Hi there. My very first bike was a 1987 Hurricane I bought from a friend back in 2001. Later I sold it to another friend, who dropped it and busted the alternator cover. He just left it at my house for a few years, and now another friend wants a first bike, and doesn't have the cash to drop on a good one.

Nobody knows where the keys are, and I don't think the bike is worth enough to have keys made by a locksmith, etc. Has anyone ever just installed a toggle switch for the ignition? Can I just pull the ignition switch out and hotwire it? (I know this sounds super sketchy, but I can post pictures of the bike if you don't believe me, lol)

 

The ignition isn't a simple on-off switch. There are multiple positions. You can simulate it with multiple toggle switches.

I had a set of keys made for an '86 VF500F by a locksmith. He just read off the numbers near the keyhole and made one from that data. Didn't cost me very much, maybe $15-20.

Another way is to pick up a new ignition switch & key from junkyard. About $50-75.

 

I had to call fifteen locksmiths, but I found one who would cut a key if I brought in the ignition switch. $15. Woo!