Stuck gas cap????? And a marvelous bit of luck....

[invincibleone]

Well me & the old lady decided to ride down to Rehoboth Beach today on the R65LS. We had a great day at the beach but when we stopped to fill up the tank to return home the cap just kept ratcheting whether in the locked or unlocked position. Needless to say I couldn't get it off. Frustrated, I decided to head home & hope that I could make it back (though I really knew I couldn't) or at least closer so a friend could pick us up.  
I did everything I could to get the best mileage on the way back. I got as low as I could on the bike and kept it around 55mph. Around Dover I had to turn it to reserve, not a good sign as I still had about 50 miles to go. Somehow I made it over the canal and to the Newark line before it sputtered out again. At this point I removed the tank and turned it over so I could get the last few drops to be on the petcock side. By the greatest of luck, I made it to the end of my street & only had to push it about a half mile.
 But now my R65 is 100% empty & I can't get fuel in it. Any help is much appreciated. I don't really mind having to buy another cap, but I will still have to get this one off. I REALLY don't want to damage the tank.

[larstorders]

An annoying problem, good to hear you made it home by steady riding and fuel management Missile.
When airheads were more common on the roads, European petrol station attendants used to open those  stuck tank caps by taking a large iron bar, inserting it under the rubber seal around the cap and levering the cap upwards. Much to the horror of the owner. Essentially a strong  upward force combined with the appropriate rotation was able to release the cap. So, you could try this, take the leather belt from your jeans. loop it through the hoop on top of your gas cap (maybe thats why BM built that hoop into the cap) stand on the foot pegs loop the belt over your head and put your back into it so the belt pulls up on the cap while you screw it off with your free hands. This may, not work. Depends how lucky you are. You seem to have been lucky so far so I'd definately give it a try before anything else. It has worked for me on an R65 and I didnt have to pull very hard.
BE VERY CAREFUL THOUGH, IT IS POSSIBLE TO BREAK THE HOOP OFF THE CAP OR EVEN DAMAGE THE TANK ITSELF IF YOU PULL TOO HARD.

If this technique doesn't release the cap then peel of the rubber seal around the cap and look for the 3 holes drilled into the groove where the seal sits. insert the end of a metal rod / coat hanger (without making any sparks !!!) into one of the holes and push it in while rotating the cap gently, you are trying to lock the ratchett mechanism with your rod here. As we may assume the ratchett locking pin inside has broken.
If these methods dont work, you may try Snow Bum's site for more ideas.
 Apparently this problem can be avoided by not using the lock on the gas cap, or if you prefer it locked not to rotate the cap enough to click the ratchett. The ratchet mechanism simply wears out due to age. 
Good luck
The cap will come off eventually.

[montmil]

Snowbum mentions the use of a length of rope rather than your belt.

When/if the sucker breaks, call Re-Psycle. I got a used-like-new cap for the boogered '81 when I first bought the bike.

Monte

[Bill Conquest]

Missile - Not sure if you got this resolved yet - I had the same thing happen to me & I couldn't pull it off, but taking off the plastic skirt and putting a thin wire through the hole underneath worked(there are 3 holes)! I was able to unscrew the cap & then drilled & screwed the two pieces together from the under side with a s.s. screw -saved the cap but it can't be locked anymore.. good luck!

[nhmaf]

Yes, I hope that the "pull upward forcefully while turning" stretegy works for you - it has for me in the past on a couple airheads.   I no longer lock my gas cap - even with the potential danger of paper-pushing ne-er do-wells around...

[invincibleone]

Well thanks to a really severe storm tearing a section of my roof off & leading to a power outage about 30 minutes after my initial inquiry........I finally (this evening) got around to trying to get that cap off. After a few attempts and lotsa upward pressure the rope-around-the-neck method finally got it free. I went ahead and put a gallon & a half in it from the gas can & will fill it tomorrow. I called Bobs BMW & they have the caps in stock (for $170) but I was bothered to find a non locking cap wasn't offered. Suppose I'll just buy another locking cap, I guess if it lasts another 27 years I got my moneys worth.


Thanks to everyone for the help.

[bruce_launceston]

Save your $170 and just pin it as recommended above. I can guarantee that it is a permanent fix as I did mine over 18 years ago and have had no problems since. I didn't drill and screw it, from memory I just drove a wire in through the hole in the side of the cap. I cant even see it any more and the only difference is that it hasn't locked since.

The other thing I changed in the first few years was the seal under the fuel cap, on the '84 LS it was a plastic thing and I used to get water in the tank, I changed it to a seal off a later model, a nice twin lipped black rubber number and that solved the water problem.

Cheers Bruce

[invincibleone]

Save your $170 and just pin it as recommended above. I can guarantee that it is a permanent fix as I did mine over 18 years ago and have had no problems since. I didn't drill and screw it, from memory I just drove a wire in through the hole in the side of the cap. I cant even see it any more and the only difference is that it hasn't locked since.

The other thing I changed in the first few years was the seal under the fuel cap, on the '84 LS it was a plastic thing and I used to get water in the tank, I changed it to a seal off a later model, a nice twin lipped black rubber number and that solved the water problem.

Cheers Bruce

That's a thought. When I get home from work tonight I'll take a look. I assume you just used safety wire; maybe like a 41? I think in the long run I'll still probably buy a cap but if this looks to be a reliable solution for the time being I may go for it.
Thanks again-
Fissel the Missile

[Bob_Roller]

I was told about 20 years ago, that if you turned the fuel cap until it 'ratchets' that it will increase the likelyhood of the cap to eventually keep spinning, and not release .


Anybody know if this is true or not ?

[invincibleone]

  Alright so I took the ring off the cap, drilled through at the three holes with a #36 bit and then tapped them to 6-32 and installed three set screws dowsed in red loctite. This thing is as solid as can be imagined; definitely just saved $170 as I don't really care if the cap locks & the bike will spend 99+% of its life in a garage or in my sight.
  Also, not sure if it was necessary, but I went ahead and drilled 3 more 3/32 holes at 120° increments as it appears the holes I utilized were there for ventilation?
  Either way with the ring (part #16112307360) around the cap installed snow bum himself couldn't tell this thing was modified; so mission accomplished.

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Send some photos of your fix.  Sounds like you made a good repair.