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[QUOTE="dirt bike dave, post: 1433132, member: 18302"]
No, if it is sheared you just need a new key.  It's a slice of metal shaped like a half circle that fits in a groove in the flywheel and in the crank, so that they stay in proper alignment.  The key itself is usually on a couple of $.

On your bike, the magnets that energize the ignition are inside of the flywheel.  The flywheel has to be lined up properly for you to get your spark at the right time.  If the woodruff key shears, the flywheel will slip/rotate on the crank to be out of proper alignment.

You will have to pull the flywheel to replace the key, and that which usually requires a flywheel puller.

The keys do occasionally fail (happened to me once), but it's not very common.  If it fails, a bike can go from running and starting perfectly to not running at all.

I notice you said your bike was always hard to start since you got it.  How long have you had the bike?  Has the problem gradually gotten worse and worse?
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Which ocean is California closest to?