I bought a set of panniers (type 2) from a guy in Sydney about a month ago and this afternoon was the first time I could get to them to see what they were really like.

Gave them a really good wash inside and out (the straps are all there as well as the thingo that stops the lid from opening all of the way).
I'll repaint the lids (satin black) and all should be ready to go.

But...the surprising part was that my ignition key fitted all six locks! Does anyone know if the locks are like that or is this a fluke?

I had that with my former key and my new fuel cap key. Both keys opend everthing. Not sure why this happens.

My ignition key fits five of the six pannier locks on my bike. It will lock the sixth one but wont open it. The pannier key will lock and open all six!!

hmmm might cruise past and see if my ignition key fitts too .......hey kids look see what followed me home .....giggles

i wouldnt be surprised to find that there is a likelyhood that there arent that many combinations used ...and that the lock mechanisms are way too sloppy and gummed up with crap that any key would work ...or have been modified by the dealer before sale ...psst you might even find that nearly all the coding leaves have been removed except for a couple ....

warning dont clean them up ...in the locked position blakey it might be the last time they work



but great news on the paniers mate ....

have some sticky back rubber (for stoping them vibrating -rattling) waiting for you

Thanks guys.
Yeah Charlie, I'm wondering about cleaning the locks now that you mentioned that.
But I like to live on the edge, so I'll give them a clean (Lanotec heavy duty liquid lanolin) and see what happens.
Oh, if you try the Lanotec spray (available from Super Cheap Autos among others), you'll never go back to WD40 or the like.

Blakey with panniers on the BRM Woo Hoo.

My key fits just about any lock.

BRM? Please explain...

brm....brm....braaaaaaaaa

Go to bed Charlie...it's getting late.

The lazy (flat rate) bastards at the Beemer shops rarely put all of the tumblers of the lock cylinders in, or they file them down, so only a few 'points' on the key are actually doing anything in the way of individual theft prevention. I didn't say that.

blakey ....dont put any oil near em ...many fall into this trap ...certainly it will lubricate them ...but when the oil substance dries to crud it will make any problems worse as it gathers dirt and binds on the wafers and springs .....almost all lock suppliers recommend graphite in limited quantities or "karba" spray ....

best you could do is clean them with an electronic cleaner maybe even degreaser wait till they dry and then lightly dust them with graphite

certainly around the hinges of the lock bodies they need some help ....the metal is crap and with all the vibrations and weathering they wear poorly

Charlie is absolutely right never lube locks with oil or oily spray use dry graphite powder only otherwise the key gets oily picks up dirt in your pocket and you wipe it off in the lock and re-oil the key so as to be ready to pick up more dirt.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Thanks for the heads-up guys.
I'll grab some graphite powder today.

Kerosene is used to clean ancient locks, and I have used liquid lanolin to seal my outdoors hardwood tables in case anyone is interested.
Well done Blakey, now you can bring fresh undies with you.
RT

Big Red Motorcycle It's a technical term that those in the game use.

K Freak wrote:Big Red Motorcycle It's a technical term that those in the game use.

nice ...k-freak

That's probably why I didn't know...I'm watching from the sidelines.

Well done Blakey with your panniers. My panniers which I bought from a wrecker a few years ago are in the same boat..my ignition key opens and locks them also.

The only problem was that the lids were white, from a K1100 and I wanted black lids. After sanding them back to the plastic, I sprayed them with Motospray Bumper Prime and then a few coats of Motospray Bumper Black. That gives you that 1980s rubber bumper look and it is easy to touch up with the can if you accidently get into a tight spot and scrap the lids. The black satin look can hide many imperfections.

That's exactly what I'm doing.
Great minds think alike!

Those great minds also believe that the black panniers look great on red bikes.

Indeed, I would never paint the lids red.