Replacement keys

Mailman

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My bike only came with one key when I bought it.
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A long time ago I posted the question about where to source a new one. A lot of suggestions were made at the time. I thought I'd share with you what I wound up doing.
There is a guy on eBay that, if you send him the number off of your key, he will send you a replacement , guaranteed to work for $30.

I thought that was pretty expensive, so I went to every hardware store near me , but no luck, they all carried Yamaha blanks but not the one for our old bikes.
Then I went to a local locksmith, I held off going to a locksmith because I thought they would be expensive. Well I walked out of there after 5 minutes with a new key that worked perfectly, all for $4. Less than the cost of a Big Mac!
 
I did the same. The only problem was when he tried it in the ignition it wasn't smooth enough for him and before I could stop him he squirted WD-40 into the switch which gummed it up in about a month.... So take igntion switch apart time #1.

My original key has a slot cut through it where that groove goes down the middle. That is all just cut away with a bandsaw or something. What it does is it lets you get pull your key out in any postion, so you can use your other keys if you need to. I keep it in my wallet.
 
I did a bit of key research a few years back. I found the 650, and most '70s & '80s Yamahas for that matter, use about 6 different key blank styles. Here's the info .....

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On the 650s, I've found mostly YH48-49 and 50-51 keys. The YH46-47 style, with no groove on the side, seem less prevalent.
 
Mine is an Ilco YH48. Looking at the cross sections, you wouldn't want to slice just any of them down the middle (if any of them) :)
 
I have a locksmith nearby that carries most old blanks, great price too, can even cut a key with only the code.

On one of my Hondas I have a non matching tank and ignition, but they use the same blank. These are double sided keys, just like the XS's. I had the locksmith cut a blank for the ignition on one side of the blank, and the tank on the other side of the blank. The locksmith would not cut the key unless I agreed to pay with no guarantee, he said it wouldn't work. It works great.

Scott
 
It's funny, the locksmith I went to struggled to find the right blank for a few minutes and then told me that someone must've changed the ignition switch at some time because according to his references, my key was used in 1984 and up models. I think he has bad info. The one key works everything, ignition , seat, steering head lock. Everything looks to be original.
 
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