Ok, this one is on me. I decided I needed an extra flat key to hide on the bike in case I ever lost my main key and needed to ride anyway. So from Greg's collection of 300 odd K bike keys I selected a couple that looked appropriate. Took them home and one came close to working. Comparing it to the existing key I used a dremmel to get it in shape. The key would fit and would even start the bike if I jiggled it just right. No problem getting it in or out. Took one last run at smoothing it out. And it worked very well. UNTIL I tried to pull it out. Ooh, you fricking key. It works just fine to turn the bike on/off but won't come out of the key slot. I pulled, jiggled left and right up and down, pushed in and in every direction. I tried WD40 and other lubricants. No luck I had it with my bare hands, and with a pair of pliers. No coming out. I don't care what it identifies as it just won't come. I've pulled on it until I was afraid I was doing damage to the lock mechanism and the electrical switch underneath. No Go.

Finally I decided I had to take the whole thing apart. I got the lock/switch out as can be seen in the photo below. Deciding I would never trust that key again I willingly cut on one side so I could remove the plastic mounting bits and keep them from being damaged. As you knowledgeable types know there is a very small screw in the side that keeps the switch? in the mount. And as luck would have it, it apparently is rusted in place. At present I have saturated it with WD40 and another lubricant and then applied 100 lbs of air in hopes of getting the lube back into all female side of the screw. So far no luck. I've left it for the evening hoping the lubricants will soak in and tomorrow I can have another go at it.

So any suggestions on how to undo my bad? Greg thinks he may have another switch/lock assembly and I can spend a couple of hours trying all 300 keys searching for one that works. But that would leave me with 5 other keyed items that need to be re-keyed/worked (2 saddle bags x 2keys per and the fork lock). So I would prefer to salvage this one. Is there any other way into the key section of the switch? My un-original thought was to remove the switch from the bottom of the stack of key/switch and then get access to the keys. Not even sure if that is a sensible/feasible approach. And that would only work if I can get the tiny/little screw out of the side.

Oh, OK, it comes to me that if I can get the key portion out I can just get another such part and make it fit the existing key. Ok. that sounds like it would work.

Thanks
J.

But it is so easy to get a key cut for a K bike. My local leather and shoe repair shop makes them for €5.

Ignitions are one of those things its worth keeping spares of. I know I have a couple of matching ignition/seat lock sets in my shed as they come up from time to time and worth grabbing. Gas tank cap is easy to rekey with a file.

Try using Freeze-Off on that key. Don't waste WD-40 using it as a penetrant. Liquid Wrench or another dedicated product is the way to go, but no spray-on lubricant is likely to release a maladapted part forced into engagement.

For the housing screw, heat the housing until it's warm to touch. Find a driver that fits the screw tightly. Using firm downward pressure on the driver with the housing held tightly to prevent its rotation, apply tightening torque momentarily on the screw then back it out. Think Jackie Chan not André the Giant.

Laitch is correct about putting heat on that screw.  BMW in their infinite wisdom put that F%^&@#* red thread locker on it so it needs heat to get it to let go without breaking the screwdriver slot off of it. 

If you are afraid to heat up the switch like I am, you can try soaking it with Red Brakleen. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7b1zphuPWA

If that doesn't work, heat the area around the screw with a hair dryer until it is too hot to touch, then let it soak for a few seconds and try the screw.  If you have an infra red thermometer try to get the temperature up to 200F.  That isn't hot enough to melt the plastic and might be enough to get the damn screw out.

I would take the lock and key to a locksmith.  They have tools for picking locks and a knowledge of how the locks are made so they can get the key out without wrecking the lock.  Keep in mind, those locks are no longer available and used ones are as rare as unicorn sh!t.

Something that many people don't realize about key cut patterns is that the slopes of the key cut matter so that you can get the key both in and out. You can get specialized lock lubricants but I use aerosol silicone because it doesn't collect dust and gunk things up.

When I lived in Seattle is used to cost me $6 to get a key copied even if I brought in my own key blank. I now live in a rural area and my locksmith only charges me $1 per key.

Well, that was a bit of a misadventure. Only cost me $20. and I suppose that "all's well that ends well" adage is appropriate.

 Went over to Greg's and he had one just one 2nd hand switch that was missing the key, that he relinquished for a mere $20. Thinking about all the advice here I tried to find the CRC products that will melt red locktite. But I live in the great state of California such are not to be had due to environmental concerns. I I tried heat. Took an old soldering iron and ground the tip to a point that I could put into that little screw that holds the switch in the stack of key-switch. Not sure if it was the heat but after melting the sides of the screw hole but it came free on the new used part and I was able to get the switch and key body separated. I then applied my newly learned skills to the one still on Silver and got it apart likewise. The stuck key remained stuck and I have yet to learn why it is stuck. But I took the used part key body, inserted Silver's key and then using the dremel ground off the protruding key tumbler pins. The key cylinder then worked as it should. Replacing the tumbler with the stuck key with the new used tumbler and then reassembling the whole took several hours. My biggest fear was dropping something critical and having to search for it on hands and knees. For once that didn't happen. Reassembled tumbler in the lock body, added the switch, used the old screw (surprisingly it was quite clean and workable after being extracted). Tested keyed switch. Found it worked and reassembled the dash with key in place.

Occasionally I fondly remember the old days when all you needed to power up a BMW motorcycle was a nail.

jjefferies wrote:Occasionally I fondly remember the old days when all you needed to power up a BMW motorcycle was a nail.

Same for Jawa and MZ...

I used the awl on my Swiss Army knife as an ignition key for my dad's 1960 VW Beetle.

duck wrote:I used the awl on my Swiss Army knife as an ignition key for my dad's 1960 VW Beetle.

Duck, thank you for sharing these memories!

I used to do the same during my active years with the Swiss army.
A Swiss Army knife could start a Swiss Army Pinzgauer (a light 4x4 built in Austria)
And there we were - let's go!