FRUSTRATED!!!!

I've been lubricating and key-fucking the lock on my tank for the last hour! It's totally jammed/frozen/stuck/whatever. I've tried all of the obvious things, and to make matters worse I have about 2 drops of fuel left in there. I'm a good wrench, but I'd be happy just to dump this one on my stealer and scream warranty, but he's a good 50 miles from here.

Any ideas?

jay have you tried the liquid graphite thats what i use once a month for both ignition and gas tank

I'm just about to, and that is good advice. I'm just a little worried because the jam feels more like a mechanical obstruction than corrosion or a lack of lube. I don't think that you can yank the whole cap assembly without it being open, either. The fist thing I did at the gas station was to remove the allen bolts in the bezel around the cap but it didn't want to come out easily so I didn't force it. I've got to check the shop manual that I don't have or look at a parts fiche and see if I can sort this out.

Try pressing down on the cap and hold pressure down while turning the key. You will need to pull the cap up after the lock turns. This is how I always open my tank. It isn't necessary if the bike is warm. If you are already doing that, then there is a problem.

See if you can download a SM from Maintenance forum. If you can't, I might be able to figure out how to post portions of it.

Thanks, you guys. The pressing down isn't doing it. I've tried just about every imaginable contortion under the sun, all to no avail.

I scored the manual and have been checking it out; the problem is that you can't remove the cap assembly without unlocking it!! I wish like hell there was a diagram of the lock mechanism itself so I could see some possibilities.

A locksmith friend of mine is stumped. I may just intravenously get fuel into it through some bung in the tank and drop it into my dealer's lap. Such a simple problem with such a huge impact.

A drill bit in the lock cylinder would probably get it open!!!!

I'm lookin at the pics of the cap right now-service manual pg 3-125(DFI) and also pg 3-128.(DFI).Also went out and looked at my cap.Okay-removing the allens will not allow the cap to be removed-the lip is attached to the fuel tank itself.So-what ROOK said-push down(HARD)and TURN the key TO THE RIGHT to the 3 o'clock position.Have ya a flat edge screwdriver-one with a SMALL tip on it.Get it in the edge(between the cap and the ring) and see if ya can pry the cap upwards just a bit.If she breaks free just a little,it's most likely that rubber gasket has become worn and is probably semi stuck against the cap well.It's probably NOT the key mechanism at all.You do know that you LEAVE the key in the cap and push down to close it(and the key will turn just a bit)to the center,then pull out.You can't close the cap by removing the key,it has to be turned as you close the cap.One more thought-is the vent line pinched or plugged some how?May just be a case of extreme vacuum going on?Remove the tank recently?

* Last updated by: blue07 on 9/10/2009 @ 3:10 PM *

Get a keyless gas cap, I have a Vortex billet aluminum one.
Much lighter than stock and no key to be broken in like I once
did at a gas station.

Hey Jayfell-you might wanna get someone to hold the key in the 3 o'clock position for ya,then you can concentrate on "popping" the fuel door up(from the front if it was me).

Is it the lock itself or pressure in the tank wedging the lock? you could try disconnecting the fuel line and releasing the pressure since your fuel level is so low. I know on a couple of occasions when my fuel was low the cap was really hard to open and released pressure when I finally got it open. Just a thought.

* Last updated by: heathun on 9/10/2009 @ 4:14 PM *

I got it open. I tried every imaginable trick that I could think of and even enlisted a locksmith buddy of mine. I was about to get pissed and get a can opener! I figured I would try one more thing so I took a paper clip and bent a tiny 90 degree bend, put it on the grinder and took it down so the hook was only couple of hundredths long, then dug around in there. All I got out was a little lube-y crud. I stuck the key in and BAM, it opened right up.

I worked the lock about a hundred times open and closing, and it stuck again. This time, wiggling the key worked. I took the whole assembly out and took it totally apart, which was a minor pain in the ass, cleaned it up, lubed it with liquid graphite and it's fine and feels like the best lubricated lock around.

It definitely was not a problem of the two bolts that engage the rolled flange on the tank sticking. The problem was in the lock itself. It bugs me that no mystery shaving or foreign object came out in the cleaning, so I'm really not sure what it was.

A footnote: The tank took 5.77 gallons to fill. I was out on a ride when this happened and had to look at that effin low fuel warning for about 30 miles of start and stop, fuel inefficient riding, which was starting to make me mental. I made it home on vapor.

Thanks again, you guys kick ass.

ALRIGHT JAYFELL!Glad THAT's overwith! LOL.Have fun with yer new tank of gas!!!!

i thought if you mixed graphite and lube like wd40 it made a cement like product after a while? btw -1 for the keyless gas cap. you never know what someone might wanna stuff in your tank. a locking tank is goood

Hey Jayfell-didn't mean to imply ya didn't know how to open yer gas cap there! Hope ya didn't take it that way-just tryin to offer some ideas.Sometimes a 1/4 of an inch can change everything.Mine WILL NOT CLOSE unless the key is turned just a tad to the 12 0'clock position(sometimes it'll pop over there by itself when I close the cap).

* Last updated by: blue07 on 9/10/2009 @ 5:01 PM *

I must admit, I was in a panic for a couple minutes at the station one of the first times after i got my bike. I couldn't get the damn thing open. I finally tried pressing and the key turned. Sometimes the cap won't pop up on it's own and i have to grab it on the edge with my nails.

Glad you got it open. I'd ask the stealer to provide you with a new lock in case that happens again. They should consider that a bargain since won't need to ask them to install it for you.

Don't worry there Blue - didn't take it that way at all. And I'm going to enjoy this tankfull for sure.

And leave it to Mass to have the trickest cap. I've actually thought about getting one of them just because they're nice looking but you know how it goes here in the city.....I'd be worried that I would find it gone.....or worse. Who makes that one, Mass?

I'll probably just go Rook's route and get the stealership to throw me a new lock. Thinking about the mess you would have to make of the lock if it truly was jammed solid is not pretty; there's no good way to get it open if all else failed. And stuck at a gas station looking like a retard trying to open your tank is bad too.

And I'm curious about that graphite/wd40 problem. Going to experiment with an old lock.

And duh, Mass, I guess I can read the word Vortex afterall. I was so busy running back and forth from bike to computer where the shop manual and you guys all live that I missed that.

JayFell, good job getting it open without damaging anything. Does your bike sit out in the rain? Why do you think it got gunked-up?

I, too, would be worried about a keyless cap in the city, but then again some scumbag years ago in downtown Milwaukee either made a key on-the-spot of the theft of my '88 Ninja 600, or pried the lock out of the gas-cap and came back later with a key to steal my bike. Luckily, I got the bike back a month or so later with minor damage, but the lock in the gas-cap was missing. Needless to say, I started chaining and covering my bike after that!

* Last updated by: black14 on 9/11/2009 @ 6:47 AM *

Keyless- pull right next to the pump, leave the bike running,
half a turn to open and begin fueling.

Again here- my bike is just for weekend joy-riding and is never left
parked outside for hours. It's either locked in the garage or I'm on it.
If that's how you use your bike, a keyless gas cap would be just great IMHO.

I've been lubricating and key-fucking the lock on my tank for the last hour!

Hahahah, best line ever

Why it jammed is a good question, black14. The bike is parked outdoors, but every second it's not being ridden it's covered. Moisture is an issue, but I try to avoid rain for the most part and I do wash the thing, but that little cup washer seal is fairly good at keeping things more or less dry. But somehow, it didn't feel like it was moisture related, it felt more like a mechanical jam. And after I got it working again, it jammed again, this time with the cap open. So I don't think it was gunk, corrosion, lack of lube, whatever. I'm going to score a new key matched cylinder and just replace it and try not to worry about it.

I've got to say that there is something to the keyless cap. If I end up moving to a place with a garage, it just might happen. But then I remember when I was a budding motorhead at about 4 years old and I took the garden hose and stuck the nozzle in the tank of my Grandfather's amazing Buick Wildcat (boy, I wish I had that car now). I guess I had some fantasy about working in a gas station which later became reality, for better or worse. I must have pumped in a lot because I topped him off! The car was towed. So maybe I've just talked myself out of a screw off cap. With my luck some little piss-ant like I was will come and dump a bottle of soda in there because he saw Daddy adding Sta-bil to his Harley.

Yeah, but Matsuke, there was no happy ending for a very long time!!!

And one other thing, Mass, that is one SWEET ride you've got. That cap photo inspired me to take a look at some of your other pics. Wowza.

Hi Jay...Have you try consult to the Locksmith?

chesterblue, JayFell would of got it fixed by now this thread is an old one mate, check the date as being around, 9/11/09. Welcome to the site hope you enjoy, had a few gas cap issues myself, but was a suck down problem.