I went to open my rear seat cowl today on my 09 1000RR and it was jammed. The key would not turn in the lock. My husband went to work on it and we finally got it open.

Diagnosis: The rear seat/cowl lock mechanism has an inside sliding bar, that slides to the left when the key is turned. It is possible to place items in the underseat/cowl area so that they slide forward and bind the sliding bar mechanism. If this happens, the key will not turn in the lock.

Solution: Remove the seat. Insert a thin, strong rod (clothes hanger, very thin, long screwdriver, etc) into the left hole in the rear of the seat pan used for retaining the rear left seat tang. This will allow you to push any item back and away from the sliding bar mechanism, thus allowing the key to turn and the sliding bar to move.

Prevention: Don't pack the underseat/cowl area so tight! Lesson Learned!

 

I bet a nice wheelie/stoppie combo would do it too

 

I thought about that but the husband didn't like it!!!