K1300S key - any intelligence in it?

[richtea]

I've managed to lose my key - the cat ate it or something (if in doubt, blame the youngest member of the household).

Is the K1300S key a plain key, or does it have some active piece in the plastic? It looks too small to hold anything to me, but what do I know.

In other words, can I buy a blank off eBay and get it cut, or am I beholden to BMW?

Thanks.

[Phmode]

It has the immobiliser circuitry in it. The ring antenna (the black circular bit round the ignition lock barrel) interrogates the key and if it doesn't get the right answer the computer it says 'NO!'

You can buy one off flea bay and get it cut but I think you will need to pay the man to pair it to the bike. And don't ask me how you get it to the man when it won't start...

Never let my cat eat my key so I don't know for sure about the pairing bit but if any old key off eBay would work then I'd have had your bike away years ago. Me or the drug addicts down the road.

[richtea]

Thanks for confirming, Brian.

It's a bit weird to have both a unique cut key AND a microchip.
Normal two-factor authentication (2FA) is 1) something you have and 2) something you know.
Not 1) something you have and 2) something you also have, wrapped in the same physical item.

I guess it's the equivalent of a cat microchip. So if I insert the cat's neck into the keyhole the bike will start, right?

[Phmode]

Of course!

Now, if only it was the ring antenna that had gone astray, I always have a spare on the bike. But you do need the key to make it work.

You could have a key cut but not paired with the bike to allow your valet to unlock the steering, wheel it out of the heated bike cave, clean and polish it and put it away again without the risk of him/her/it/they riding off on it.

The reason for the immobiliser is to stop the tea leaves screwdrivering the ignition lock without the key and riding off on your pride and joy. No key, no joy! Simples!

Anyway, how did you manage to not be able to find it?

And have you looked in the seat lock under the tail light, that's where mine is when I can't find it 

[Matt]

Would you like to swap a day riding in Wales for a meet up at yours where we ransack the house to locate the key?

[richtea]

Key found, cat admonished.

Would rather ride Wales. And so would you!

[Phmode]

Come on, fess up, where had you hidden it?

[richtea]

In The Wrong Trousers.

Which had made their way into the laundry basket, and thus out of sight and out of (my) mind. Which was what I was becoming.
Searched, the bins, searched the garden, the drive, bike bags, etc. Eejit.

[Phmode]

I know I am a smartass but there is a method in my madness. I have a plastic clip thing on my bike key which I use to attach the key to either:

a. a ring on the sleeve of my jacket when wandering around off the bike but in biking mode
b. the buckle of my trouser belt when not wearing a jacket but still in biking mode
c. the rest of the bunch of keys for the bike when in the key safe/tossed on the sideboard when not needed

If it isn't in the ignition, a pannier lock, the seat lock or one of the above, then it is officially lost but the discipline means it almost never ends up anywhere else. Except in my trouser pocket in the wash on odd occasions...

I also have a cute(ish) braided coloured string thing on the key ring which I found in Waitrose car park decades ago. Some little human had spent ages weaving/knitting/knotting/sewing the Scooby Doo (Scoobidou? -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoubidou  ) like thing and then obviously lost it. I thought it too nice to bin and so put it to good use as an ornament. It is surprising how often I see the stringy thingy poking out of somewhere odd and know where my key has wandered off to when the method fails me.

[GlynH]

And have you looked in the seat lock under the tail light, that's where mine is when I can't find it 

THIS! 

[andym2]

I think it has something like an RFID tag buried in the key. The K13 one is passive and activated by the coil round the ignition key. The Keyless ride key on the K16 has a battery in it but the manual says if the key battery is flat you can still use it by putting it on the fuel filler cap, so it probably has a coil there rather than the on/off button that's where the ignition lock would be.

The mechanical key also works the steering lock and the panniers on the K13. The K16 key also has a mechanical key, but you only need that to take the panniers off. I've got 2 keys for the K13, but I only got one with the K16.

[Phmode]

What? How cheapskate is that? Lose your key in the middle of nowhere and you are stuffed.

[alaskier]

In addition to the main key I also have a plastic “get you home” key with my K16. With the keyless ride I need to hold I’d it in front of the filler cap to start the engine. It is pinned inside my riding jacket so that it will hopefully be to hand should something happen to the main key.

The price of a proper replacement key and fob is so exorbitant BMW will offer you an insurance against loss or damage. Can’t remember the replacement cost now but it was many hundreds of my hard earned pounds. As I have never yet lost an ignition key I declined their kind offer of an insurance and will rely on my plastic key should the worst happen.

[Phmode]

I find this to be extortionate.

Of course, a second key is a security risk if you leave it in your pannier lock as I spotted on one K12 many years ago (it's convenient in'it).

I have no idea why it is different, but I NEVER have the second key to my car any place other than in the key safe at home (well, in my emergency grab bag actually) whereas the second key to my motorcycles are ALWAYS in my jacket pocket. Just because you are paranoid, it doesn't mean that they are not really after you!

[richtea]

I did consider an Apple Airtag or a Tile.
But both designs annoyed me:
- Airtag doesn't work with Android
- Tile battery isn'tr replacemable unless you buy the expensive (and thus annoyingly large) version.

So I decided to get a life instead.

When I really lose the key you can all have a hearty laugh at my expense.
You're welcome!