Key or no key that is the question...

[askitee]

The only thing I can think of is the little spring loaded plate that covers the hole when you remove the key. One of my mates RZ 250 in the 80's had an issue with it not closing properly and allowed dust and grime to get into the tumbler. From time to time the key would be difficult to rotate. I've started taking it out even when garaged since having this happen in my region https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2020/12/2...ugh-newcastle/

[pegasus1300]

Mako, I had heard, tho don't remember where, that it was a good idea to remove the key so that the computer could disengage from the key chip and do some resetting. I was a "never remove key" person before but now after being told that I have become " remove key" person. YMMV.

[Lew L]

.
If I'm on the Spyder--- the key is in------ If i'm not on the ---- the key is OUT.

[Fire34]

Whenever the vehicles are in the garage, the keys are in the ignition. Been doing it that way for 20 years and not going to
stop now. I figure if somebody is in the garage, they're in the house. No biggie.

Of course I have left the garage door open all night at times, plus left the keys in the ignition in the driveway. Nothing ever
happened. But I do try not to make that a habit.

Come to think of it. We do the car why not the spyder? I am sure your reason will be mine, from an old firefighter that is the reason for the car, and I also do it for the bike. I have seen quite a few cars go up because the owners at that time were unable to find their keys.
Dave

[Possible]

Makes you wonder if a theft claim would be denied if your house doors and/or windows were left unlocked? Heck, I'd have to search
to find the key to the house.

[MONK]

Makes you wonder if a theft claim would be denied if your house doors and/or windows were left unlocked? Heck, I'd have to search
to find the key to the house.

Bet it would be denied. If you leave your car running in a Walmart parking lot with the doors unlocked and it gets stolen, does anyone really think the insurance will pay to replace it? Or not investigate? If my rear window is left open, I don't think a claim would be denied as it's a 2nd story window. If one of my front windows (which are large and on the front porch) were left open, I highly doubt my homeowners insurance would pay the claim. You have to safeguard your (vehicle/home/contents) to a reasonable degree.

As with the vehicle, it's not my vehicle/house/etc so I don't care one way or another what someone else does.

[Possible]

Seriously? Who the heck locks their windows and doors?

[Peteoz]

Please don't get to excited about this thread. Everyone is voicing an opinion and not trying to start an argument.

I consider this thread a harmless discussion.

I agree, AR, it is a good discussion, but the hijack has moved it well off Mako’s original question of whether leaving the key in can cause damage to the Spyder.

Pete

[ARtraveler]

Time to re-direct to the original subject.

"Key or no key, that is the question."

The OP's original post:

Ride all year here but we're in lockdown so the Spyder is getting more time in the garage than usual.

I leave it with the parking brake off (wheels choked) and plenty of fuel (not overfilling it).

Also I leave the key in the ignition... Think I've read somewhere it was recommended but not sure why...

Any one knows why? Or why shouldn't I do it?

Thanks.

[ARtraveler]

I agree, AR, it is a good discussion, but the hijack has moved it well off Mako’s original question of whether leaving the key in can cause damage to the Spyder.

Pete

Noted.

[billybovine]

On the original question. It makes no difference to the Spyder if you leave the key in or not. There was an often repeated myth that the key had to be removed for some reason. Part of the "Magical Key Walk". Remove the key and walk away from the Spyder 33.3 feet or there abouts. Wait 5 to 40 minutes, depends on the version of the myth. Then magically everything will be fixed. The engine will start. No codes will appear and the flat tire will no longer be flat. The reality is. The DESS module is only active for a few seconds after the key is turned on. That is when the module looks for the key chip and verifies that it matches one stored in memory. That's it. At no other time is there communication between the key chip and DESS, except when programing a new key.

I don't always take my key out in the garage. Just a personal opinion, it is a bad habit to have.

As to insurance. So you forget to take your key out. You are suddenly not covered by insurance. From my own experience that is not true. In the 80s I had a car stolen off the farm. It was fully covered by insurance and it was quite clearly disclosed that the keys where in it. Both in the police report and the statement of claim to insurance.

[MONK]

Someone mentioned that little metal flap keeping dust out of the ignition. Not sure but it would make sense that the spring would lose some of it's springiness after a while if the key were left in the ignition, keeping constant pressure on it. Not sure if it would ever lose enough spring to keep that flap open or if it would matter if it did. Just food for thought.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Mako, I had heard, tho don't remember where, that it was a good idea to remove the key so that the computer could disengage from the key chip and do some resetting. I was a "never remove key" person before but now after being told that I have become " remove key" person. YMMV.

I don't think that is the case. The DESS doesn't read the key until the ignition is turned on. One reason I say that is once the bike starts, the key chip does not need to be at the ignition. You can use a plain key and turn on the ignition, put a chipped key on the ignition and start the bike, and then take the chip key away.

But there is some parasitic drain on the battery to maintain computer memories. My RT will drop voltage after a couple of weeks or so, but then I leave the key in. I'll have to take the key out for awhile and see if the drain continues.

[Plarimer]

Just as a humorous aside, you could almost leave your key in 24 seven no matter where you park it, because of the procedure you have to go through, as I remember five different steps before you can start it, nobody’s going to figure that out!

[Peter Aawen]

- that's probably very true Plarimer! Especially if you get to watch anyone who doesn't know how while they're trying to start it!

Someone mentioned that little metal flap keeping dust out of the ignition. Not sure but it would make sense that the spring would lose some of it's springiness after a while if the key were left in the ignition, keeping constant pressure on it. Not sure if it would ever lose enough spring to keep that flap open or if it would matter if it did. Just food for thought.

Another thing to be aware of is that whilever the key is in the ignition, that little flappy thing is pushed aside & any moisture etc that might be around the ignition entry slot can dribble in... This isn't (usually) an issue while you're riding, because the air-flow created as you ride moves any/all the liquid type stuff past & away the key & its slot too quickly; but whenever your Spyder is standing, any rain, condensed moisture, & critter or rodent pee etc can settle there & if/when it does, it will dribble down into that little slot, even with the key in it - liquid is not stopped or slowed at all by the key but actually aided by the presence of the key & the tendency of liquids to 'wick' along surfaces & into tight crevices!! Don't laugh about the critter or rodent pee bit either - it happens, Waaaayyy more often than you might think, especially if you are parked somewhere near their habitat (ie, pretty much everywhere!) and even if you might believe you have a 'rodent proof' garage!

And if it comes to your Spyder being stolen - here in Oz, while it may not have been such a biggie in the past, but these days, evidence of ignition damage is one of the Very FIRST things that Police Investigators & Insurance Assessors will look for when they discover/recover a stolen &/or torched vehicle - as far as they are concerned, even if the key is no longer with/in the vehicle, no signs of ignition damage is frequently an indication that the owner was involved in the theft/torching, so that immediately means that the investigation takes a whole 'nuther path &/or the value of any potential insurance payout looks a whole lot different!!

Besides which, just to cap it all off for you, (not that it's 'actively policed' all that often ) but here in Oz these days it's also illegal for an owner/operator to leave their vehicle unsecured (& there's nothing to say this only applies in public places, either!) so if you are more than (I think?) 3 metres away from your vehicle and it isn't locked &/or the key is still in the ignition, or even if a key is just still somewhere in/on the vehicle itself &/or nearby (so watch out if you've got a spare key 'secreted' anywhere on your Spyder or hanging on the rack by the door of the garage! ) then YOU could be at risk of a fine & possibly even be deemed at fault or maybe to have been attempting to commit fraud if the vehicle &/or any contents are stolen & you make an insurance claim!

Yep, one of the most over-legislated countries in the world is Oz - but there's still a lot going for it as one of the safest places in the world to live! As for me & my vehicle keys, I just pull the key out whenever I walk away from whichever vehicle, Spyder included. Like most things you do often, it very quickly becomes a habit and once it is, it's pretty easy to do/remember (muscle memory ) & no less bother than it is to turn it off in the first place! But that's just me - YMMV!

But

[wyliec]

Yep, one of the most over-legislated countries in the world is Oz - but there's still a lot going for it as one of the safest places in the world to live! As for me & my vehicle keys, I just pull the key out whenever I walk away from whichever vehicle, Spyder included. Like most things you do often, it very quickly becomes a habit and once it is, it's pretty easy to do/remember (muscle memory ) & no less bother than it is to turn it off in the first place! But that's just me - YMMV!

But

Great info, but muscle memory is a misnomer. I'll leave it at that, not to take the op even further away from whatever was originally asked; I've seemed to have forgotten.

[Possible]

FWIW, I have left the key in the ignition on at least three different bikes, two of them for over ten years, one for nearly 20 years, and I have never
had an issue with anything interfering with the ignition key working. These are parked inside out of the weather, if I parked it outside I would remove
the key. To me, just much ado about nothing.

[Peacekeeper6]

Once you have been a victim of a burglary, I guarantee you that you NEVER leave the keys in the ignition.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Time for a sidetrack!

A Chinese girl let her boy friend have a key to her apartment so he could come spend time with her whenever he wanted. When she replaced his lost key for the third time she told him very firmly, "You lose this key, you not get new key!"

[Peteoz]

Time for a sidetrack!

A Chinese girl let her boy friend have a key to her apartment so he could come spend time with her whenever he wanted. When she replaced his lost key for the third time she told him very firmly, "You lose this key, you not get new key!"

Hmmmmm. I have to admit that I was scratching my head at that one, Idaho, until I pronounced the last two words with a (very poor) Chinese accent.

Pete

[ollicat]

Just as a humorous aside, you could almost leave your key in 24 seven no matter where you park it, because of the procedure you have to go through, as I remember five different steps before you can start it, nobody’s going to figure that out!

Ain't that the TRUTH!!!

[bigbadbrucie]

Totally forgot about IPS from LaMonster.....haven’t used it for a couple of years. I do like the look of it and just may start using it once again.

[Possible]

Once you have been a victim of a burglary, I guarantee you that you NEVER leave the keys in the ignition.

I don't think so. That's like saying once you've been in an accident you'll never ride again. Stuff happens. Someone thieving my stuff is not my fault, it's
the fault of the one thieving it.

[bigbadbrucie]

I don't think so. That's like saying once you've been in an accident you'll never ride again. Stuff happens. Someone thieving my stuff is not my fault, it's
the fault of the one thieving it.

Don’t agree with you. An accident is just that.....an accident, whereas a theft is a deliberate thing...a thief taking something that doesn’t belong to him and if you’re a victim of a thief you will take steps to avoid that happening again. jmho

[MakoShark2]

So no real reason to leave the key there at least electronically as the DESS won't read the key until ignition is on.

Bigger issue would then be messing with the little metal flap thing which shouldn't be a real issue when in the garage, still I might stop leaving it there just because of that.

In the end I guess it's pretty much a personal choice of each one to leave it there or not.

Thank you everyone.