Motorcycle Keys in San Jose

A key cut from the bike's own lock when there is nothing to copy, for the machine that has been off the road since the key went missing

Motorcycle keys are their own job and most car locksmiths quietly avoid them. The reason is that a bike rarely gives you a spare to copy: the key went missing, there was never a second one, and the previous owner sold the machine with one key in 1997. So the key has to be made from the lock itself. The ignition barrel, the fuel cap, the seat lock and the panniers are frequently all different locks on the same bike, and part of the conversation is deciding which of them you want on one key, because a rider with four keys is a rider who will lose one.

The method is impressioning or decoding at the bike, not a tow. The ignition barrel is read and a key is cut to it, tested, and adjusted until it turns cleanly rather than nearly. Older machines are simple mechanics and give up their code readily. Modern bikes add a transponder in the head of the key and, on some makes, an immobiliser that has to be taught the new key electronically — that is done at the bike as well, and it is where the make and year matter, so both go on the call. Where the barrel is seized rather than keyless, which is common on a machine that has stood outside for a winter or two, the honest answer is often a barrel and a new key rather than heroics on a lock that is finished.

Motorcycle keys are $115 to $275. A straight mechanical key read from the ignition of an older machine sits at the bottom. A transponder key that has to be programmed, a bike where the ignition is buried behind fairing, or a set where the fuel cap and seat lock are brought onto the same key runs to the top. The $89 visit is inside the figure; between 8pm and midnight the $115 job reads $155, overnight $190. Because the bike does not have to move, this is done in a garage, a car park or wherever it has been standing.

Ownership is checked exactly as it is on a car: photo ID and the registration or title in that name, matched to the plate and the VIN on the frame. It is worth saying plainly that this matters more on bikes than on anything else, because a motorcycle is the easiest thing in the world to put in a van. If the machine is a project bought without paperwork, bring what you do have — a bill of sale, the seller's details, previous registration — and expect the question to be asked properly rather than waved through.