Ignition Protection re dust & crap

Cleaning the bike tonight, it occurs to me that no matter how much wonder lubricants I put in my ignition, sooner or later the accumulated load of dust and crap that enters via the key recepticle is going to lock up the ignition. Irritating and probably a bit expensive at the least - possible major drama if it happens a hundred miles or so from civilization.

It looks like a simple soft rubber cup shaped boot that could be stuck on there after the ignition was on would be just the hot dope to keep dust and water and crap out. I figure something about 1.00" -1.10" in diameter, and 2.00" -2.20" in height. Friction would keep it on.

I've seen similar items before for other applications. Anybody out there in WR land have an idea where a boot like that could be found?

Try this....

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=668679&highlight=key+mod

mwakey wrote:

Try this....

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=668679&highlight=key+mod

Thanks for the link and the suggestion, Mark. But that's not where I want to go. Most of my long term problems will be from fine dust getting in there,, not mud and dirt, and I think that mod will slow it down a bit but anything other than some kind of seal over the round lockset portion isn't going to keep the crap out. Same sort of issue you have with truck canopy lockable handles - and the rubber boots I have put on mine have kept my cheapo little handle working like new for 15 years on that truck, over about 250,000 miles with probably 50,000 of those miles on forest service roads. SheWolf can tell you all about that kind of dust...

So I'm still looking for the right sized rubber boot or plastic end cap. I know one that will work has just got to be out there - I just have to find it.

Hmmmm... I wonder if the plastic end caps we put over the flash suppressors on our rifles to keep mud and crap out of the barrel is the right size. Those work like a hot damn on the rifles; same idea and I bet the sizing is very, very close. Have to see how they size up and then take it to a plumbing supply or auto supply parts if it doesn't fit and see what they've got.

I guess a condom might work - we used those on the rifles a lot (I'll have to post a true funny story in the off topic area) - or cutting the thumb off a rubber glove might have somewhat better longevity.

The solution is out there...

Post up when you find something. I've looked at mine plenty while on the trail, and it scares me.

Why not just remove the damn thing all together? Replace the keyswitch with a toggle somewhere under the shroud or another dry spot. Unless you need the steering lock, why wouldn't it be possible to run the existing wires to a waterproof switch and use it to turn on the igntion/accessories? There are four wires going to the keyswitch. Red from the battery could go on one side of the toggle switch. The other three (brown, blue/yellow, and blue/black) could go to the other side of the toggle switch. Simple on/off toggle ought to do the trick.

mwakey wrote:

Why not just remove the damn thing all together? Replace the keyswitch with a toggle somewhere under the shroud or another dry spot. Unless you need the steering lock, why wouldn't it be possible to run the existing wires to a waterproof switch and use it to turn on the igntion/accessories? There are four wires going to the keyswitch. Red from the battery could go on one side of the toggle switch. The other three (brown, blue/yellow, and blue/black) could go to the other side of the toggle switch. Simple on/off toggle ought to do the trick.

Now there is a thought. That evil kickstand kill switch has to go soon as well

I often wonder why the keys don't have plastic covers built into the head, like quad keys or my old Honda CRF key had on it. Cheap, simple, and would solve the problem.

I had already thought of the rubber cover. Yamaha makes a rubber cover for their outboard motor keys, but it won't fit the WR key.

Hmmmm......I've been wondering why my key is hard to put in and remove lately...

As an aside, this is a good reason to do the keyless gas tank mod, because you don't have to remove the ignition key to get fuel, and thus transfer crud to the lock components.

mwakey wrote:

I had already thought of the rubber cover. Yamaha makes a rubber cover for their outboard motor keys, but it won't fit the WR key.

But could it be modified?

Or could you win "Yamaha Employee of The Year" for suggesting a soft rubber dust cover, that pops open when you depress it, like we have on some of our uber pricey military NODLR systems? Very, very trick.

No. The outboard key boot is way too small for our bike key. No way to mod it to work. The WR key sticks out too far from the switch. If the black part of our key was closer to the switch and didn't have that half inch of useless key stock in between it could work with a little modding. Why not just take a rubber cap the size of the keyswitch and glue it over the top of keyswitch and cut a slot in it for the key?

Not familiar with the NODLR systems you mentioned. Do you have any pics of this setup?