I spent considerable time trying how to disassemble a seat latch and to me it looked like it was staked together after everything was assembled. That slot had nothing to do with releasing the cylinder.

I've still got that spare seat lock on my bench I meant to cut apart...
Once it gets a little warmer, I should look back into that.

Rekeying seat locks

I am a locksmith and have worked on bike locks for years, but not recently.
I will need to rekey my new seat lock I've ordered so I'll know shortly.
Many 1970's & 80's Japanese bikes had plugs that come out from the front by releasing the last wafer in the bottom of the lock.
I would use a curved pick and reach into the bottom of the lock depress the last wafer and pull up. The plug should pull up a 16th", (it can help to use a miniture screw driver in the keyway to help pull it up) and then depress each of the 5 wafers starting from the top as it comes out of the cylinder housing.

If you look at a Suzuki key blank, the tip is always cut away, that is to stop you from pulling the plug out each time you remove the key.

I will go check this and confirm the details.

As far as rekeying (or recoding the lock) there are only a few different wafers, maybe 3 or 4 depths, try your new key in the lock and see which wafers line up with the top of the plug, any that don't align, carefully press them out with a small screwdriver, making sure the small spring doesn't get lost, and try switching them around, hopefully you can get all of them to align, if not find a scrap lock and salvage some different wafers or just leave one out.
If you are tempted to file the wafer down to fit, remove it from the plug before filing as you will compromise the entire lock if you file the wafers in the plug. (the plug is softer than the wafers)

I actually took this to a locksmith and he was no help.

MY situation, I have
A) Key that works on ignition and tank
B) Key that works on tank and seat lock

I thought he could just re-key the seat lock or make it where it would open with any key, but he didnt know how to take it apart. The second option which he didnt want to do until I tried to see if the key he cut from his research paperwork would work in the ignition ( it did not, only seat and tank)

Another option I called him with but havent heard back, is to cut a new key with the pattern of A on one side and B on the other.

But visually the two keys are almost identical

Yes you could have 1 key with different cuts on each side that will work.
I have determined that the retainer is not a spring loaded one accessible from the keyway.
I can see it near the 2 mounting screws and it looks like it comes out after removing the crimped metal on the housing. I have drilled out the crimped section but need better light to see what I'm doing. I'll post a picture when I get it out.

I think you are right!

I tried jabbing that brass thing in further to free it - without success.

I didnt think about drilling the crimped part open, but what DID NOTwork was to try to pry it apart with a screwdriver.

Thanks for your ongoing efforts... you will be considered the in-house sherlock holmes if you get it figured out.

The staking on the housing 'should' be the method used to retain the cylinder and key (barrel) from being removed from the housing(main body).

I don't think you will find that inner most 'wafer' is what retains the cylinder in place.

Rekeying Seat Locks GS1000

I managed to get the retainer out, it's actually easier than I thought.
I removed the lock from the bike, put it in the vise and used a very small tipped screwdriver just big enough to fit into the square hole between the mounting screws.
In this picture you can see I tried drilling a vey small exploratory hole beside the staked wafer to see how it was held in, this wafer is not spring loaded.



Carefully lever the metal back to expose the top of the retainer, tip it over and tap it on the vise, it fell out after 3 raps.
Turn key and pull plug out.



Check the new key and see which wafers need replacing, pull them out carefully with neddle nose pliers or a fine screwdriver, there are springs in there so be careful, I was lucky I just had to remove 2 wafers (position #2 & #4) and drop them back in the opposite spaces.


The new key worked but just a little stiff, so a quick file on one wafer and it's all good.

Note, it will compromise the lock if you just grind or file off the high wafers, move them around to find the closest fit, and only then use a file if you have no other option, otherwise almost any key will fit the lock.


Replace the retainer and gently tap or pry the metal back over the retainer.

Job done.

PS I did try drilling beside the retainer but it was actually not necessary.

Great news! I will try again today.

IT WORKED ! Thanks so much for the help, you are right it was a cinch.

I didnt even remove the tabs that were sticking out, I just filed them on the bench grinder while they were still in the housing. Works like a dream.

That looks different from the 1100E seat lock, but maybe it works on the same principle.
I'll give it a go this weekend...thanks!

If that is the same as the 1150, that uses a cable to release the seat, open the back of the lock mechanism, remove the plastic cam actuator, insert the key and turn and pull while depressing the brass retainer, the plug will pull out.
If you have trouble with yours send me a picture of what you have and I'll see if I can help.

Cheers,

No, no cable. It's the same as the 81-82 750E.

I just did this myself with great success. I had a spare ignition switch assembly with no key, & a spare fork lock to rob the wafers out of. between the ignition and the seat lock, I was one wafer short of matching my original ignition key's new code-cut replacement, & I had to un-stake the fork lock to get the last wafer that I needed. I could have done some filing and dremel tool cutting on the inside and outside of the wafers, but I figured this was the better fix since I had extra locks available. The wafers look very similar to what I remember when I did the same thing with some Volkswagen Rabbit door locks. I bet you could go to a reputable old time lock shop and find several similar replacements.

the fork lock that mounts on the bottom of the fork, not the one that is integrated with the ignition switch housing, those are nearly identical to the seat lock other than the end of the plug has a around actuator instead of a half moon actuator.

it also should be noted that even with a brand new key cut from the Suzuki code, the old lock wafers will be worn down, and this is exactly why people who have the integrated ignition switch and fork lock now and then will be unable to get their ignition switch out of the lock position, and why people on here strongly caution against using that fork lock style. the problem is that the wafers will get worn down where the key contacts them, and will start to slightly protrude out of the plug with wear from the key. with the wafers not retracting all the way when they get worn, switching the ignition on will start to wear down on the plug itself where it is supposed to catch the wafers and not let it turn without the key inserted. the problem here is that the lock will still work in the ignition mode, but when put in the fork lock position which gets used far less, the plug housing in the fork lock position will not have the same wear as in the ignition position that allows the key to work the worn wafers in the ignition position housing slots, & the key will not be able to get the plug rotated out of the less worn fork lock position, leaving the rider stranded.

my original key was worn, and the new key did not even align the wafers perfectly, yet it worked perfectly fine in my ignition switch on my 1977 gs750b that had the switch integrated with the gauges. I removed the wafers and swapped them into the fork lock style ignition switch housing that i had from an 81 gs650g (same fork lock ignition housing as on our 77 gs550b) so that I can run individual pod gauges from a GS400. when doing so, I filed or sanded the wafers down slightly so that they all aligned perfectly with the brand new key inserted. now the key works all 4 locks on my bike, but I do not have the fork lock tabs welded to the top of the head tube on my frame, only on the bottom where the original fork lock was. The GS550B that we have has the tabs welded on the top and the bottom. As does the 1978 GS750EC frame that I have.

I should also note that the lock cylinder with the ignition switch fork lock can be removed by drilling out (or pulling out with a tiny screw jammed inside) the roll pins in the sides of the housing. then with the plug and plugged housing removed, you then just depress the last wafer externally, this cannot be done through the key opening I don't believe. there are only 5 wafers used, but this style of plug has spots for 6 of them.
I plan on using some very small 8-32 or smaller set screws with JB Weld filling the heads of them to replace the roll pins which I had to destroy to remove. Lowes sells a 5mm set screw with the recessed allen head, but I do not have any metric taps that small.

on the 77 GS 750 B lock cylinder, there is just a tiny hole in the ignition switch housing, and you can take a very tiny Allen wrench or paperclip with the key in the right position, and push it in to depress the last way for from the top, and then that plug pulled out. It was not compatible with the other style with the integrated fork lock, but uses the same wafers.

I should also mention that I now understand why there are some key blanks which are much longer than others. The longer ones work with the integrated fork lock style switch, where the entire plug is spring loaded and when it turn, you can depress the hole plug to actuate the fork lock. I had to modify my '77 750b key on the bench grinder so that it would insert farther just too get the key all the way in to actuate all the wafers. If wanting to use the lock feature with the shortest of the Suzuki key blanks, you must grind well into the key head area with the Suzuki logo so that it can be pushed in far enough.the lock shops around here only carry the longest of the key blanks. I think the ones with the plastic on them are slightly longer than the shortest keys, and should probably work on the fork lock integrated ignition switch setup.

I would strongly suggest everyone taking apart their ignition switch and checking the wafers for wear, filing down the wafers to make them aligned perfectly again, and using this as an opportunity to clean with electrical contact cleaner the actual ignition switch electrical contacts.

Adler posted a very thorough thread that I learned how to remove the roll pin retained type of ignition lock cylinder, and also describes how to fix them when they get stuck in the lock or park positions. http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...h+repair+guide