RFID Motorcycle Ignition

This was another fun project that I undertook.  It started when someone tried to steal my motorcycle from my apartment complex in Norman, OK by trying to drill out the top part of the ignition switch to get to the bottom and be able to turn the power on (see below).

This was the first time anything had happened so I did what any sane person would do and ordered a replacement ignition switch.  The switch was supposed to be a drop in replacement, but ended up taking some tinkering to get it to work.  Everything was all good and back to normal.

About a week later someone tried to force a blank key into the ignitions switch i just installed and broke the key off inside.

I decided I wanted to see if i could eliminate the ignitions switch all together so that bad guys would not be able to do anything like that again.

Since this motorcycle was older (97 Yamaha Virago 1200) the ignition switch was really just a keyed power switch that controlled the flow of power to the starter.  So I opted for a simple solution, a 12 Volt RFID controlled switch.  At the time I thought this was a good idea and would be more secure than a key, but now I know I should have got a rolling code RFID switch, similar to how garage door openers operate.  This would make it harder for someone to clone my RFID transponder.

Once I had a RFID switch (from ebay I think, I did not take many pictures of this project), I looked up the wiring diagram for the motorcycle to see what the switch did.  As I suspected it was a simple switch that just completed the circuit and allowed power to flow to the starter.  I cut the ignition switch wires and wired the RFID switch there instead.

Now the motorcycle had no ignition switch, instead the reader part of the RFID switch was next to the seat and once I was sitting on the bike with the RFID key it would switch on just like I turned the key.  I wish I would have taken more pictures of this project, but I was more focused on solving the thief problem.

It was a really fun project and I learned a lot about how to read wiring diagrams.  If this interests you or you are looking to do something similar.  Feel free to shoot me an email!