how to remove ignition switch from Yamaha V Star?

its 2 bolts on the bottom side of the igntion, you could also remove the top of the triple clamp.

• Unplug the ignition switch
• remove upper triple clamp
• on the underside of the triple clamp you will see the two break away bolts (the heads breaks off many times when they are torqued)
• get a drill and several bits
• starting with a small bit, drill the center about 1/2 inch deep
• increase drill bit size until the remaining portion of the head pops off and you can free the switch
• remove the threaded portion with vice grips (there is A LOT of Loc-Tite in there, be patient)
• replace bolts with bolts of your choice (you can use high grade allen head bolts)

those two bolts that you see are breakaway bolts. Basically, they screw in and the top part of the bolt breaks off, preventing someone from unbolting it and making it easier to steal your bike. Whats left is a bolt with a concave top and no grooves. In addition to that, a portion of the bolt has locktight applied to it to prevent easy removal.

Now you have a couple options:
Take it to yamaha and pay an arm and a leg....
or if your feeling confident, do it yourself...as long as you have some tools

This is how its done. Make sure that the ignition is not in the locked position. Put the bike on a bike stand for some stability. Remove the front fairing where the main console is. You can do this by disconnecting the cables and removing the two bolts that should be accessible on the right side of the bike. Make sure you support the console as it will drop if you don't. Now this should free up some room in the area you'll be working on.

Now here comes the hard part. You need to remove the bolts that hold the ignition in place. I know that there are tools to remove these types of bolts by drilling into them, but I used an old fashioned chisel and hammer. If you can chisel a cross shape into the bolt deep enough, you can use a screw driver to unscrew the bolt. Remember, these are the locktight bolts so you might have to use the chisel to get the unscrewing started.

1. Remove the upper triple clamp with the ignition
2. Center punch the bolt heads first so the bit will stay centered.
3. Drill the bolt heads off using a 5/16th drill bit (you can use a drill press, but a hand drill would work too) the heads will just fall off when you get close to the bolt threads as long as you keep the bit centered.
4. Now the switch should come right off
5. Use a vice grip to unscrew the threaded part of the bolts
6. Save money and buy regular bolts from homedepot or somewhere then you wont have to drill it again next time.

Installation procedure is in reverse.So note down how it was placed, before taking it out.