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My Fork Lock on 2000 RKC Wouldn't Unlock

Webbtron

Webbtron

Banned
Ok I'm going to my Brother's (330 miles one way), lock the forks in a remote rest area and after visiting with a biker from Ft Lupton, CO I can't unlock the forks. I finally take a pair of pliers and more or less (actually more) force the key back to the unlock position. This was Friday afternoon and I'm looking at another 5 hours of riding until I get there, but there was a time I was thinking I might be in this rest area for the night. Now the slots are not lined up but to tell you the truth I don't see me using that lock again. There is nothing in the manual to aid in disassembly and it had never messed up on me before. Anyone ever take them apart or repair them?
 
Webbtron said:
Ok I'm going to my Brother's (330 miles one way), lock the forks in a remote rest area and after visiting with a biker from Ft Lupton, CO I can't unlock the forks. I finally take a pair of pliers and more or less (actually more) force the key back to the unlock position. This was Friday afternoon and I'm looking at another 5 hours of riding until I get there, but there was a time I was thinking I might be in this rest area for the night. Now the slots are not lined up but to tell you the truth I don't see me using that lock again. There is nothing in the manual to aid in disassembly and it had never messed up on me before. Anyone ever take them apart or repair them?
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My lock is held in by a rivet Pin. I would imagine they drill it out and replace the whole lock inside.

Your avatar shows a 77 sport. Is that the bike we are talking about..

I never thought they had anything but a Lock thru two eyes?

Give me (Us) a little more information about the bike in question please. Model and year and type of key. Straight or barrel

signed....BUBBIE
 
2000 Road King Classic, yea it is a barrel key. And yes a padlock through 2 matching eyelets was all the Sportster had for security. Funny you should mention it I had trouble with the lock on it before I just quit using it. It just hung down on the frame so it got pertty dirty. I suppose there is nothing in the manual on this because they want to make it a bit more difficult for the theives.
 
Webbtron said:
2000 Road King Classic, yea it is a barrel key. And yes a padlock through 2 matching eyelets was all the Sportster had for security. Funny you should mention it I had trouble with the lock on it before I just quit using it. It just hung down on the frame so it got pertty dirty. I suppose there is nothing in the manual on this because they want to make it a bit more difficult for the theives.
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OKAY, My 2ooo FXDS had a Loose lock. the whole thing would move around.. That was just the way it was ,loose and popping out a 1/8 " or more from time to time.. Never fixed but worked......

The problem I had was the handle bar location.. IF Not moving back and for' it would Not lock the rod into the stop..Worse was Leaning on the side stand and against pressure, I had to move the handle bar ,Pushing it hard to the stop direction to get the key and Rod to un-lock..

Another problem; On some bikes,

The barrel keys would not line up with the slot,,,,moved away and the barrel key with its prong,,,could Not get into the lock ...I was told to File off the prong (on one key only) so when the lock turned and didn't allow the barrel key to gain access and align, You could monkey it to turn lock alignment correctly to use the barrel key... Neat trick .

I don't know if this helped you are not..

signed....BUBBIE
 
BUBBIE said:
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OKAY, My 2ooo FXDS had a Loose lock. the whole thing would move around.. That was just the way it was ,loose and popping out a 1/8 " or more from time to time.. Never fixed but worked......

The problem I had was the handle bar location.. IF Not moving back and for' it would Not lock the rod into the stop..Worse was Leaning on the side stand and against pressure, I had to move the handle bar ,Pushing it hard to the stop direction to get the key and Rod to un-lock..

Another problem; On some bikes,

The barrel keys would not line up with the slot,,,,moved away and the barrel key with its prong,,,could Not get into the lock ...I was told to File off the prong (on one key only) so when the lock turned and didn't allow the barrel key to gain access and align, You could monkey it to turn lock alignment correctly to use the barrel key... Neat trick .

I don't know if this helped you are not..

signed....BUBBIE
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A Member PM'd me with the same solution, I ground the easy to grind part last night but I feel I have to grind the inside part of the prong also, will get that done this week some time and post back. I'm pretty sure this key is the one to sacrifice as I twisted on it pretty good. As to turning the forks that is one thing I have to do is make sure the bars are all the way to the left, but the lock always worked fine once I got it to the right spot. Still I feel that I have damaged the lock as the slots for the prongs don't allign anymore.
 
I lost my key at work and asked the locksmith to pick it. They said they had special picks for the barrel keys but that it may not allow the pins to return to where they are suppose to. It got me thinking about you having this problem at a rest area and wondered if someone might have been trying to steal the bike.
 
Just a thought for the future...

The RK fork locks are more or less horizontal to the ground, so tend to cup water when presented. I suggest that all of us with those locks get some kind of cover for that keyhole. It would not take too much muddy splashed water to get in there to render the lock unlockable. There are varieties of covers available. Mine has an analog clock it it, which is useful by itself. Experience shows that the ones that flip open and closed are a bit easier to use than the ones that rotate or twist open.

On a second note, sometimes lock tumblers stick in positions beyond what the key can reach. Sometimes you can tap on the locks to get the tumblers to release and go to their rest positions. Then the key can work, unless the keyway is blocked by some kind of muck.

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
I agree with Rich on the cover for the RK fork lock. That's one of the first things I put on mine with the clock in it. Serves two purposes. You can get them with a clock or a thermometer in them, flip open or slide open.

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Well, I didn't get any joy out of grinding the prong off both the inside and the outside. But if I ever get it fixed I'll put a clock on it because I'd like a clock anyway. But since Glider joined in I guess it would be fun to mention that I squirted PLEDGE in the hole thinking it might lube it a bit, I knew I was going to hit a bunch of bugs so I had my PLEDGE with me and I tried compressed air and WD-40 at me Brother's house. I'll post back when I get more information
 
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