Recommended Bike/Scooter Locksmith - South London

czajunia

My first post here so Hello to everyone.

Someone tried to nick my scooter (Piaggio BV350) the other day and they drove a screw into the ignition barrel which was broken inside probably when they tried to force it. I managed to remove the screw and the key goes back in but I cannot turn the key now. I suppose I need to replace the ignition barrel.

Can anyone recommend a reliable and not overly expensive mechanic / locksmith for the job? I am located in SW which can be important as I cannot move the scooter at the moment.

As this has never happened to me before, do you know how much I should expect to pay for the service?

Many thanks.

Buzby

I went to my local Piaggio dealership - they had a replacement barrel and came round and swapped it in 2014 it cost me £75 in total.

forgotmyname

Buy a lock and a screwdriver and fit it yourself?

It wont be there when you get back anyway. They do disable the bike so you leave it there and then they wait until your gone and nick it.

BIL used to leave his chain attached to the post. Key wouldnt insert so he had to leave it there unlocked. He was wary though and watching it out the window. 1 guy walked around it then off he went, then a 2nd guy did the same and then the van pulled up just as he got back to it.
One guy pretended to check his vans tyre and drove off.

If he wasnt watching it would have gone walkies. Already had 3 or 4 nicked.

czajunia

Buzby wrote: »

I went to my local Piaggio dealership - they had a replacement barrel and came round and swapped it in 2014 it cost me £75 in total.

Thanks. That's not too bad actually. I'll pop in to a local dealership tomorrow to see if they can help. I thought I needed a locksmith for that.

czajunia

forgotmyname wrote: »

Buy a lock and a screwdriver and fit it yourself?

I didn't know it was so easy to remove the lock from a bike. If that's the case indeed I may grab a lock from a Piaggio dealership and give it a go. Trouble is it may not be that straightforward as I can't get access to behind the front cover which is opened after turning the key.

It wont be there when you get back anyway. They do disable the bike so you leave it there and then they wait until your gone and nick it.

Well, I am happy to report that this hasn't happened yet. But yes, it looked like it was either disabled on purpose or they were scared off.

czajunia

I thought I'd update the thread as I had some serious problems finding someone who would do the job at my place. There are quite a few places in London that said they were happy to fix the lock as long as I delivered the scooter to them. Unfortunately, most of them wanted to replace the whole lock using original Piaggio parts rather than replacing the barrel only.

Anyway, I have found a motorcycle locksmith and I can really recommend him. His name is Tony and his company name is OZgoods Autolocksmiths (I can't post links but a google search returns his web site).

He was pretty much the only one who agreed to fix the scooter at mine (well, apart form two complete time wasters). He was also very helpful from the start and responded to my e-mails promptly. He is very professional, knows his stuff and doesn't give up easily. On top of that charges very reasonable rates for his services.