Helmet Guardian locks

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Harald

"Superior Gen 4" Rider
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Like many other FJR owners, I decided to get the Helmet Guardian and mount the locks separately on the left and right sides of the bike. I wanted the Helmet Guardian lock cylinders to match the FJR ignition key, so I decided to try re-keying the locks myself. I don’t know how much a locksmith charges, but I’m a cheap bastard and I also like to do stuff myself. I’ve never worked on locks before, but figured it couldn’t be too complicated. And I was right. The 1st lock took about 30 minutes and the 2nd was done in less than 5 minutes. Instructions and pictures below.

First make sure that your ignition key will fit into the Helmet Guardian lock. I’ve heard that some won’t work. I did notice that my Yamaha key was a little stiff going in, but it loosened up after a few insertions. This picture shows the back side of the lock and the 2 screws that must be removed first.

lock1.jpg


With the back cover removed you can see the little spring that pushes the lock loop open after you unlock the cylinder.

lock2.jpg


Unlock the lock and then pull the locking latch straight up and out of the body. It’s only slip fit in there. Careful with the spring as you pull the latch out of the body.

lock3.jpg


Now look carefully at the lock cylinder and notice the copper colored latch sticking out at the top (my scribe is pointing at it). You must carefully push that latch into the center of the lock cylinder so that the cylinder can slide out of the body.

lock4.jpg


This next picture shows the lock cylinder pulled out of the body. Be careful when pulling the cylinder out because the pins are spring loaded and could go flying out. I’d suggest making a quick sketch detailing which color pins are in which location in case you dump them out by accident. You can see the latch pin sticking straight up on the left and the other lock pins also sticking straight up. Each has a little spring in its bore to keep the pins up unless moved by a key.

lock5.jpg


This picture shows how the cylinder should look with the Helmet Guardian key inserted. You might need to gently push the pins in a little while inserting the key because normally they are in more while inside the lock body. Note how all the lock pins are pulled completely into the cylinder on both the top and the bottom. The only pin still sticking out is the latch pin which is what holds the lock cylinder in the body and has nothing to do with unlocking the lock.

lock6.jpg


In this photo you can see what happens when I insert my FJR ignition key. The lock pin right next to the latch pin is still sticking up and will prevent the lock cylinder from rotating in the body (therefore preventing unlocking).

lock7.jpg


A true locksmith would replace this pin that’s still sticking up with one that will retract when the key is inserted. I didn’t happen to have any spares laying around, so I opted for simply removing this pin. When the key is removed, the pin will simply pull out.

lock8.jpg


The sharp minded individual might note that by removing this one lock pin I’m making it more likely that another key can open this lock. And they would be right. But this isn’t a bank vault lock we’re talking about here and security will still be adequate for this application.

Depending on your key configuration, you might have to move pins from one slot to another to re-key your lock. Don’t move any pins that retract properly. Just pull all the pins that stick out when the key is inserted and try them in a different slot. Or simply leave some out if they won’t retract.

Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. The only possibly tricky part is inserting the lock cylinder into the body. You’ll need a small, slender screwdriver to push the lock pins in while sliding the cylinder into the body.

 
Great write up and pics. Looks like I got something else to do until the cast is off :yahoo:

Thanks

 
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Nice writeup B)

Optionally, if they 'almost fit' after you shuffle the locking cams arround, you can take a file and file the extra bit down to the barrel.

 
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Does anyone know if you can simply buy extra pins for this type of application in the event that multiple pins don't line up quite so nice. I'm thinking for other applications as well.

Nice writeup !

 
Thanks for the write up. I took mine in to see what a Locksmith would charge and his initial response was that he would look at it and give it a try and it would cost me $25.00 per lock to do. :dribble: Let's see, I spent $54.00 plus shipping on the rail and locks, now I add $50.00 more and wohhhh, <_< I'm no rocket scientist, but that's close to twice what I paid for them. :angry2: I really appreciate this board for things like this and the great folks on it. :p

 
Great write up.

I took mine to a locksmith and told him others said this could be done. He charged me $10 to rekey the lock and then I wanted 2 more keys for the bike for another $6. He was the third locksmith I called. The first two wanted me to leave it and then charge me if they could or couldn't fix it. This guy said call before you come over to make certain I'm at the office and I"ll do it while you wait. No cost if I can't do it. Over the phone he made it sound as if he was looking for a challenge as long as I brought it to him. ONce he looked at it he was a little disappointed as it was way simple. The stock FJR key is a little tight in the lock because it is thicker than the gaurdian key. The stock keys still work.

Thanks again for the photos and detail.

 
I was just reading the Bin-O-Facts again and noticed that Fred H has already posted similar instructions. Because it's friday, go ahead and dogpile me for not remembering everything I read in the Bin-O-Facts the first time months ago. :( Check Here for his page.

 
Nice write up, easy to follow. Had a helmet lock from my VStar that was removed for the saddlebags, so had nothing to lose. Usually having me work on small springs and clips ends in a tragically comic fashion. But success was gained after removing one lock pin and a small amount of filing, worked great.

Another one of the many reasons I enjoy the forum.

 
Like many other FJR owners, I decided to get the Helmet Guardian and mount the locks separately on the left and right sides of the bike. I wanted the Helmet Guardian lock cylinders to match the FJR ignition key, so I decided to try re-keying the locks myself. I don’t know how much a locksmith charges, but I’m a cheap bastard and I also like to do stuff myself. I’ve never worked on locks before, but figured it couldn’t be too complicated. And I was right. The 1st lock took about 30 minutes and the 2nd was done in less than 5 minutes. Instructions and pictures below.
First make sure that your ignition key will fit into the Helmet Guardian lock. I’ve heard that some won’t work. I did notice that my Yamaha key was a little stiff going in, but it loosened up after a few insertions. This picture shows the back side of the lock and the 2 screws that must be removed first.

>snip<

Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. The only possibly tricky part is inserting the lock cylinder into the body. You’ll need a small, slender screwdriver to push the lock pins in while sliding the cylinder into the body.
FANTASTIC instructions. I followed them to a "T" and it worked like a champ. A few seconds with the dremel - and we were good to go!

One thing I noticed - the OEM key doesn't fit the Helmet Guardian lock, but the "duplicate" FJR keys the locksmith made me work like a champ (apparently they're just a tiny bit thinner?).

Thank you - thank you - thank you- thank you! This forum rocks and I'm psyched to finally have a place to lock my helmet on the bike!!!!

 
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I just did this mod to a Helment Gaurdian lock I bought. You're right about the OEM Yamaha key being a little to "thick" to fit into the lock. I solved this by carefully popping the chrome front cover off of the lock barrel and filing the key slots a tiny bit wider using a small jeweler's type file. It's pretty easy to do and it works perfectly. I used a small punch to re-crimp the little tabs on the back of the chrome cover after I was finished to secure the cover back in place.

Now my stock Yamaha key works for everything. :rolleyes:

 
nice write-up! I added a link in the bin. Fred H's approach is to file the disk tumblers instead of removing them.

 
I just had the locks done so they now match the Helmet Guardian. I wish I would have had this for my week long ride last week but I guess it was back ordered for the last month.

 
I received my Helmet Guardian last month from PCA, along with the rear rack. Although the key looks very similar to my 2008 FJR keys, the raised and recessed portions of the keyway are opposite so the FJR key has no hope of fitting. I had actually contacted PCA before I bought it and they said they've only sold one type of Helmet Guardian since they began selling it and were not aware that it had the same keyway as the FJR.

Has anyone been successful in swapping out the lock cylinders for ones that would match the FJR?

 
I received my Helmet Guardian last month from PCA, along with the rear rack. Although the key looks very similar to my 2008 FJR keys, the raised and recessed portions of the keyway are opposite so the FJR key has no hope of fitting. I had actually contacted PCA before I bought it and they said they've only sold one type of Helmet Guardian since they began selling it and were not aware that it had the same keyway as the FJR.

Has anyone been successful in swapping out the lock cylinders for ones that would match the FJR?
I think it's a luck of the draw thing, mine, like yours have the opposite grooves, yet many folks obviously got the compatible type of Guardian lock.

 
I just stumbled across this thread. I had the same problem with the keys being exact opposites from my FJR key. I tried it on another Helmet Guardian set on my CBR1000RR. It fit perfectly. I guess it truly was luck of the dram. The ones on my wifes VFR fit as well. I just switched the locks from bike to bike and 5 minutes of filing later I reinstalled the "new" locks on my FJR. It sure is nice to have one key for everything. BTW, very nice write up, simple and straight forward.

 
Help!! I bought a Yamaha lock assembly and the groove on the key is opposite that of my ignition key. Has anyone had this happen and able to swap out the cylinder to match the ignition key?

 
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