserted.

Those bolts are neither torx nor external torx... They are bolts that had an allen head on them and a conical 1/2 of an hourglass like shape to them, and at the factory they were tightened down till the base of the hour glass hit the flat part under the lock and they kept twisting it till the head broke off. These are also called breakaway bolts. You can get them out with a drill, I'd try a left handed drill in the smallest size possible and get progressively bigger. The other option which is more fool proof is to use a dremel tool and a cut off wheel and cut a slot in the head, doing as little damage as possible to the well in which it sits and once you have cut a slot, try a screwdriver. That would be the simplest option. That's how dealers, junkyards, thieves etc take the things off...
Cool.
Srinath.

Wow this is more work then I anticipated. I was just going to go to my local Lowe's and try to find a torx head that would fit. Let's say I drill it out. What type of screw would I use to put the new ignition switch in?

Maybe they changed styles at a certain point, but the dozens of 98, 00 and 01 models that I have worked on all had tamper proof torx (recessed star w/pin).

YMMV

I have an 89. So they only way I can chnage my ignition is to drill out the screw or cut the unit off?

If the bolt has a star shaped indentation in it as you originally stated in your first post, then there is most definately a tool designed to fit it.

There are several routes to go.
1) Find a store that sells the bits (lots of specialty tool places do, aplitz says Lowe's carries them, I have seen them at Harbor Freight and Sears)
2) Borrow one from somebody that has one (I don't have one handy or I would loan it to you or sell it to you. I can find out the size exactly for newer models, but not sure if that would have changed for 89)
3) Take the bike to a shop, start a friendly conversation with one of the shop guys and ask them if they would mind poping those two bolts out, not change the ignition, just the bolts.
4) Cut or drill, but I would consider this a last ditch effort if it was my bike. If you drill or cut you will need new bolts, but if you have the tool you can use the existing ones.
5) Buy a regular torx bit and drill a hole in the center of it???

Wrencher..thanks for the advices. I took a very close exmination tonight at the screw. It's not a torx and definitely a breakaway bolt. So I definitely have to do the drilling method. I don't see how the cutting method would work since the gap between the ignition assembly and the bracket is so tight.

Now the problem is that the area is very tight and I will not be able to set my drill and drill bit at a straight angle. I see how a smaller drill unit like a dremel would work but I do not have a dremel. So I'm still contemplating what to do.  :dunno:

save your self some headache, pull the top clamps off and work on a bench with a Vice, less likly to break off a Hardend Drill bit in half drilled bolts provided you have good work angle. you cant easly drill out a broken drill bit, trust me.

Yes it has to be off the bike, in a vice or table... and I would attempt to cut a slot in the head like a screw driver slot with a dremel tool and cut off wheel. Yes you may cut a little off the triple as well but it wont hurt it functionally. You could use a dremel tool and grind it off but will take forever. Cut a slot in it and use a screwdriver.
Cool.
Srinath.