thats my one and only key. its tearing across the right side, and won't turn either way anymore. its currently turned about 1/6 from center.

HELP!   

edit: and before you ask, the honda key is for my ruckus, and the twisted lump used to be a quite intricate derailleur

try to remove key, and take to a locksmith, htey can cut a new one fairly easily

Get a tension wrench in there and turn the lock with the wrench, not the key. A tension wrench is a locksmith's tool, basically a thin, flat pice of steel bent at a 90 degree angle. A search online should yield many pictures and instructions to make one, or you could buy one... If I were you, I'd use the tension wrench to turn the key whichever way was easiest. If you can get the lock open, leave the key in it and take the entire gas cap directly to the locksmith and get them to extract the key and service your lock. Once they've extracted the key, they will be able to make you a new one. You also want to service all of your locks. It is likely that one or more of them is sticking, which is causing you to apply too much force to the key and eventually caused you to break it. if you do break the key, don't panic, a locksmith can still make you a copy from the broken one, it will just take a bit more time and potentially cost a bit more. If you were to lose the key altogether for whatever reason, a skilled locksmith could still either take impressions of your old lock or disassemble a lock to make you a new key, or just rekey all three locks. You'd be amazed at how easy this stuff is if you have the right tools and know what you're doing. Locks really only keep honest people honest. Anyone can learn to open a lock if they care to, just search youtube and you'll find 5 year old kids being taught to bump key deadbolts in mere minutes. Also, you have now learned a valuable lesson in keeping multiple copies of your keys. I usually have two or three copies of any given key, just in case. It only costs a few dollars to copy most keys and having a spare can save a whole lot of headache. Good luck!

Here's a picture of some tension wrenches I dug up for ya, sorry about the size, but this is the best photo on the first page of the google search I did...



You should be able to get one thin enough to fit alongside your key and take the strain of trying to turn the stuck cylinder...

My key broke off in the fuel cap lock too! mine was totaly snapped in half. i pulled it out with needlenose pliers and ordered a couple blanks off e-bay for $8. then i matched up the blank w/ the old half a key, vise gripped them together and then used my dremmel tool. not pretty, but i now have two keys that work.

I broke my only key in half in my gas tank in the middle of a ride....

I used some tiny needle nose pliers and removed the bottom half of the key from the tank lock.  I then took the two halves of the key to a locksmith, 10 minutes and $5 later i had two new copies of the broken key that both work!

Push down on the cap when turning the key. This takes strain off of the key, lowering the risk of breaking.

Keep the lock sprayed with a lube. I prefer Liquid Wrench.

First thing with any vehicle is to make multiple keys.

im lucky i has both original keys that came with my bike and one of the keys is still in the plastic/rubber sleeve when the keys came with the bike.  +1 for always having a second key made if you nly have one for any car truck or bike you own.

thanks for the help people, i'm going to try the pushing down bit first, then try and make a tension wrench, then if all else fails, take the gas tank to a locksmith i know. 

and i know i need a second key, but i was building this bike from a pile of parts, and hadnt really needed the key for anything at all until now.  FWIW, i know it was the seat release that was causing the undue strain. i'm going to try and fashion some sort of pull mechanism for it so i dont need the key, as i am a poor broke college student and don't want to have to buy new parts, and the release needs considerably more pull than the key can provide.

thanks!

Quote from: sticks on February 05, 2009, 01:43:01 PM
thanks for the help people, i'm going to try the pushing down bit first, then try and make a tension wrench, then if all else fails, take the gas tank to a locksmith i know. 

and i know i need a second key, but i was building this bike from a pile of parts, and hadnt really needed the key for anything at all until now.  FWIW, i know it was the seat release that was causing the undue strain. i'm going to try and fashion some sort of pull mechanism for it so i dont need the key, as i am a poor broke college student and don't want to have to buy new parts, and the release needs considerably more pull than the key can provide.

thanks!

You could probably get your seat release to function without replacing it. Just lubricate everything and make sure the latch is adjusted correctly. A few dollars in graphite lock lube will go a long way towards solving your problem...

Quote from: fred on February 05, 2009, 01:58:12 PM
You could probably get your seat release to function without replacing it. Just lubricate everything and make sure the latch is adjusted correctly. A few dollars in graphite lock lube will go a long way towards solving your problem...

the problem is that the latch doesn't open far enough unless you really yank on it. its already gotten a healthy dose of liquid graphite though.

also, the tail bodywork isn't going back on, and so neither are the extra rails, one of which has the keyhole for the latch welded to it. its just easier for me to make a pull switch.

that said, anyone want some GS500E tail pieces? they're in ok shape if you don't mind lots of layers of spray paint...

I need the left side plastic and that sqaure rear center piece, pm me if you wanna hook me up!

I have that problem too. I just press down really hard on the opposite side of the cap from the hinge and the key is able to turn.

Quote from: Batair on February 06, 2009, 05:13:22 PM
I have that problem too. I just press down really hard on the opposite side of the cap from the hinge and the key is able to turn.

+1
and you can push down on the back of the seat while turning the key to ease the pressure.

Quote from: dgyver on February 05, 2009, 10:13:46 AM
Push down on the cap when turning the key. This takes strain off of the key, lowering the risk of breaking.

Keep the lock sprayed with a lube. I prefer Liquid Wrench.

First thing with any vehicle is to make multiple keys.

Quote from: Batair on February 06, 2009, 05:13:22 PM
I have that problem too. I just press down really hard on the opposite side of the cap from the hinge and the key is able to turn.

thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! tried this several times, didnt work, tried it several more times, gave up and worked on other things. tried it again, and it finally worked! 



next problem: none of the locksmiths or hardware shops near me have a key blank. frick.

Any dipshit locksmith worth a can of graphite lube will have motorcycle key blanks.  Just go somewhere else.  Locksmiths are as common as stray cats, at least where I live they are.  BTW, my advice would have been the same.. press down on the cap opposite the hinge and it will turn easily.  The same thing happened to me last year.  I broke the key right off in the cap.  Worked it out with needle nosed pliers and a tiny screwdriver while pressing down on the cap.  Good thing I had an extra key at home! 

Keep looking for a locksmith that either stocks the right blank or will order some for you. My local, super good family locksmith didn't have Suzuki motorcycle blanks in stock when I asked, but they ordered some and called me in a couple of days to tell me they had come in. The next time I went in to copy a GS key, they still had blanks left, so it wasn't a problem. If even my super good local shop didn't have the right blanks, it might be possible that you won't be able to find a locksmith that has them in stock, but you should at least be able to find one that will order the blanks for you...

i've checked my super good local shop, and my ok, but much more convenient shop, and one other that is neither good or local, and none of them had the blanks. only the second shop offered to order them for me.  i'm going to check a place that is close by my school, and if thats a no-go then i'll let the other place order em for me, since they offered.

and, yeah, i think i'll get three.