Lost my key! Replace ignition?

evPocket · Post by **evPocket** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 2:51 pm

TLDR = lost only key while out, looked everywhere but its been 5 days, probably gone. Buddy is my primary transportation. Buy new ignition?

Longer version, moreso just me venting a little.
Hey everyone! I have a buddy 50 that I bought off ctaigslist late last fall from a guy and his wife. Great deal, but as far as I can remember they weren't able to locate the 2nd key for me and it finally happened.

I parked my buddy at a friend's house last Tue and to hang out, and ended up riding with my girlfriend to her place in the city. I last had my key Wed early afternoon when her and I were running errands. We have thoroughly searched her house and car, its been 5 days so I'm thinking it is probably gone.

What should I do? Would changing ignition leave me SOL on storage hatch? Its the kind where you turn to the left to pop the seat open. There is a dealer here, I guess I need to call them. Its really stupid but I am scared to call because I had a not so great service experience and left them a 3 star review on Google that was pretty critical. Genuine site says they are not sending out keys anymore. I'm moderately handy so I don't mind doing install myself if I need to replace a part. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, praying for a quick solution because I ride my buddy every day, put over 5k miles on it this year.

Thank you all so much, stay safe

DeeDee · Post by **DeeDee** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:48 pm

Replacement ignition will set you back close to $90.00. Once you have the part, it is a few screws and you're back in business. Lucky there is no seat lock or locking gas cap to be concerned with.

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 11:55 am

EvPocket - if you don't want to deal with Our Local Dealership (I, too, had a less-than-stellar service experience there), call Mike Taylor at Taylor Motorsports. He was the lead wrench at the defunct Maplewood Scooters, is Genuine-certified, and has handled all my maintenance needs since he hung out his own shingle. Good guy. Since an ignition switch/lock assembly is probably not an in-stock item, both places would need to order it in anyway, so you're probably not going to be adversely delayed by choosing an alternative wrench.

Check out some of his fabrication work in his shop. He might still have the BudKus - a 150cc heart/lung transplant from a wrecked Blackjack into a Ruckus.

DeeDee · Post by **DeeDee** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 1:18 pm

http://www.scooterloungeonline.com/sear ... 5552002000+

Buy the part and do it yourself. Save the $100, and the hassle of getting it to the shop. It is a simple job. Just because you are paying someone else to work on your scooter doesn't always mean they will do a better job than you can do yourself.

avescoots1134 · Post by **avescoots1134** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 2:16 pm

Pick up one of these just in case you can't get the screws out.

http://www.harborfreight.com/impact-scr ... 37530.html

evPocket · Post by **evPocket** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 6:31 pm

Thank you for the advice everyone! PeteH thanks for the info I'll definitely get in touch with him the next time I need service. For this scenario, like others have suggested I think I'm going to just replace it myself. Thanks for the link to the screwdriver set too, good lookin out. And thank you for the link to the online parts store - I had been checking Amazon and Ebay and wasn't seeing exactly what I need on there.

Okay! Ordering my new setup today, I will post back this weekend (hopefully) when I get her up and running again.

DeeDee · Post by **DeeDee** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 10:02 pm

avescoots1134 is correct. The two screws holding the ignition module in can be a bear. Use a #3 screwdriver, make sure it is fully seated and give it a couple of quick taps with a hammer before trying to turn the screw.

evPocket · Post by **evPocket** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 5:46 pm

Yep DeeDee that is the exact issue I ran into. I ordered that screwdriver set but they are taking forever to get here. Ignition came in Fri, but I'll use them next time.
Unfortunately the top screw that is easy to see got stripped, ended up drilling it out

but not a huge deal.

This is what I had to do to get the second one out. Phillips head attached to a socket wrench tip stuck on a broken screwdriver then attached to my drill set to reverse

I was actually quite proud of myself for getting creative. Just a quick trip to the hardware store to get replacement screws, new one didn't come with any.

I also hadn't realized beforehand that you need to loosen or completely pull off the panel facing the seat as well as the front cover. So quite a few more screws than I initially thought. But overall I felt good about the repair. lol ended up with a few extra screws at the end... guess I forgot to put 'em back.

Thanks guys <3 <3