New to me 2010 C14, best practices on keys?

[dboogie2288]

Hi All. I recently acquired a C14 from ole 2010 and I've been doing some reading around here. Honestly, this Kipass system thing scares the ever living crap outta me. I'd be really interested to see a statistical comparison of theft (or more interest of theft) of C14 units over the FJR. My FJR just has a simple ole key and it works just fine.

Anyhoooooo... what are you guys suggesting as best practices for key/fob usage with interest in not losing it along the way? I'm thinking of putting the active/passive fob in my safe...and using the passive fob on a day to day basis. Putting that on a lanyard that I'd probably hang around my neck so I can just bend over, tap, and start the bike. What do you guys do? I'm a bit scatter brained, so I need to make sure it's easily visible and something I can find if I were to set it down for some reason or another. The PO was just leaving the active/passive fob in the glove box and just taking it out as needed...wasnt sure I liked that solution.

[Deathwish]

I have two active fobs for my 2013. One fob sits in a drawer at home. The other one stays zipped up in an inner pocket of my riding jacket. Only comes out to fill the tank or open a side case, then right back in my pocket and zipped up.

[maxtog]

Best practices

If you have 1 active and 1 passive: Put the active fob in a ZIPPERED inner pocket of your riding jacket and NEVER remove it (this works extremely well if you have only one jacket and always take your jacket with you at your destination, which I always do).  Make a metal key copy to put on your carry-ring for use with bags and gas tank so you don't have to remove the "stove key" from the ignition or the fob from your jacket.  Keep the passive one safe at home somewhere as a secure spare.

Alternatively, if you have 1 active and 2 passive:  Do the exact same thing as above, but put one of the passive on your key ring instead of a metal key copy.  Then you can pull the metal key out of the passive one to use for the bags and gas.

[gPink]

I leave the fob in the tank bag unless I'm walking away from the bike in a strange place and I use the 'stove knob' ignition key for gas and bags. Never had an issue.

[Boomer]

As said above, but before you put the active fob into a zippered inner pocket, put it in a sealed zip-lock bag.
That way if you forget it's there and wash your jacket then the fob will survive the experience.
Keep the passive fob somewhere safe as your emergency backup.
If you need a cheap spare passive, contact Ed Ramberger on COG or one of the C14 Facebook groups.

I have never understood why people find KIPASS scary. The technology is identical to the remote SmartKey on my 2004 Lexus and many many other cars since.
My fob has lived in my jacket for 15 years and I only get it out when the battery needs replacing. Misplacing a jacket is a lot harder than misplacing a fob or a key.
I have a copy of the physical key on my keyring (along with trunk key, lock keys, and my C10/garage/house keys) but I use the stove-knob key for opening the gas tank and keep my gas cap lock well lubricated.

As for the theft issue, most places outside the USA that have far higher motorcycle theft figures. Here in the UK we had 40,000 motorcycle thefts in 2020 and in the same year the USA had 53,000, so we have 4 times as many motorcycle thefts per head of population than you guys, and France & Italy have worse figures than we do (6 times worse than USA). Kawasaki make bikes for the world, not just for the USA.

If you leave the fob close to or on the bike, it will keep communicating with the bike and that will flatten the fob battery PDQ. It also drains the bike battery more quickly.

Finally, since I got my C14 I have never dropped the key into the black-hole that is the fairing. 

[dboogie2288]

I have never understood why people find KIPASS scary.

Because its thousands if you have to replace the stuff. That's why. lol

Misplacing a jacket is a lot harder than misplacing a fob or a key.

This may be true, however, I have jackets with holes in the pockets. Name brand ones too....looking at you first gear.

I have never dropped the key into the black-hole that is the fairing.

youre lucky. but so am I. I have a short lanyard on my keys, and I dropped them into the abyss of my C10 years ago. Thankfully to that lanyard it only took me about 4 minutes to find them......could have been way worse.

[Michelle]

If you leave the fob close to or on the bike, it will keep communicating with the bike and that will flatten the fob battery PDQ. It also drains the bike battery more quickly.

No. It. Doesn't.
They go to sleep and it only wakes up when it gets a signal from the pressing of the stove key. If it were constantly communicating there would be no need for a key press.

[Boomer]

Because its thousands if you have to replace the stuff. That's why. lol

If you lose your fob, you still have the spare at home or in your wallet so you can get new fobs programmed. Yes, a new fob is more expensive than a key, also more secure.
If you are down to one fob and you don't immediately get a spare one added, then yes you are looking at a very expensive fix when you then lose your only fob.

This may be true, however, I have jackets with holes in the pockets. Name brand ones too....looking at you first gear.

But not KIPASS's fault. 

youre lucky. but so am I. I have a short lanyard on my keys, and I dropped them into the abyss of my C10 years ago. Thankfully to that lanyard it only took me about 4 minutes to find them......could have been way worse.

Oh, I have dropped several C10 keys into that abyss, and I eventually managed to retrieve all but one of them (on that ride I had a spare with me). A couple of them required fairing removal to find them. One was on a mountain pass in Austria and I didn't have a spare key with me. Was VERY relieved to find that one and went the very next day to a key cutting place and had 2 copies made even though I already had 2 copies at home.
My point was that on the C14 there is none of that risk as even if you drop the StoveKnob key down there (yes, I have) it doesn't drop far because of it's size.

Personally I like KIPASS and have always liked it since the day I rode mine home from the dealers (5 Aug 2007). It just requires a different kind of care compared to a regular key, and there are several advantages to it.

[Boomer]

No. It. Doesn't.
They go to sleep and it only wakes up when it gets a signal from the pressing of the stove key. If it were constantly communicating there would be no need for a key press.

I just researched it in some detail and you are correct and I was wrong. There is quite a lot of conflicting data out there about it. 

[VirginiaJim]

I only had two issues with KIPASS early on.  The first one I fixed with a rock.  The second one I got quite cross and swore at it severely but I did start carrying Maxwell's Silver Hammer (after the first incident) and tapped it a few times and it came back to life.  After that really no issues with it at all for the 9 years I owned it.  They did come out with a modified (stronger spring?) in the 2010+ models I think.  I had Brian's (RIP) bypass on it but never had to use it.  There was some sort of maintenance I did to it on an ongoing basis but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.


My Indian uses a FOB but there is no switch like Kwackers made for the C14.  Press a button and as long as it can communicate to the FOB, the dash lights up and you can press the start switch and off you go.  If the battery in the fob dies there is no RF backup.  You can enter a security code and it will crank up.  If the fob falls off the bike you aren't getting too far as it will initiate the horn blowing every few seconds unlike the C14 where the message comes up sometime later (at least on the 2008/9 models.

[maxtog]

They go to sleep and it only wakes up when it gets a signal from the pressing of the stove key. If it were constantly communicating there would be no need for a key press.

That is true.

But leaving an active fob on/near the bike totally defeats ALL security.  So that is something I would never do or recommend.  Why tempt fate?

[dboogie2288]

You can enter a security code and it will crank up.

That's pretty flippin awesome.

[dboogie2288]

I think my final strategy is going to be carrying a keychain on a lanyard like I do with the rest of my bikes. I got with Ed and had clones of my passive key made. So that fob, along with my givi case key, and a hard key for FSS will serve me just like all my other bikes, and my habits will be equally [bad] from there...

[dboogie2288]

But leaving an active fob on/near the bike totally defeats ALL security.  So that is something I would never do or recommend.  Why tempt fate?

Yeah the PO of my bike left the fob in the [locking] glove box at all times. I felt like that was a bad idea.....if the fob battery dies over the winter for instance, you cant get into that box to get your key....though now talking it out, I guess you can use your passive key in such a case. But the same PO didnt know what the passive key was and insisted he only had one key for the bike...so might not have helped him in such a case lol.

[gPink]

Yeah the PO of my bike left the fob in the [locking] glove box at all times. I felt like that was a bad idea.....if the fob battery dies over the winter for instance, you cant get into that box to get your key....though now talking it out, I guess you can use your passive key in such a case. But the same PO didnt know what the passive key was and insisted he only had one key for the bike...so might not have helped him in such a case lol.

With the superior 1st gen C14 you didn't have the glovebox lockout problem. 

[maxtog]

With the superior 1st gen C14 you didn't have the glovebox lockout problem. 

Right, you just didn't have a real or lockable glovebox... problem solved

Seriously, though, calling either a 'glovebox' is a bit of a stretch.

[Boomer]

Seriously, though, calling either a 'glovebox' is a bit of a stretch.

Why? I can get a pair of my huge (5XL) summer gloves in the 08 model "glovebox". 
I don't use it for that. Mine holds a tyre valve adapter, sidestand plate, spare earplugs, and a tyre pressure gauge.

My cars "glovebox" could take 20 pairs of gloves, but there are none in there either. 

[maxtog]

I can't fit my non-summer gloves in them.  Still, I would never turn down any opportunity for storage of any kind.

[VirginiaJim]

What's interesting to me about the 08/09 glove box was that quite a few owners of the 10+ bikes wanted to retrofit them with the glove box from the 08/09 models.  I thought it worked quite well and never had issues with it that I can remember.

[maxtog]

At first I always thought it was strange Kawasaki didn't keep the old storage box and just add the new one in addition.  More is better.  But I suspect the reason for eliminating the tank one was to make more space/comfort/fit for a proper external [magnetic] tank bag.

I have never had or used a tank bag before, so I don't know how or if the original storage would possibly complicate that.  I can see having a tank bag would be helpful on a long/large/complex trip where you want every bit of storage you can get.

I have never had need for more than just the saddle bags, but only because I usually just take short trips, and only a few overnighters.