Immobilizer & no red key: Options
(From Bryan, aka 'the Beav')
Bike only has black key-
I’ve read rants about the conspiracy theory that Ducati and/or their dealers contrived some sort “brilliant” scheme to strike it rich selling gauge clusters, ECU’s and ignition locks to people who loose their red key or buy bikes without even knowing the red key exists and it just doesn’t make sense. Installing immobilizers in order to turn their loyal followers into an angry mob for sport doesn’t make sense either. It’s just not good for business. I offer a new theory that I think we all can relate to the inconveniences of. Vehicle transponder/immobilizers were introduced as a result of insurance bodies refusing to underwrite vehicles that did not have some form of passive electronic immobilization. “Passive” meaning that no action had to be undertaken by the user to 'arm' the system. Initially, not every corner locksmith in all of Ducati’s distribution markets had the equipment to duplicate the transponder keys so Ducati, in attempt to make it easy for consumers, spec’ed an Italian made system that allows the owner of a vehicle to code new keys by using the bike’s own ignition switch! Pretty cool deal, but you can’t loose that red key. The use of transponder keys is now so wide spread that almost any lock smith that specializes in automotive keys will have the equipment to “clone” the code from an existing black key on to a new “zero value code” transponder key blank. Currently, the difficult part is acquiring one of these blanks in the US (Silca KW17T5). No, the Ducati key that you buy at the parts counter won’t work because it already has a proprietary code on it, therefore it can only be programmed by the ignition/red key method. A very helpful locksmith went to great lengths to find me a blank, however he was told by one of his suppliers, who claimed to be the major importer of Silca transponder key blanks to the US, that they have to import 1,000 blanks at a time so it may take three months to three years before that particular blank shows enough demand to warrant stocking it. Thus far, I have only found one source for this key blank in the US. There is a guy on eBay who is selling these blanks for $45 shipped. If you send him your key, he will cut and clone it for an additional $25 (I bought one it works great!) Initially, all the lock smiths I talked to said, “A Ducati? You’ll have to go to the dealer. The dealers seem to only be aware of the locks/gauge/ECU/new red key method to make a key. The good news on that front is, due to the whining by both consumers and dealers about the nearly $3000 cost of this method, Ducati has negotiated new pricing from their OEM suppliers and just recently been able to bring the price of the whole deal down to around $750. In comparison, the usual cost of a transponder key is around $30 - $40, with an additional $30 - $50 to clone and cut it. It seems that owners of immobilizer equipped Ducatis, Ducati dealers, as well as locksmiths have been baffled by the seemingly huge mystery of the red key because we simply haven’t been armed with the knowledge of the correct transponder key blank we need to make a key. In my idealistic “World Domination Plan”, every DML member needs to flip open the yellow pages and call five automotive locksmiths and ask if they can get a Silca KW17T5 transponder key blank. I think it’s likely we would either find a good source for the blank or the ‘critical mass’ would create enough demand to warrant stocking the blanks and the whole “You cannot make a copy without the red key” issue would finally come to an end!
If you are considering buying a bike without a red key, use it as a bargaining chip to get the price down, but don’t let it scare you away or immediately assume that the bike is stolen - crazed girl friends and repo’s happen! If you already own a bike that has no red key, don’t despair, you have some options for additional keys and no, you don’t need a red key to remap the fuel injection.
If, you have a black key, but no red key, you can make a copy of the black key. You will need a Silca KW17T5 transponder key blank and a lock smith with one of the following cloners (Ilco/Silca - RW2 or RW3, Strattec - Quick code, Jet – Smart clone, Bianchi - Repli-code).
If you want to buy the bits from your Ducati dealer that you’ll need to get a new red key, you’ll need a new gauge cluster - $220; ECU - $249; ignition/keys - $249.
If you want to McGyver it, take the dynamic D sticker off of your black key, push the cross pin out so you can pull the key blade out of the plastic head, then fish out the transponder and JB Weld it on the inside of your ignition housing. Then go get all the $5.00 keys made you want!
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No longer hanging out here, sorry.
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