| Author | Message | ||
     Naustin |
Any suggestions on how to get the fuel cap off once the little plastic tabs have sheared off? I've already ordered a new fuel cap from my dealer (He says I should have it by next week) but that doesn't do me much good if I can't get the old one off. Is pulling the ring the only way to get it off? Or, does somebody have a trick? | ||
| Buellgekk |
Yes, try to remove the breather first. Then unscrew the fitting ring. | ||
| Spiderman |
If you remove the breather the check ball will be floating around in the gas tank. Can you get the tabs some what lined up enough to wiggle it loose? | ||
| Buellgekk |
True Spidey. Maybe drain the tank first. | ||
| Naustin |
I wiggled the crap out of it and no success. If I pull all the allen bolts on the ring, will the whole assembly lift out? I was worried about that breather fitting having to be removed too, and I wondered if that would result in losing the checkball... | ||
| Ratbuell |
I've had to take a grinder to both of my fuel caps (S1W and S2) - the plastic locking mechanism swells and won't fit thru the hole. I've had to effectively reduce the outside diameter of both bikes' caps in order to get them to work properly. They still lock/unlock/latch fine, they just don't fit thru the hole. Putting them in was kinda like making the square tinkertoy go into the triangle hole, LOL. If your latch is rotating properly and it just won't let go to come out, I'd bet this is the fix for ya. When mine got really bad, they'd come up about 1/4" but not all the way, I actually had to lever one up with a shop rag and a screwdriver so I could fill up and get home. I knew it would be a bitch to take off after I rode home...that was the really sucky part. | ||
| Spiderman |
No the check ball is in a plastic assembly. I am pretty sure once it hits the gas it will fill up and sink to the bottom of your tank. Once you remove said valve assembly and all the allen bolts the ring along with gas cap will come off. Then yuo just have to hunt down the valve  | ||
| Naustin |
Rat - my problem is different. The latch rotates but the notched rubber cup that interlocks with the retention ring does not. Spidy - Thanks... that doesn't sound too bad. What could possibly go wrong!...  (Message edited by naustin on August 10, 2007) | ||
| Iamike |
Nick, When I drained my tank before painting I just removed the hose from the filter and sprayed it into a bottle. It only runs a couple of ounces each time you turn it on so it takes quite a few off-on cycles to empty it. Then you should be able to grab the ball or shake it out upside down. I have been having trouble with my cap ever since I repainted it. The rubber filler shrank while I had it out all winter and mad the cap real tight. I'm finally getting around to replacing mine since I ordered some parts to try and fix my ignition problem. | ||
| Oldog |
I took a razor and split the rubber skirt in the tank to loosen up the fit between the catch and the rubber as the cap was getting hard to remove and fit, if the locking lever turns and the cap will not release it sounds like the pin to catch fit is bad. the parts manual shows the cap as 1 part..  | ||
| Djkaplan |
That rubber skirt will shrink when you remove it from the tank. The same thing happened to me when I repainted my bike so I got a new one. But even then, the new rubber skirt won't fit right either until it expands when exposed to gasoline vapors. | ||
| Naustin |
Well, the part came in on Wednesday and the dealer called me to let me know. (Good) I figured I'd let them swap it for me so I could pay them $20-$30 labor and then I can ride the bike right after work. Plus then I wouldn't have to deal with the fuel tank and check ball issue. I dropped the bike off at noon, and asked if it would be ready at 5; they weren't sure, but they thought it should be. I then told them about the Check Valve assembly. I told them that I'd read that the assembly will fall into the tank if you unscrew the fitting, and even asked if they'd like me to ride the bike out of gas and bring it back later. They said no, its no problem. So, they call at 4:30 to let me know its ready. (Great!) And, they said it didn't take any time at all, so they're not charging me for labor. (Frickin AWESOME). I went to the parts counter to pay for the part, and I grabbed a Buell Shirt on the Way. Its in my size - medium - and it's a baseball style long sleeve and it even has "Albert Lea Buell" printed on the back!! (WOW!!!) When I got home, I noticed gouges in the retention ring around the gas cap. The zip tie on the overflow tube is undisturbed as well. It looks like they pried the old gas cap up with a screw driver so they could rotate the rubber peice manually so they wouldn't have to remove the whole assembly and deal with the checkball assembly. The scratches/gouges in the aluminum are pretty noticeable. Damnit.   I should have known... (Message edited by naustin on August 16, 2007) | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Nice. Service with a smile. I guess the leaks come next? | ||
| Buellerthanyou |
Someting else to note is that the nut on the inside of the cap is an adjuster; tighten it and the locking seal gets larger (if it's loose), or loosen it to make it smaller (if it's too tight). Just an FYI... HellBuelly J "Hug your friends tight, but your corners tighter - hug 'em so tight they can't wiggle” --Lyndon B(ueller) Johnson | ||
| Bartimus |
YUP, I've learned the hard way, "ALWAYS CHECK YOUR BIKE BEFORE YOU RIDE IT AWAY" I've had mirrors broken, and paint gouged at the in shop Santa Fe, NM. They replaced the mirror no problem, but handed me a bottle of touch-up paint to resolve the gouged paint on my gas tank cover on the red S2. Needless to say, I don't bring my bike there anymore... |
