Al Williams and I found this article on the Internet. I said "someone else hates these #%*@# locks as much as I do". If you are not familiar with the R11's bags, the keys cannot be removed until the bag is locked. This means that you load the right one, lock it, load the left one and if you have things left over, you have to lock the left and unlock the right. Get it. A pain in the ass. This modification may also quiet down the R11 riders' (and you people know who you are) packing procedure, as it may cut down by 50% the number of times that you open and close your bags in the campground at Oh dark thirty. The following article is Joe's with my modifications:
This article will (hopefully) explain how to modify the locks on your R11 bags (and topcase) so you can remove the key with the bags unlocked. I can only guess as to BMW's reason behind requiring the bags be locked to remove the key, but I am positive that it is a pain in the ass for me.
The R11 bag locks are much like the older style locks and require only a paper clip (Russ: I found a paper clip to be too weak, I used a Swiss file that looks like a dentist's pick) to remove the cylinder. With the bag unlocked & the handles up, there is a small hole near the slot where the locking tab is accessible.
With the key in the lock, stick your paper clip (or pick) in the hole and push the spring loaded tab in while pulling on the key lightly. The lock cylinder should pull free of the bag.
As long as the key is in the cylinder, everything will stay put. If you slide the key out of the now exposed cylinder all manner of small bits will go flying around the room and you will be hard pressed to make your lock work correctly again.
Lay one bag's cylinder at a time down on your kitchen table with a white sheet or towel to keep track of the pieces.
There are 7 tabs and springs in the cylinder, 6 of which do the actual locking with the last one being the tab that holds the cylinder in the bag during normal use. The locking tabs are arranged 3 per side with small springs to push them out when there's no key in the cylinder. Each tab has a different length slot in it that the key runs through. The length of the slot and the bump on the key determine how far it will be pulled back into the cylinder. All 6 must pull back a certain distance to allow the cylinder to turn in the lock.
Holding the cylinder with thumb and forefinger on the tabs, work the key in and out of the lock and observe how the tabs move. One side of the tab is under spring pressure and can be moved in with your fingernail. The other side (opposite the spring direction) is forced by the key outwards and cannot be moved with your fingernail. This is the side of the tab that needs to be ground flush with the cylinder. Joe's and my locks only required 4 of the tabs to be ground, yours may be different.
On with the fun part. Holding the cylinder as earlier, work the key out until you can remove the first locking tab (furthest away from the face of the lock). When you pull it out you'll see the small spring buried down in a little hole on the side. With the tab out, carefully pick the little spring out and set the tab and spring down on your work surface. KEEP THE TABS IN ORDER! Repeat the process until all of the tabs are laid out on each side of the cylinder. Note that one side of the cylinder has a cast in protrusion near the top, the same side as the locking tab.
Reinstall just the first spring and tab. Holding it flush with the cylinder body with a finger, insert the key slowly and watch to see if the tab (side opposite the spring) is forced out beyond the diameter of the cylinder. If it is, note how much and grind the tab down until flush (do this with the tab out of the cylinder). When you can insert the key and it looks like the tab doesn't extend out of the cylinder, this tab is probably done.
With the key in the lock, insert the cylinder back into the bag to make sure you've got the clearance right. Make sure the slot in the end of the cylinder looks like it will line up with the tang down inside the lock so things will go together all the way.
With the cylinder reinstalled, hold the lock in with a finger on the face (remember the retaining tab isn't back in yet) and try to pull the key out from both the locked and unlocked positions. If it slides out freely, you've done with this tab. If it still hangs up you'll need to grind down the tab a little more.
With things working smoothly for this tab, remove the cylinder and then the tab/spring and place it back on the table in it's assigned spot. The cylinder will take some jiggling to get out now since the key won't be holding onto it any more.
Repeat this process for each tab until you've gotten through all the tabs that need grinding. You'll want to do one tab at a time so you don't have to fiddle with holding more than one tab in place while you test the lock. With all the required tabs trimmed, you can put them all back in the cylinder including the locking tab and reinstall the whole thing back in the bag.
If you look closely at the lock holder, you'll see a sloped groove cut in one part of the lock holder. This groove will push the locking tab into the cylinder as you turn it, so set the tab against the top of the groove and turn it as you push lightly. The tab will push into the cylinder and the whole mess will slide into the lock. (Russ: Not as easy as it sounds. I used my pick to push in on the tab as it went into the lock holder, worked fine).
Joe at this point, says that when all your locks are done, drag a lawn chair out to the garage, open a cold brew and sit back and look at your accomplishment with pride.
Remember, you have now foiled BMW's idiot proofing! After you have packed your bags, make sure before you ride away that all handles are latched. Now, if I could just keep that sidestand from cutting off my engine...
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