Spoiler: I got them out, but not after a bit of drama
So some backstory. I'm terrible about locking myself out of things - I lock myself out of my apartment on nearly a weekly basis, and I can't count the number of times that I've had to climb down the fire escape to break into my kitchen. I just knew that it was only a matter of time before I managed to lock my keys in my scoot, and apparently today was the day. I had set it on the gas cap while I was taking my gloves off, and not even thinking dropped the seat.
What was worse was I had already locked the steering column - so when the scooter shop (the awesome Route 66 in Marina Del Rey) sent a truck over - myself, the shop guy, and a coworker had quite the pain to wrestle it up the ramp.
Luckily when we got there they were able to jimmy open the latch within minutes
So lesson learned - I went straight to the locksmith and got a spare key, that now safely sits in the inner pocket of my armored jacket.
Sounds like a change of general behavior is needed!
Maybe you should consider one of those key chains you can wear around your wrist. At least for a while until you stop locking yourself out of you home etc!
.::I know the voices in my head aren't real, but man do they come up with some great ideas::.
There's apparently a super-secret way of getting to your keys that only a few people know and which doesn't get posted here so as to protect us from thieves. Maybe try contacting ericalm if it happens again.
Seriously, it's not as difficult as one would think to lock your keys in there...
Don't feel too bad. We have ALL done stuff like that, although many will not admit it in order to feel superior. I have a steadfast fear of doing the exact same thing, which is why we keep a spare set in the safe and my wife knows about it. I just know at some point with this Kymco I'm going to end up doing it, so I would rather just be prepared. Especially if you are in a rush or have various bags and packs that you have on and in your scooter and you forget that you set the keys on something for *one* second.
I've trained me to not remove the key from the ignition until after I'm done with the pet carrier. It's the last thang I do before I leave the bike (lock the front wheel and remove keys). Every time. Ingrained.
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This was my first mod, though I cannot claim ownership of posting this thread. I can't count the number of times I've been happy I did this...I've never locked my keys in the pet carrier, but when I'm in the garage, it's an easy way for me to get in the pet carrier if I forget and latch it.
If you have not checked out the Technical Library, you should do so. Lot's of cool stuff there.
Past bikes: 08' Genuine Buddy 125, '07 Yamaha Majesty 400, '07 Piaggio MP3 250, '08 Piaggio MP3 500, '08 Aprilia Scarabeo 500
Current bikes: Two '09 Genuine Buddy 125's
There is indeed a simple way to open a locked Buddy pet carrier. In fact I had the pleasure of using it to save myself a couple of weeks ago. It only takes a few minutes. But like Quo Vadimus said, it will never get posted here for the obvious security reasons.
Wolfhound wrote:Hmmmm? Am I not correct in saying that the key must be in the switch to
open the seat lock???? Why not leave it there til you close the seat.
Cause I'm a dummy, duh
And as for the secret unlock method - I suppose I should have paid attention when they were doing it - I could have learned a new trick!
I did the "super secret": topic8459.html on my 125 and 170. It works grate. Used small speaker wire and drilled a small hole next to the original release and fed my wire through it. Wadded up the wire at the end and hid it above the frame. Just got to remember where under the frame i put it. (lol)
I never let myself put the keys under the seat. Just never.
This after I once locked my keys, cell phone and wallet inside my scoot. I was completely stranded with no way to pay for a train fare or call for help.
Wolfhound wrote:July might be a good time to ride, at least 5 or 6 days during the month.
This spring sorta knocks the stuffing out of global warming!!
Overall climate trends offer a more meaningful picture.
The overall climate trend for the last 20 years has been getting cooler.
According to NWB this has been the 2nd coldest April in their history.
I am ready for some globul warming myself. Today has been OK down here
for a change.
My Triumph came with a "wallet key". It is simply an ignition key without the big round part or any plastic. I have only used it once but it did keep me from leaving the bike when I got separated from my keys.
I agree with not posting the "Super Secret" trick to open the seat lock. Being a scooter tech, I have learned ALL the tricks. So no locked seat or locked headset is a problem at all. So if everyone knew these tricks, there would be more and more stolen scooters everywhere. Glad they were able to get it open for you. The hardest thing I ever had to do was get keys out of a helmet box that was locked.
Wolfhound wrote:The overall climate trend for the last 20 years has been getting cooler.
According to NWB this has been the 2nd coldest April in their history.
I am ready for some globul warming myself. Today has been OK down here
for a change.
If you want to warm up do what comes naturally at your age.
A couple weeks ago, when thegodlikehobo and I went to wash our scooters at the car wash, I was absolutely SURE I'd locked my keys in the pet carrier - they weren't in my purse, not on the floor, and definitely not in the scooter. I started panicking, thegodlikehobo said "maybe we should go to Modern Buddy and ask their secret method for opening underseat storage?", and I instead asked my hubby to bring me the spare keys from home. (We've got this giant mass of all the spare keys for four scooters and their various locks, it's ridiculous, haha)
So, hubby gets to the car wash about 15 minutes later, I open the pet carrier, and... no keys.
TONKAFINO wrote:can someone pm me how to get the seat open without a key?? bought the scooter without the seat key.. need to get it open .. please help meitian 50cc
I'm not familiar with that scooter, so no idea how to open it. Sorry.
k1dude wrote:Why do all these requests come from one post wonders? Why do we never hear from them again?
I suspect many of them are thieves.
Now, I have wondered the same thing. Why are almost all of these requests from folks making their first post. I know nothing about their circumstances or honesty, so I don't necessarily think the worst - on the other hand, no basis to have confidence either.
k1dude wrote:Why do all these requests come from one post wonders? Why do we never hear from them again?
I suspect many of them are thieves.
Now, I have wondered the same thing. Why are almost all of these requests from folks making their first post. I know nothing about their circumstances or honesty, so I don't necessarily think the worst - on the other hand, no basis to have confidence either.
Yeah, but I think that someone with nefarious intentions would be more inclined to snatch the whole scoot. I mean, what are the odds of a big payoff from the unseen/unknown contents of a pet carrier?
Last edited by charlie55 on Wed Oct 14, 2015 2:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
I don't understand. Getting into the pet carrier doesn't really let a person steal a scooter, just things in the pet carrier, so why can't the "secret" be shared? I'd like to know the secret. I had a 2nd key made, but it's kept at home so that isn't really an immediate solution if you're far from home.
I personally have carried very valuable stuff in the carrier when I don't have any way to take it with me on my person. I'm not the only one.
Most crimes are crimes of opportunity. Do you look around everytime you take off your gear to see if anyone is watching you? It would be very easy for a miscreant to observe you putting stuff away in your carrier and closing it, then walking away.
They know you just put something they want in the carrier and they know you just left. They also know how to get into a locked Buddy carrier because someone here once told them how. A perfect crime of opportunity.
Or it could be your neighbors teenage gangbanger wannabe that never liked you. They observe you everyday and know what you have in the carrier when you pull up every night. So they came on this site to ask how to get into a locked carrier and someone told them.
k1dude wrote:I personally have carried very valuable stuff in the carrier when I don't have any way to take it with me on my person. I'm not the only one.
Most crimes are crimes of opportunity. Do you look around everytime you take off your gear to see if anyone is watching you? It would be very easy for a miscreant to observe you putting stuff away in your carrier and closing it, then walking away.
They know you just put something they want in the carrier and they know you just left. They also know how to get into a locked Buddy carrier because someone here once told them how. A perfect crime of opportunity.
Or it could be your neighbors teenage gangbanger wannabe that never liked you. They observe you everyday and know what you have in the carrier when you pull up every night. So they came on this site to ask how to get into a locked carrier and someone told them.
I see your point. It didn't occur to me as I never leave anything of value in any of my vehicles, but that's just me. If anyone bothers to break into the Helix, about all they'll get is a couple of dirty rags and some cheapie tools. As to someone with an axe to grind, that never crossed my mind as I am universally loved and respected by everyone.
k1dude wrote:
Why do all these requests come from one post wonders? Why do we never hear from them again?
I suspect many of them are thieves.
To be honest, I think that it's because people lock the keys in, do a quick Google search for how to get them out, and it leads them here. Maybe they aren't into forums, maybe they aren't internet friend type of people, but that's the easiest explanation for why they're here and how they find old threads about how to get into the carrier. Could I be wrong? Absolutely. But I'd rather think that it's all coming from an innocent person who just needs some help with a sticky situation.
k1dude wrote:
Why do all these requests come from one post wonders? Why do we never hear from them again?
I suspect many of them are thieves.
To be honest, I think that it's because people lock the keys in, do a quick Google search for how to get them out, and it leads them here. Maybe they aren't into forums, maybe they aren't internet friend type of people, but that's the easiest explanation for why they're here and how they find old threads about how to get into the carrier. Could I be wrong? Absolutely. But I'd rather think that it's all coming from an innocent person who just needs some help with a sticky situation.
I agree with this. Typed "Genuine Buddy locked keys under seat" and this page come up as the first search hit on both Bing and Google. Admittedly, this information could be very useful to thieves, but the ease of finding this page in a day and age of asking the Internet how to solve your problems does provide a valid reason why this thread sees traffic the way it does.
On the other hand, there should be a mechanism in place to validate ownership of the scooter. Other options could be to defer them to their dealer for assistance or perhaps ask Genuine to set something up where their roadside assistance number validates them as the owner and they can receive assistance over the phone.
At what point does a hobby become an addiction? I'm uncertain, but after the twelfth scooter, it sorta feels like the latter...
I think I have a sort of solution for providing instructions that I'll post soon and send to several members via PM.
I'm kind of tempted to simply post the dang thing, but I know many members have reservations about the info getting out.
At this point, for me at least, I think the fear of thieves accessing and using the info is unrealistic. We know that those who want to steal a scooter and have opportunity will simply take it. These thieves already have the means to steal them. The information on how to pop the seat won't make it easier to steal a scoot, break the steering lock or hotwire one. And the instructions to do these things are readily available elsewhere online.
So maybe we're being a bit overcautious, or at least in denial of the information that's readily available elsewhere.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
OK, so I'm the new idiot who did this. I'm stuck at the grocery store with my keys in my jacket which is in the pet carrier of my scooter. Can someone pm me the secret way to get the seat unlocked? I'd be very grateful!
I recently discovered how to get into a Suzuki Burgman 200's seat, just yank it open! Yup, some dummy yanked my seat open and scattered the contents all over the sidewalk. The weird thing is the dummy shut the seat when done, which had a Cool Ass cover on it making it a bit tricky to shut. Dummy didnt get anything of value, or take anything at all, and the scooter survived with no damage except for a slight warp on the edge of the seat were the yank-open occurred. Im assuming it was dumb, bored kid(s) or a crackhead. Has a big chain with u-lock thru the wheel so the scooter wont wonder off, just know not to leave anything of value under the seat. Oh, and the dummy tried to pry the SHAD trunk open-from the HINGE SIDE! Also survived minus some cosmetic damage.
It only takes a few minutes. But like Quo Vadimus said, it will never get posted here for the obvious security reasons.
I did the "super secret": 
