One of the leading Italian motorcycle manufacturers, Ducati was acquired by the Texas Pacific Group of Fort Worth, Texas in 1996 and there has been an improvement in technology, efficiency and lean production ever since. Buying a Ducati motorcycle is one of the best purchases you can make. They are reliable and quality means of transportation that give you back your freedom.
When you buy one of Ducati motorcycles, you want to be able to ride your motorcycle the way you want to. There are three separate keys that you need to get with your bike. One key, the red key, is the one you’ll need if you’re going to be making adjustments to your bike for whatever reason. If you don’t plan on changing or adjusting anything on your bike, the black wrenches will be all you need.
If you’re buying your bike new or used, you’ll want to make sure you have a red key; however, if a red key is not available, do not assume the bike is stolen. There are a lot of things that get in the way of keeping up with the key. It is lost on occasion. Unfortunately, the OEM Ducati key is not playable once it is lost, stolen or destroyed. In order to use the red key again, you will need to purchase a completely new electronic system.
When you buy your bike from a private seller, make sure the seller has three keys to give you: two black keys and one red key. The red key, or code key, will be the only way to reprogram a replacement to operate the immobilizer circuit, which is electronic. If you’ve lost the red key or it needs to be replaced for whatever reason, you’ll end up paying almost $3,000. This may be too much to spend on something you had nothing to do with in the beginning.
You don’t need the red key unless you need to reprogram some of the electronics on the bike. If this is the case, you will need your red key. However, if you don’t have it, you can always buy new electronics, including a new ignition and ECU, which will give you a new set of keys. Chicago locksmiths have highly sophisticated equipment that can read the code on black keys to duplicate and cut reprogrammed immobilizer keys.
A Chicago locksmith can reproduce a new Ducati key and can read the code. The original red key is the only key that can do everything on the bike. You may find it easier to access the black key. If you have a black key, you will need a blank Silca KW17T5 transponder key so the locksmith can clone the key using Ilco/Silca – RW2 or RW3, Jet-Smart clone, Strattec – Quick code or Bianchi – Repli-code. Most of the good locksmiths in Chicago can help you replicate or cut a replacement Ducati motorcycle key.
If the Ducati motorcycle key breaks inside the ignition, you will need to remove the key; otherwise your bike will remain locked. Take it to an experienced locksmith as only two small tools are needed. They usually extract broken keys using high-end tools. A small probe tool is used that will hold the part of the key that locks it, and typically the locksmith uses a high end extractor that will pull the key out.
Contact your Chicago locksmith if you want to replace your keys or if you need to purchase a complete electronic system to have a red key. It is cheaper and faster to have a locksmith do the work than to have the company replace the electronic equipment.
