Owning a Harley-Davidson motorcycle means a dream come true for every bike lover. A Harley on the street is the envy of every person who passes by and leads to temptations which are tough to suppress. It becomes necessary to keep your precious motorbike safe from thieves and other elements who would gladly drive away with it if given the smallest opportunity. It is the job of the key fob to prevent any criminal element from depriving you of your most valuable possession by riding away on it without your permission.

How Does Harley Davidson Key Fob work?

You may wonder how does Harley key fob work to prevent any mishap like theft from taking place? The mechanism is very simple. Whenever you buy a new Harley Davidson motorcycle, you will be given a key fob with the motorbike. If you do not get one, then do not purchase the motorcycle as the key fob is the only protection your Harley has from being stolen. The key fob is nothing but a piece of round plastic which is attached to the key with a metal ring or chain. It may or may not have the logo of Harley Davidson company embossed on it.

It has an electronic logic board loaded inside which activates the anti-theft mechanism of the motorbike remotely so that it cannot be started without the key fob in range. Earlier the key fobs were TSSM modules (Turn Signal Security Module) and used to have buttons with which you had to arm the motorbike manually. The key fob available presently is a passive HFSM modules (Hands-Free Security Module) which automatically senses the presence of the bike whenever it comes within six feet from where the motorcycle is parked. When you put the ignition off it arms the anti-theft mechanism within fifteen seconds which is indicated by the flashing turn indicators on the control panel.

When you shut off the motorcycle’s ignition and walk away, the anti-theft mechanism becomes active and does not allow any person other than yourself to start the motorbike. The electronic circuitry of the key fob works on a coin type battery which can operate up to three years from its installation. The battery size for Harley key fob is CR2032, which is replaceable by opening the two pieces that make up the key fob. If the motorcycle fails to start even when you put the ignition on then, perhaps the battery needs to be replaced as the key fob is unable to disarm the anti-theft mechanism so that you can start it.

If you are still not sure of how does Harley key fob work for your motorbike, then you can go through the user’s instruction manual which comes with the motorcycle and provides a small chapter on Harley Davidson key fob instructions. It can help you to understand how it works and why it is important to keep the key fob with you at all times while driving the motorbike. It is also important to keep the key fob safe as it will not let you start the motorcycle if it is not with you. Always try not to lose or break it as otherwise you may get stuck with your non-starting motorcycle far away from home.

Replacement key fob for Harley Davidson

Accidents do happen and cannot always be prevented even if you observe safety all the time. It is the same with the key fob for your motorcycle. You may lose it, break it or even step on it. It may fall from your hand on the road, and some passing vehicle may smash it under its tires. Without it you just cannot start your motorbike and a Harley Davidson key fob replacement is the only way out. Since you cannot start your motorcycle without it, you have to visit the local dealer for a replacement key fob for Harley. They can provide you with a new key fob with the relevant code entered within approximately twenty minutes.

The Harley key fob code entered in the key fob is the thing that operates the anti-theft mechanism of your motorbike. It is a five digit code that helps the Harley Davidson security key fob to work properly. The code is unique for each motorbike and is provided to you when you buy the new motorcycle from the dealer. Just like the PIN number of your credit card this code should never be told to anyone if you want to keep your motorbike safe from the hands of unscrupulous people. Only the manufacturer, the dealer and the purchaser of the Harley know this code.

The Harley Davidson skull key fob may have a skull embossed on it or the small replica of a skull attached to it. Many bikers prefer to use them as it gives them a different identity. These key fobs can be made from leather and have split rings for keys or snap hooks for attaching easily to belts. The sculpted skulls may have a silver finish to make them more prominent and attractive. They can be either a part of the key fob or can be a separate piece attached to a chain or ring to the key fob.

Replacement battery for key fob

Battery life of the key fobs can be three years at the most. You may find that the Harley key fob not working if the battery is too low. You have to replace the battery sooner to avoid problems. The procedure for battery replacement is very simple. You have to insert a five cent coin or a similar blade into the slit given at the side of the key fob, twist the coin, and the key fob will separate into two halves, one containing the battery. Place the CR2032 battery with the side marked positive downwards, bring the two pieces of the key fob together and press them shut.

In case the key fob goes bad due a drained battery or due to some accident then the way to carry out a Harley key fob bypass operation is as follows. The steps have to be performed very fast to get a perfect result. Put your ignition on and immediately press both the turn switches on each handlebar. A light will start flashing, and a ‘zero’, and four ‘dashes’ will appear on the odometer screen. Press the left-hand turn switch the number of times to get the first digit of the unique key fob code for your motorbike.

Press the right turn switch to enter the number and the zero will move one place to the right. When all the five digits are entered the figure displayed on the screen will go back to its original state. Now when you turn the ignition, the engine will start. Remember that when you are entering the number in any position you can click the left turn switch as many times as you want to reach the correct digit. But once you go to the next place you cannot come back to the earlier one. You may have to start all over again.

How to program a new key fob for a harley ?

You can carry out a Harley key fob programming without going to a dealer in an almost similar fashion. Your question of how to program Harley key fob will get answered if you follow the steps given below. Turn the run switch to ‘OFF’ position and check that no lights are blinking. Perform the next steps within 10 seconds. Put the ignition switch ‘ON’, ‘OFF’, ‘ON’, ‘OFF’ and ‘ON’ again. Press the left turn switch twice and wait for three flashes from the indicator lights. Press the right turn switch once. The indicator lights will blink once. Press the left turn switch once. The indicators lights will flash twice.

In the case of a TSSM key fob press the button once. The indicators will blink twice more. Turn the run switch to ‘OFF’. The anti-theft mechanism is now armed. You have to follow almost the same steps if you want to know how to reset Harley key fob with any code of your choice. Turn the run switch to ‘ON’ for the third time in quick succession and press the left turn switch twice. For a TSSM fob, press the fob button twice while for an HFSM fob, press the right turn switch once. The odometer will show the current PIN. Use the left and right turn switches the way you did to enter the code earlier, and you can have a new PIN for the security system of the motorbike.

All the information given above may surely have answered your question about how does Harley key fob work by now. Armed with the above information you can now drive your Harley motorbike to any corner of the world without having to lose any sleep over the bike getting stolen or have any worries about starting your motorcycle without a proper key fob at your disposal.