8V GRiSO (Ducati?) key

My 2015 8v bought used only had 1 key.
I'd like a spare or 2.
Dealer has set of 2 for $127.70 USD. Only 1 of the 2 has an immobilizer chip (whatever that is).
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Ducati Parts Unlimited has a Ducati branded key with transponder for $29.00 USD
They say it works on GRiSO, Norge, Bellagio.
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Half price. I don't mind the Ducati badge.

But will it work?
Any experience with this?

Thanks!
Brent

Do you know the bike's user code? This is very important.

It is written under the seat as the same as the service code (default as at top of this page).
I've never verified it.
Is there an easy way to verify the user code without screwing something up?
Thanks!

Yup. Just go into 'Change the code' in the dashboard. It will ask for the old code. Punch what you believe the code to be in. If it is correct it will say 'Insert new code', in which case you can just re-insert the same code or a new one of your choice. If it is incorrect it will say 'Code not recognised' and default back to the main menu. It won't stop your one key working.

Now the thing with keys is that there are several aftermarket chip keys available. These can be cloned by a locksmith but you can't 'Recognise' them through the dash. If you get a factory key you can simply have the blade engraved/cut and then program/ recognise it with the dash.

I recently went through this shitfight with the wreck from Queensland. It's dash had been destroyed and I had bugger all idea what the user code had been and only had one key. I got lucky though because I had a second hand dashboard that came off one of Mark Salkeld's, (Mark III on here.) bikes that got written off and I'd bought at auction from the insurance company. Mark was able to tell me the user code so I was able to re-code the *New* dash to the key that came to the bike. I then had an aftermarket key cloned and finally got a factory key, had it cut and programmed it through the dash. This means that I have two 'Official' keys so that if something happens to me and the bike is sold without a known code the new owner can use the 'Code recovery' function in the dash which allows you to change the code IF you have two keys the dash recognises. One supposes the theory is if you have two keys it is unlikely you are a thief.

So now, as far as I'm concerned I'll use the cloned key as my *Everyday* key which means the two 'Official' keys can stay safely at home ensuring that if the cloned key fails more keys can be either cloned from an 'Official' key or another 'Official' key cut and programmed without fuss. The problem with clones is they are an exact copy of the key they are copied from and therefore the dash doesn't recognise them as another key so you can't use them for the 'Code recovery' function.

Hope at least some of that makes sense?

Thanks Pete.
Yes "some" of that makes sense. LOL!
There seems to be several routes to a usable key.
Cloning, recognizing, and official.
I verified the user code is known and works.
Now for which usable key to buy...
After reading your post 50 times to absorb it, I think I have the best answer to my original post.
The Ducati key is much cheaper but must be cloned by a locksmith according to the webpage selling the key.
Ducati Parts also would charge $15 to clone and $45 to cut.
Total of $89 for one key using their service.
I'm not sure how much a local locksmith would charge to only cut the keys from AF1. I'll find that out tomorrow.
With all this in mind it looks like my best bet is to get the 2 MG keys for $127.70 because they would end up "official and recognized" without "cloning".
Sound right???
By the way, what's the immobilizer do on only one of the MG key pair from AF1?
Can I figure out if my current one and only key has that feature?
Thanks again!
Brent

I only heard recently that one of the two keys that comes with the bike is a 'Master Key' and the other one, errr? Isn't? What that means or whether it is true I don't know but I can't see how one key could have any superior function over the other one. Anyway it is the dashboard that does the recognising. It's nothing to do with the key or it's chip per-se.

I don't know or understand what is *Special* about the Zadi keys that makes them able to be recognised as *Different* keys rather than the cloned keys which will be recognised by the dash but only as the same key they were cloned from. That is all 'White man Ju-Ju' I just know it's a fact.

A cloned key will work just fine as an everyday key. You know, it'll do all the usual things, open the petrol tank and seat, unlock the steering, turn on the bike, wear holes in your pockets etc. What it won't allow you to do is change any of the dash functions like the user code or encode further keys.

What I'd do is take your current key to a decent locksmith. They will almost certainly have, or be able to get, a cloneable blank, they will also probably be cheaper than a motorcycle specific source. These types of keys aren't anything outrageously special. I went to my regular locksmith in Canberra and they had them, several of them, in stock. They should be able to both cut and clone it. You'll then have two keys and you can use the cloned one as your everyday key and keep the original safely at home so if you loose the cloned key you can get another one cloned from the original.

What you won't be able to do is use the 'Code recovery' function because as far as the dashboard is concerned you only have one key. Now to me that's important because if something happened to me and nobody knew what my user code was everything would hang off that one original key never being lost and working. I therefore got another factory key cut and 'Recognised' it through the 'Change the key' function of the dash meaning that there are two keys the dash will recognise as *Different*. So now if I'm kidnapped by aliens or eaten by a lion even if the new owner doesn't know the user code he can change it using 'Code recovery' to something he does.

This is important as if for any reason the dash doesn't recognise the key when the ignition is turned on it will ask you to 'Insert your user code'. If you can't do that firstly you're dead in the water and will need to call a tow truck and worse stilll if you loose your factory key the only way forward is a complete new dash and lockset! Trez spendy!

If you buy a pair of factory keys you can just get one cut and then sell the other. I'm sure someone would be happy to buy just one. There must be others out there in your position.