Author Topic: Moving the ignition lock to the airbox  (Read 11359 times)

Offline billday

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Moving the ignition lock to the airbox
« on: January 14, 2013, 09:04:22 PM »
Don't ask me why, but I've always liked the look of the ignition down on the airbox (see pic of Special K below). This winter I'm refurb-ing my whole air/fuel intake system, so while I have everything apart down there I'm taking a whack at it.

First I took a hacksaw to my beat-up, ugly dash pad, and cut out the section that holds the ignition lock in place. I now have that reduced to basically a tube that holds the lock. Next I sawed about 1/8" off the face of the tube, to allow for the thickness of the airbox.

That's as far as I've gotten. Next step is to drill the hole in the airbox, then cement the tube with the lock to the inside of the airbox. Not sure what adhesive to use, but I'm leaning toward the JB Weld that's made for plastics. When I'm done the regular trim collar will press on from the outside.

Two main pitfalls I can think of: First, the lock won't be removable (at least in a nondestructive way) when this is done. Second, if the glue fails and the lock falls into the airbox, I could be seriously stranded.

Sorry no pictures yet, I will try to post some soon. My bike tinkering and my posting are seriously impaired this winter due to life.

If anybody else has done this and has some tips, I am all ears.
  • New York State, USA 10977
  • 1985 K100

Offline rbm

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Re: Moving the ignition lock to the airbox
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2013, 10:27:59 PM »
The cylinder is 3cm in diameter and is retained by two clips, one on each side.   Maybe it would be possible to find a cylindrically shaped flanged PVC pipe adapter in the plumbing section at Home Depot which can be JB Welded to the airbox instead of the lock cylinder itself.  That way, the lock is still removable. Find a pipe adapter that is less than 3cm ID and ream it out using a hole saw in a drill press.  The clips can be located into holes drilled into the flange at the appropriate spots or, alternatively, fashion a "C" clip that can be fitted into slots sawn into the flanged cylinder.  The idea I have for the C-clip is similar to the clips used to retain the electrical connectors on injectors.  Sorry that I don't have a drawing tool to create pictures of what I envision.  The C-clip will prevent the lock cylinder from being pushed into the air box.
  • Regards, Robert
Toronto, Ontario

1987 K75 - Build Blog @http://k75retro.blogspot.ca/

Offline billday

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Re: Moving the ignition lock to the airbox
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2013, 09:42:48 PM »
To clarify, I'm not gluing the lock cylinder to the airbox.... I'm gluing the holder for the lock cylinder that I "made" by cutting the relevant section out of my dash pad.

This would be clearer to everybody if I would un-lazy myself and post some pictures.

But whether I use cannibalized dash pad or PVC as a holder for the cylinder, the cylinder is going to be very hard to remove, because when you release the clips the cylinder slides down, or in: so it comes out of the back of the dash pad (for obvious security reasons) but in my case it will go into the airbox. Even if I rigged it to slide out of the airbox after being released, it would still be tethered to the wires that will run out of a hole in the back of the airbox and up under the tank.

The "stranded" scenario I envision involves the glue letting go and the cylinder falling into the airbox.

No matter how you look at it, the lock will be much harder to service this way, if it ever needs servicing.

  • New York State, USA 10977
  • 1985 K100

Offline frankenduck

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Re: Moving the ignition lock to the airbox
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2013, 09:56:17 PM »
You right-handed peoples are nutz. :loopy:
Once I had a Collie pup. Dug a hole and covered him up. Now I sit there by the hour. Waiting for a Collie-flower.
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Offline billday

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Re: Moving the ignition lock to the airbox
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2013, 08:53:00 AM »
Yep. And we outnumber you leftys, too.
  • New York State, USA 10977
  • 1985 K100

Offline Qdude

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Re: Moving the ignition lock to the airbox
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2013, 02:45:29 AM »

RBM'sidea was a good one.
Some kind of flange would be much stronger than JB Welding a cylinder to a hole.
I would spend a hour at Home Depot, like he said.
Plumbing fixtures, electrical conduit, plexiglass, all sorts of possibilities...
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Offline billday

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Re: Moving the ignition lock to the airbox
« Reply #6 on: February 18, 2013, 09:35:08 PM »
So here's what I did. Cut out the part of the dash pad that holds the lock cylinder. Trimmed & shaped it (it's soft plastic with a piece of soft sheet metal embedded inside) to fit the space inside the box. Drilled a 1-1/4" hole in the box. Bonded the holder (with the cylinder in it) to the box with JB. Drilled a hole in the front of the airbox for the wire to pass through. I'll plug that hole with silicone caulk.

One other detail not pictured: I cut back about one square inch of the surface of the air filter to make clearance for where the wires come out of the top/back end of the cylinder. Having read that the air filter is much larger than the engine "needs," I felt OK about that. I covered the cut back part with a piece of blue painter's tape.

It all feels very stable. Even if the JB lets go, the outside trim ring should keep the cylinder from falling into the airbox (my main concern). I can still service the cylinder, if I ever need to.... I'll just have to hack away the JB to get to it.
  • New York State, USA 10977
  • 1985 K100

Offline frankenduck

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Re: Moving the ignition lock to the airbox
« Reply #7 on: February 18, 2013, 09:47:35 PM »
Nice job.

Blue painter's probably won't last long.  Why not use some epoxy?
Once I had a Collie pup. Dug a hole and covered him up. Now I sit there by the hour. Waiting for a Collie-flower.
New to K bikes? Click here.
K Bike Maintenance & Mods: Click here.
Buy parts here.

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