1100 e ignition switch

[Adolph]

any got a line on new or newish ignition switch

[bikerphil]

I just bought a new one on Ebay for about $20, it is not wired properly for the XS, but you can take the rear electrical section of your old switch and bolt it to the new one with little hassle. Here is the link...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ignition-Sw...72.m2749.l2649

[Adolph]

the electrical section is the prob, can the 20.00 switch connector be made to fit orig config

[bikerphil]

The problems I found with the electrical section of the new switch were...

1. The contact section inside won't power the tail/running lights when turned on, the rotating contact area is not the same
2. The gauge of the wires was much thinner than the OEM unit.
3. The connector to the harness was totally wrong shape.

Like I said, the old electrical section fits exactly to the new lock section with 2 screws, there is no disassembly of the lock required at all

[cajun31]

Bikerphil.... did you not care about the different key. I was going that route on one of mine and I quickly saw that the electrical would swap out easily but the whole lock mechanism was different. The tumblers were not the same width....etc... I bought the switch hoping to dress up the top end looks with the label etc. I actually purchased the one from Mikes XS hoping it would work for me. I ended up just taking the top label off of it and pasted it on my old one.

[bikerphil]

Jim, the 79SF I put the lock on needed 2 keys anyway. The gas tank and side cover key were the same and the ignition by itself. The reason I changed the ignition lock in the first place is the key would come out in the on position. One day I was riding and I looked down and my keys were gone . I retraced my route and about 4 miles back, there they were laying in the middle of the road. So, nice new lock now and no worries.

[Adolph]

found the last oem switch in pa, will rekey the rest

[cajun31]

Adolph,
Just curious did you just not have a switch at all or was yours just beyond repair?

[Geezer]

I've found that most of the time the electrical part of the main switch used on the XS11 can be repaired. I've done the sandpaper on glass trick like we used to do on 2 stroke single cylinder heads to mill the contact plate down a couple thousands of an inch to make them flat and true again. Most of the time the sliding contacts are ok once they have a flat surface to slide on. Then pack it with dielectric grease before putting it all back together.

Tony

[Adolph]

found last oem switch , trying to make xs as reliable as possible

[cajun31]

Adolph, If the key code from the old key and new switch are in the same range you may be able to possibly use the tumblers from the old switch in the new one just acquired to avoid rekeying. Of course if you don't have the old switch then my point is moot. Disassembly and reassembly of the switch is very easy.

[Adolph]

Will try that , thanks

[LenB]

Just installed mine from Mike'sXS. Original has a 4-wire connector, replacement had 3 only. Electrical contact plate was not the problem - the moving contact assembly and spring pressure was. I just greased it up swapped out the necessary parts. Also had same problem as bikerphil - tumblers and key so worn the key would fall out in the on position and it probably wouldn't take much to turn it on with a screwdriver. No more poor connections - running and indicator lights would flicker when you jiggled the key. Don't really care about 2 keys - power is now properly getting to where it needs to go and it's harder to swipe. All good.

[Adolph]

awesome, i have a good used 3 wire switch

[cajun31]

Will try that , thanks

If the key from the new switch goes in the old one then more then likely the tumblers can be exchanged. The new type switches from Mikes XS and places like that don't have parts that interchange well with the old switches. I tried and found that the tumblers were a different width. I was assuming by your post and response that you are dealing with two like switches... meaning they are of the same vintage. With those if the key from the newly acquired slides in and out of the old switch with no hang ups or resistance then more then likely swapping the tumblers should not be a problem. I hope that is what you find. Keeping the same key for all components ... in my opinion is much more convenient.