gas cap problem

[Sam Harrell]

anyone have experience with a gas cap that won't unlock? the mechanism was taken apart on a tank repair and not put together properly. It closed and won't open. is there a trick to triggering the lock to open. any ideas appreciated. this is a 79 XS Special - just had the tank sealed and painted...what a mess.

[jrplumber1]

Find a nail

You can bend a hammered flat nail at a 90 degree angle and then pull the "clip" that holds it shut. If you look at the front side of the cap underneath, you will see the catch. then just take it off the bike and fix it. But try the key before you close it!!

[latexeses]

There is a number on the top of the lock cylinder. Take that number to a good locksmith and he should have a program with the code in it to cut a key. Shouldn't take any more time than typing in a few numbers and waiting for the blank to get cut. My SF key was cut in less than 5 minutes.
Beats buggering a lock or your paint. If it has had the pins in the tumblers changed around that is a different tune. All bets are off.

Rodger

[dbeardslee]

I've picked a couple of them with a straight probe and a bent probe. Sometimes you can get it to turn as with a key, and sometimes the key mechanism lifts out. My $.02.

[fredintoon]

anyone have experience with a gas cap that won't unlock? the mechanism was taken apart on a tank repair and not put together properly. It closed and won't open. is there a trick to triggering the lock to open. any ideas appreciated. this is a 79 XS Special - just had the tank sealed and painted...what a mess.

Hi Sam and welcome,
Opening the flush-mounted Standard gas cap without a key is FN impossible unless you drill the lock.
Opening the raised Special gas cap without a key is relatively easy.
Get any long thin flat thing (small screwdriver, hacksaw blade, whatever) and shove it's end in flatwise under the cap from the front. This will push back the latch that is holding the cap closed and allow it to open.
Once the cap is open, you can check why the key don't work and fix the problem.
Some failure modes:-
The die-cast pin that works the slide has sheared off so the key turns but the cap don't open. Drill into the latch body where the pin was, tap in a 1/8" dia rollpin and grind it to length.
Wrong key. There's a number on the lock that will get you the right one.
Mechanism bunged up with tank sealant. Tear down & clean; acetone pre-soak helps.
Key wards have been shuffled. Re-shuffle until the key works? Too much hassle for me, I'd toss the ward plates then any key will work.

[Sam Harrell]

problem fixed

Thanks to all who responded. Pushing down on the cap to take pressure off and a small screw driver allowed me to get the cap open without a scratch on the new paint job. I finally got the puzzle put back together right and it works like a charm. Now I'm off to petcock rebuilds and fuel line replacement.

[dbeardslee]

Now I'm off to petcock rebuilds and fuel line replacement.

Also known as out of the frying pan and into the fire .