the douglas cowboys

i took a look at the posting for the disassembly of the ignition barrel (graphite hasn't worked) and my barrel is not the same as the one in the photos. the hex bolts are replaced by round-headed bolts and there appears to be no way to remove them. the bike has the HISS (honda Ignition Security System) on it so the whole thing looks a bit different as well. I think the round headed bolts are there for security. Gotta say that in the 6 years of owning blackbirds this is the first thing that's gone wrong but it's starting to piss me off. The 3 local honda dealers are about as useful as tits on a bull and all they can say is 'use some WD-40 and jig the key. Honda Ireland (the Importer) has sent me out a complaint form but this has also failed to un-lock the bike. What annoys me most is that i'm going to be forced to throw a couple of hundred euros at a problem that shouldn't happen and isn't a wear and tear problem.

thanks for the links to the article. i think i'll have a go off of it but i might find ot how much a new barrel would cost first. for peace of mind i might go that way.......poor show from Honda. i had heard of it being a problem on VFR's and Pan Europeans (ST1300) as well over here.

i've dragged the bike into the garage and the next step will be to get the graphite. the keys are being used all different ways while wiggling the steering and while still, all to no effect. If the graphite doesn't work i assume it'll be a new barrel......not satisfactory after only 12.5k miles.

HELP. the ignition lock is stuck on my 00 bird. I bought a new blank key and had it cut but that won't unlock the steering lock either. my dealer tells me that the steering lock is purely mechanical and that the HISS system only enables the fule injectors by completing the circuit once the igntion is on. any answers? the bike is sitting outside and this is pretty urgent. i had a similar problem before and it righted it by applying a pliars to the main key. however this problem is affecting all three keys so i think there's a problem with the lock barrel.

thanks lads it was the yanking the tank back out of the rubber seal at the headstock that i wasn't sure about. i had the plugs done but i need to pop in a new filter now thanks again

hi everybody (as Dr. Nick says) i'm sitting at work at the moment so i could probably figure this out myself but i'm going to change the air filter over the weekend. i assume that that's a pretty easy job but i am curious about how easy the tank comes off. is there a tap on the fuel line? i've only ever raised the tank to install a scottoiler so i need advice on taking the thing off. i don't want a 'bike in bits, can't get it to the shop' situation! thanks p.s. this might have come up before but i just don't know about it as i've only just registered.