Steering Head Scratches & Multiple Keys

Hi,

My VFR that I purchased recently has some scratches on the black steering head around the ignition keyhole. It looks like a second key on a keyring has been hanging off and vibrating the black paint away.

I was just wondering if anyone has some ideas as to what would be the best way to remove the scratches?

Also - as for the keys, I got two keys when I purchased the bike. One for the ignition and one for the seat (different keys apparently). I was wondering if others have different keys, and how you go about protecting the steering head by being scratched by the other keys during riding?

Thanks

If the seat and ignition key are different, that means that someone had to replace either the ignition or seat lock. Most likely the ignition. I would be curious about the history of the bike to need to replace the ignition key.

What key fits the gas cap, the ignition key or seat key? If someone changed the rear left passenger peg, it may have come with a different lock cylinder in it that required a different key (at least on 5th gen).

I was just wondering if anyone has some ideas as to what would be the best way to remove the scratches?

Bad news - I can't help you with removing them. Good new - You can cover them with a yoke cover though. Bad news - they are all "carbon fiber".

Remove the upper triple, sandblast it and paint it.

Once you do fix the finish on your top triple clamp you the have to make sure you don't have anything hooked on to your ignition key, as the damage will just come right back. I found out that after testing even the lightest key fob I could find, one of those floating foam fobs from boating supply shops, will eventually start to scratch arcs on you triple clamp after some miles.....

Quick and easy fix for the top triple cover to hide the key marks would be to get a piece of black vinyl (automotive decal company in your area that does vinyl vehicle signs should have some) and buy a piece large enough to cover the upper triple from fork tube to fork tube. You could also do this in any other color (including carbon fibre graphic style if the company carries it) and apply it to the top and trim to fit. The vinyl is easy to apply (pre clean the area first with some isopropyl alcohol first) and can removed and re-applied if you need to or if you want something different. I used a piece of carbon fibre print vinyl decal that I got from a local sign shop. Since I used a trimmed piece that he was going to throw away anyhow, it was free. :)

As far as the key goes, I agree the key for your ignition, gas cap, and seat lock should all be the same key. If the gas cap and seat lock are the same key, then someone has likely replaced the ignition cylinder (perhaps the original key was lost and thus the ignition cylinder was replaced). If the fuel cap and ignition match then the rear foot peg bracket (on a fifth gen anyhow) might have been replaced for some reason. You get the idea. If you were to take the bike to a professional locksmith I'm sure you have all the cylinders keyed to match one of the keys (best bet here might be to have all the cylinders on the bike re keyed to match the ignition key).

I use one of these. Separate the ignition key and put the rest in my pocket. [image: 133482868_amazoncom-6-key-pull-apart-key]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the replies. Ignition key and fuel cap are the same.

I like the idea about a lock smith fixing up the seat to match.

Thanks for the ideas on what I can do re the scratches.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk

This is nice

Www.mykeyport.com