How to Hotwire a Motorcycle – 5 Steps

There are various reasons why you would need to hotwire a motorcycle. It is a process every bike owner should know, as there are instances where people accidentally lose their keys. Of course, you should initially try to find the keys. If you can’t find your keys after searching, then you have no choice but to hotwire your motorcycle.

If you do lose your motorcycle keys, stay calm. Hotwiring a motorcycle is not a difficult task at all. It is much less complicated to hotwire a motorcycle than it is to hotwire a car, as cars have multiple wires, that make the hotwire process much more complex. However, for motorcycles, it is relatively easy.

Once you turn the ignition on, your motorcycle starts working. When you put your key in the keyhole, it ignites the engine, which leads to the motorcycle experiencing a push start. This guide will cover the hotwiring process for motorcycles.

Step-by-Step Guide for Hotwiring a Motorcycle

Initially, let’s discuss the apparatus required for completing this process. You can buy 3 to 4 inches of speaker wire, which is going to play the role of the key to turn on the ignition system. Also, you need a motorcycle whose key is lost, or else it is quite hard to hotwire an invisible motorcycle.

Tools you will need

• A motorcycle (quite obvious)
• A small speaker wire

Tools you might also need

Read Also: How to Clean Your Motorcycle

Step 1 – Find the Ignition Wiring System

As previously mentioned, you will need to ignite your engine to give a push start to your motorcycle. Most of the motorcycles come with protective covers for ignition wiring. You need to find out where the ignition wiring system is located.

Some motorcycles do not provide any special protective covering for its ignition wiring system. It is quite easy to locate your ignition wiring in such cases. To clear all the confusion, you can use your handlebar to locate these wires. These ignition wires connect the ignition to the engine and other parts of the motorcycle.

After locating the ignition wiring, move to the next step.

Step 2 – Find the Socket and Separate Both Parts of the Socket

While tracking down wires using the handlebar, you will notice three visible wires. These three wires are bundled together in a sleeve. This wiring sleeve is bundled together to connect the ignition system with other parts of the motorcycle. You will notice that wires emerge from the other side of the cap.

Note: Choose only the cap that is connected to the ignition system, because there might be more than one cap.

There are two caps: One that is connected with wires to the handlebar and another cap that emerges from the first cap. Separate the two caps, as you don’t need the wires that are connected to the handlebar.

After separating them, move onto the next step where we will turn on the ignition.

Step 3 – Insert a Speaker Wire into the Socket

This is the most important step of the entire process. In this step, the MVP of this process, the speaker wire that you are using will be in action. The reason why we separated these two caps is to obtain sockets. You have to insert the speaker wire in this socket.

Try to pull the cap that got separated from the handlebar wires out to make some room. Now, insert one end of the speaker wire inside the first socket and the other end of the speaker wire inside the second socket. You can use a long wire but using a speaker wire of less than 3 inches could result in it being too short for this process.

Step 4 – Wait for the Green Light to Turn On

After inserting both ends of the speaker wire into the socket, you will notice that the light will turn on. If the light does not turn on, try inserting each of the ends of the speaker wire into a different socket cap.

Once the light turns on, move to the next and final step of this process.

Step 5 – Press the Ignition Button

Once the light turns on, press the ignition button. After pressing the button, you will hear the sound of the engine as the motorcycle starts. Now your motorcycle is alive again and ready to serve you!

Congrats, you completed the process successfully. Carry out the first four steps carefully. The fifth step is a piece of cake.

Video for How to Hotwire a Motorcycle

Examples of Motorcycles that Can Be Hotwired

Basically, any motorcycle can be hotwired using this method, but here are some examples:

Suzuki SV650, Suzuki GSF600 Bandit, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Honda CBR-600, Honda Hornet, Yamaha YZF-R6, KTM Duke, BMW GS, Ducati Monster, Triumph Tiger, Harley Davidson.

How to Hotwire a Moped or Scooter

Hotwiring a scooter is very similar to hotwiring a motorcycle. However, there can be some small differences in this process that are a little bit annoying. Wires on scooters are located in a different place than on motorcycles. You will probably have to remove some plastic parts from your vehicle before you will be able to access the mechanism. This can make it actually harder to hotwire a moped or scooter than to hotwire a motorcycle.

Unscrew and dismantle any plastic parts covering the wiring system. Locate the wires and follow the same hotwire instructions as for a motorcycle. If you are still unsure, please check out this video:

What We Learned

Hotwiring a motorcycle is an easy process that requires four steps. To summarize, you have to locate the ignition wiring system. Follow the wires running from the handlebars, which will ultimately lead to a plastic wiring cap. Separate the two caps. Insert both ends of the speaker wire into the socket caps. A light should turn on after insertion of the speaker wire in the socket caps. Now, press the ignition button and start the motorcycle.

This is an easy process that can be used to temporarily return the motorcycle to its original form and functioning properly, as quickly as possible. Don’t forget that you will still need to get your bike professionally repaired at your local service as hotwiring is just a tweak and not a permanent solution. The aim of this article is to help people who have lost the keys to a motorcycle. This article is absolutely not meant to cause motorcycle theft or to help thieves steal motorcycles.