CRAP! Need help!

[Odinist]

When I was getting off my bike at work today, I dropped my key down under the tank! =(


No worries, I figure... I'll just run out there at lunch and pull the tank up. But, I think I have to remove to seat to do that, don't I? I can't remove the seat without the key, obviously.


Any ideas?

[Baatfam]

Spare key in your wallet????



Did you check to see if it fell through?

[Odinist]

That'd make this way too easy. =/

[Skyboy8950]

magnet on a stick?

[mavpsa]

hi,

oddly enough, i couldn't find the keys and needed to "break-in" to my bike as well. I used hanger wire and eye glass screwdrivers. basically, as you see on tv i attempted w/success. looks weird and had every cop asking me for papers, but at the end it worked. I know, it's crazy but it worked.

[Suzuki mad]

Remove the two pins and the seat lock and then remove the seat.

If you can see the key number on the lock get a spare cut.

Suzuki mad

[Odinist]

Remove the two pins and the seat lock and then remove the seat.

If you can see the key number on the lock get a spare cut.

Suzuki mad

Which two pins?

[Fishman]

"magnet on a stick?"

yessir, that's what I'd do. Or get a buddy to give you a ride to an auto parts store and pick up a commercial version. Got mine at Harbor Freight for 99 cents and have used it many times.

[Planecrazy]

Here's a novel idea ... check with the local dealership to see if they would loan you a bunch of spare keys to try (leave them your license or something similar as collateral). If you're lucky one of them would fit and pop the seat off. Maybe one of the Suzuki techs would be willing to ride over with you (if the bike isn't too far away) to try the keys. I know this is a longshot, but if the other options don't workout it's worth a try.

Good Luck!

[onchiman]

You might be able to reach up under the seat and push out the hinge pins. There is usually a cotter pin that has to come off the end of the hinge pin first before they can be removed. Depending on your seat it might be possible to unbolt the seat latch. There's two nuts holding it on. IF you can get a wrench on them. I don't think the magnet idea is going to do any good, keys are made of brass, non-ferrous meaning no magnet will stick to them. You might get luck and get it onto the key ring but it will want to stick to the tank and frame. You might get lucky with some sort of wire to try to fish it out or knock it loose from wherever it perched.

[Planecrazy]

Ah ... now I get it - you guys think he has a hinged seat that opens from side to side. Nope - the 550L has a seat that slides into two hooks in the front and then locks straight down in the rear - no easy access to any seat parts when it's locked down (at least not so far as I know - used to have an '80 550L that I believe used the same or very similar seat to the '81).

Regards,

[Odinist]

Yeah, definitely no easy access to the underside of the seat on mine. =(



There's really not much between the tank/frame/engine though, is there? Me and a couple of the guys I work with are going to go out on our lunch break (about 5pm... I work evenings) and jiggle my bike around and hope it falls onto the top of the engine.

[Planecrazy]

Me and a couple of the guys I work with are going to go out on our lunch break (about 5pm... I work evenings) and jiggle my bike around and hope it falls onto the top of the engine.

Your best bet with that bike will be to raise the rear end as high as you can before "jiggling." The keys could've lodged in the "seat" where the tank slips into, or it could have caught the coil wires or the coils themselves. Make sure you bring a towel or a bunch of rags in case any gas leaks out of the cap while you're shaking it. if that doesn't work you might try GENTLY pulling the lower front corner of the tank on each side out slightly - if the keys are wedged against one side or the other this might let them slip down to where you can retrieve them - DON'T PULL TOO HARD! It's not worth damaging the tank. I still like the idea of trying to get some other Suzuki keys to try - you could get lucky -one never knows...

Good luck!

[Narcoleptic_Snowman]

I have the same style of seet with the two hook things, I've been able to just jiggle the seat off before. It seems like there's one angle that with enough force the seat will pop right off. But maybe that's just my seat.

[Planecrazy]

I have the same style of seat with the two hook things, I've been able to just jiggle the seat off before. It seems like there's one angle that with enough force the seat will pop right off. But maybe that's just my seat.

Trying that will most likely break the two tabs that normally sit on either side of the seat latch - not a good idea to try if yours are still intact. On my 550L the seat was always very solid and there was no way (short of breaking it) it was going to come off with jiggling.

Regards,