Gas Cap Refurb 4 U Anal types

[PATMAX]

Got a cantankerous gas cap or just a fugly one?
You need a med Phillips and a fine tip pick tool and you oldsters need your reading glasses and good light.
-Pull the two Phillips screws from bottom
-Lift grey casting carefully looking for two black springs
-Remove sliding tabs and you will see where the springs went which is important for reassembly
-Now you can lift the brass/rubber cover but beware, there are four silver springs under this cover. It's responsible for that pressure you need to get your gas cap "snapped" on when putting your cap back on after fueling.
-The key cylinder is exposed so pull off the first silver washer with your pick tool. Under that is a rubber O-ring to pick out. Last is another silver washer but it is more like a spacer.
-Now look close down the key cylinder for a copper ring. Use your pick and push it inward on the cylinder pushing ever so slightly on the end of the cylinder. This is going to release the cylinder so GO SLOW.
All the tumblers are spring loaded and you don't want them flying off. If reusing your old key, do not mix up the order they are installed. Me, I'd rather do away with them so any Vmax key will open it.
The cylinder will drop out. I put all the parts in a ziplock bag NOW before you lose something
-Clean and polish what you can. You can see what parts slide or spin so you know what to lubricate. A non petro based lube will last longest.
-Send that cap out to your favorite powder coater or use your favorite fuel proof paint
-Reassembly is opposite of reassembly except you install your key into the cylinder to get the tumblers pulled in. You will have to use your pick to push in that copper retention ring that holds in the key cylinder.
-Try not to drop your gas cap anymore while fueling up!

When in doubt...Gas it !!!

 

[ninjaneer]

bookmarking this one. thanks patmax! good stuff.

 

[[email protected]]

Nice work Patrick.
This thread is very helpful as well
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=20337

 

[Fire-medic]

Pat did a good job on the write up. Thanks, man!

When I was resurrecting my bike late last year after a prolonged storage, I found the cap would not detach from the filler neck! I surmised the cams in the cap were "glued" due to corrosion and stale gas or whatever was in there. I thought about just cutting-off the cap, until I saw the cost of a new one! After much deliberation, I decided to cut-off the filler neck. I thoroughly rinsed out the tank, removed from the bike, and blow-dried the inside until I got no whiff of gas smell when given the "olfactory/hydrocarbon residue detection procedure."

I used a fine-tooth blade in my sawzall & cut the filler neck just below the bottom of the cap. This gave me access to the underside of the cap & the screws, which when removed, showed the dual cap movable tabs were frozen to the inside cams. A bit of picking and the cams moved enough to remove the cap from the shortened neck.

Since I was planning to replace the gas tank anyway to avoid multiple disassembles of the carbs as the tank shed its dried residue, I didn't re-use the now severed tank & neck. If I had it boiled and coated, I probably would have used the rubberized special gas tubing to connect the tank to the part which accepts the cap. Since I have a Corbin seat, this would also allow me to place the cap just below the flap opening in the Corbin seat, greatly easing the refueling operation.

You could probably also accomplish the removal of the gummed-up fuel cap if you inverted the tank & submerged the cap & filler neck into some solvent, and let it sit for awhile, but since I was replacing the tank, I had no qualms about cutting the neck. Just be aware that fumes from most common solvents are heavier-than-air, and can travel for considerable distances before they locate a source of ignition. "ka-boom!" Common sources of ignition include: pilot lights, "hot work" such as soldering, or more commonly, brazing, or cutting w/a flame; grinding, arcing AC current motors (brushes), switches which are worn and which produce a spark when turned on or off, unplugging operating electrical equipment, or smoking.

 

[rf900flyer]

The person that invents a keyless cap will be wealthy indeed. Why can't they use a cap like that from an auto or similar. I think someone would be more inclined to steal the seat as opposed to the gas.