Motorcycle Gas Tank Key

As a locksmith technician most of the work I do it seem to be automotive services such as lockouts, ignition cylinder repairs, ignition cylinders replacements, key origination and few others. Most services are obviously for vehicles, but every now and then I would get called to service a motorcycle which is very rare thus I don't have much practice servicing them. Most of the time it will happen where I would need to service a motorcycle it would be for originating a key.

A while back I remember getting a call from a customer who just got a new motorcycle few days before and while he was driving it for few days he did not pay attention to the gas tank which went empty and left him stranded not to far from a gas station. Once he got to the gas station he came to realize that the key he had for the ignition of the motorcycle did not open the gas tank of the motorcycle. After letting him finish his story, I took his info and immediately called a Reno locksmith co-worker of mine for some info about the key needed.

According to my co-worker, the type of motorcycle the customer claimed to have was using a tubular lock to protect the gas tank. Luckily I did have a blank for these types of locks, so I knew I didn't have to make any stops on my way to the customer's location. I headed to the gas station where the customer was and the first thing I did was testing the blank key I had to make sure it was the correct one for the customer's motorcycle gas tank.

As soon as I inserted the key blank into the gas tank lock, it seemed I was able to operate it. Not only that, but I was actually able to open it as well. This was something I did not encountered with all my years as a locksmith technician. At that point, the customer's friends came on their motorcycles to the gas station as well. I then decided to test it on few of their motorcycles as well that had a gas tank with a tubular lock and on all of them I was able to unlock the gas tank. I have to admit that was the fastest key origination job I ever had to do.

Commercial Safety Locking Solution

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NorthWest Locksmith Reno (775) 276-5673

Restricted Key-Way Lockout

Lockout services are the most common when it comes to the work an average locksmith does throughout his years in the field. Most are fairly simple, no hassle type of lockouts, but there are few exceptions. Out of residential, automotive, or commercial lockout services, commercial would be the hardest even for the above average experience locksmith technician. Most businesses are equipped with high security commercial grade lock or other types of unique security lock system which may be nearly impossible to hack without damaging it such as restricted key-way lock system. Restricted key-way lock will incorporate a unique combination inside it joined with a unique key that will not be possible to duplicate by any other professional except the certified locksmith who installed it. Most of the time, this type of lock system will even be pick proof depending on the type of cylinder being used.

Few years ago I remember getting a call from a local store where the customer claimed he has lost the key. He didn't give too much information on the phone, but from what I could tell, the store was probably equipped with a Mortise type lock. I took the customer's information and I was on my way to his store. Once I got to the customer's location, I did a quick inspection of the lock and saw it was a Mortise type lock as I suspected. I grabbed my pick tool set from the van and quickly started to work on unlocking the door. For some reason, I was not able to get ahead much with picking, so I decided to go with an alternative and just drill the plug.

Unfortunately, as I examined the lock a little closer, I suspected it was a restricted key-way plug which meant it would have taken a few weeks for a new plug to arrive which wasn't an option at that point. I decided to call a fellow Reno locksmith technician which I knew had more experience than I did working with commercial type locks. Once I got him on the phone and explained the situation, he said there might be a way to avoid drilling and damaging the restricted key-way plug.

The process started by inserting an uncut key blank into the key-way and drilling a small hole just above the plug which will drill through all six pins. Next, I had to remove the blank and use one of the pick from my set to push the bottom pins which allowed me to turn the plug and unlock the door. All I had to do after the door opened was to replace the cylinder shell I drilled with a nother one and re-key the plug.    

Automotive Broken Key Extraction Service

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Buick Trunk Key

Originating an automotive key level of difficulty may vary from model to model. Some models uses the same key for the door, trunk and ignition while others have two separate set of keys one for the ignition and the other for the rest of the vehicle. Sometimes, if a vehicle is equipped with a "master-key" it does not mean necessarily that the combination is exactly the same for all the locks in the vehicle. It can be that the glove box(if equipped), door lock and ignition cylinder will have the same cuts, but not the same amount. This fact sometimes will make it harder on a locksmith technician to originate a key. However, most experienced locksmith technicians with many years of experience in the field still have few tricks underneath their sleeves.

Few years ago, I remember getting a call from a customer who needed a key to the door and trunk of his 1988 Buick LaSabre. I did a lot of older GM models during my time and I knew I would not be able to get the codes to make that key neither from the dealer or the automotive key database I was subscribed to. The only way I could have generated the key was using the door lock. Since I knew it won't be such a big deal getting the door lock out to make the key, I decided to accept the job.

Once I got to the customer's home where the car was parked, I grabbed my tools and started working on removing the door panel, so I can the door lock out  in order to get the stamped code. As I started taking the bolts and trims holding the door panel to the door, I ran into couple of bolts that simply did not want to budge. After working on them for several minutes, I decided to stop wasting any time and started thinking of another solution.

At that point, the only solution I could think of was getting the 4 cuts out of the glove box lock and progress the other 2 to make the key. However, back then I did not have much experience progressing, so I had to call a more experienced Reno locksmith friend of mine for help. Once I got him on the phone and told him the story, he mentioned that progressing the extra 2 cuts won't be necessary since the glove box lock actually built with all 6 wafers. I did not believed him and wen to check for myself. Imagine my surprised as I finished taking apart the lock from the glove box and saw for myself it was a 6 cut lock just as the other locks in the vehicle. I then immediately moved on to decode the wafers, made a new key for the customer and assembled the glove box lock back together.  

Double Cylinder Deadbolt

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