Spare Keys

[laminarflow]

I did a lot of googling to find spare key blanks for my 5th Gen VFR and luggage, and I couldn't find anybody who had definitively found a matching blank for the Givi Monokey. So I ended up ordering several that looked close, and I thought I'd throw my findings out there in hopes of helping somebody else. 

 

I've confirmed the giant red Givi Monokey that doesn't fit well on a keyring can be successfully copied using Ilco LF12:

 

The STLUN/Emgo Chinese top box key can be copied using Ilco X84/HD74:

 

 

And finally, the Honda key used in a 5th gen VFR (I assume other gens as well) can be copied using the same key! Ilco X84/HD74 can be cut to fit both the Honda ignition and the STLUN/Emgo top boxes!

 

Naturally, this has led me to look into keying the two alike, so one key can start the bike, unlock the seat/helmet lock, and open the top luggage case. Unfortunately, when I took the cylinder off the STLUN/Emgo case, it appeared to be crimped sealed at the factory, and it uses some kind of weird square tumblers so that even if I did bend it open, I don't know of a good source for square tumblers to key it with. Being a brand with little support, I have doubts I will ever figure out how to order spare cylinders or pins to fit it.

 

I didn't look into rekeying the Honda ignition and seat lock since I'd much rather mess with a $100 top case than my bike's ignition. Also, I doubt Honda has any official support for rekeying their cylinders with custom key codes. If anybody has done that, I would be very interested. 

 

Unfortunately, the Givi Monokey keyway is very different than the ignition key, so it's probably not a good candidate for matching the ignition key unless somebody could retrofit a STLUN/Emgo cylinder in one. For now, I'm just happy to have found some more compact metal keys I can carry on my key chain instead of three separate large rubber head keys. 

[bmart]

Interesting stuff. Thank! that givi and alternate look pretty different...

 

[laminarflow]

11 hours ago, bmart said:

Interesting stuff. Thank! that givi and alternate look pretty different...

 

I just eyeballed the blank, I didn't put a micrometer on it or anything, but once copied at a hardware store it opens my Monokey bags just as smoothly as the big red factory Givi key.

 

Some of the blanks I see suggested online, like the Ilco B59 X162, look very different, and people still claim they work. I suspect the Monokey cylinder isn't the highest quality, so the tolerances are probably quite forgiving of blanks with slightly wrong dimensions.