Gas Cap Sticks BAD

I have been having trouble opening the gas cap..took 10 minutes last night to get it open. The key works fine, twists fine, see it pop up but can't lift it all they way...just stuck.

Suggestions?

The only real screws are the ones at 12-5-7, the others are fake. Loosen those and adjust the cap so it pops up.

I just had the opposite problem. After refueling tonight, i could not get the cap to click closed again! No way I was going to ride it home filled to the brim with the cap open. I finally got it closed holding the cap down and manually twisting the key back toward the closed position. Got home and it seems a couple of squirts of Teflon lube into the lock has fixed it, at least for the moment.

I see your located in good old San Antonio Texas. I'll bet ya a donut the problem your having with the gas cap sticking has nothing to do with sticking at all. After researching this issue, filing, loosening allen bolts, spraying lubricant, etc. I believe I've discovered THE SOLUTION to your gas caps issue....
wait for it.....
Its simply vapor lock! The folks that try to use their keys to pry and pull up the cap only end up breaking their keys off!
Be warned.
Try this, Go out for a ride and get the bike good and hot. After you've stopped, insert the ket into the gas cap and lightly, but quickly, turn the key to the right. The cap should POP up just a little (releases the locking part). Now DO NOTHING ELSE!!! Take your gloves off, remove your wallet, drink some water, check out the hottie in the car next to you...What I
want you to do is SIMPLY WAIT about 1 minute or more depending on how hot it is. Then push the cap closed again, then turn the key to open it a second time. The cap should pop all the way open with very little resistance.
What you've done is simply VENT the air pressure out while you were waiting with the cap cracked open slightly.
This has worked for every single person I've shared it with that owns an ST1300.
Hope it helps.
RIde safe
Igofar

If the lock is not unlocking removing the screws will do nothing. Dont ask how I know. I replaced my gas cap with a screw on cap and I love it.

I think I fixed it. I drilled a a hole in the tank and put in a small valve to release the pressure.

No I didn't, I just lubed it up and it works fine...but I think the answer was the vapor lock...usually I fussed with it for a while....got mad...walked around a bit wondering how I was going to get home w/o any gas...then tried it again and poof...it worked.
Thanks...

I lube the keyhole once in a while with a purpose made lock lubricant and mine pops open no problemeno.

I still stand firm on my belief of vapor lock, however, I went one step farther last week....the never ending saga....
I took a sharpie felt pen and marked the entire base that goes inside the tank, as well as both the tabs that hold it shut.
I then opened and closed it several times. I then removed the entire assembly and turned it over. Ya know what I found?
a bright and silver shiny spot along the front of the base. Seems the "hole" in the tank was slightly off round.
I took a small file and made a couple brushes, then cleaned it up with some 800 grit emery paper, then polished it a little with a soft
scotch brite pad to check for any burrs. Opens like magic now! Hot, cold, no difference!
Check yours with a magic marker and file and or sand the shiny wear marks away and your problem will dissapear.
Hope this helps.
Igofar

I took mine off a couple of weeks ago and it was obvious where the cap had been touching the filler hole as evidenced by the shiny marks along the front edge of the cap. I removed the edge where those shiny spots were located, and all is good now. I only experienced the sticking problem on an empty tank when the ambient temperature was north of 100 degrees. Pics attached


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open it up, use liquid wrench dry lube on moving parts, repeat every 3-6 months.

okmurdog said:

I took mine off a couple of weeks ago and it was obvious where the cap had been touching the filler hole as evidenced by the shiny marks along the front edge of the cap. I removed the edge where those shiny spots were located, and all is good now. I only experienced the sticking problem on an empty tank when the ambient temperature was north of 100 degrees. Pics attached


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Thanks Mark, I went out and filed those marks down just a hair and now it's smooth as glass..

Mellow said:

Thanks Mark, I went out and filed those marks down just a hair and now it's smooth as glass..

Click to expand...

Yep, mine has been smooth too...

That fixed the problem. I had already tried filing but I thought the locking pins were the problem and that's where I had filed. Works great now! Thanks Mark for the info a pictures.

Hi guys, I just got an 04 and I'm having the same issue with the gas cap. I'm going to try this and see. We'll report later. - Bo

I removed the gas cap last night, filed the two front edges, washed off all the metal shavings and re-installed. It works every time now. Thanks Guys for posting this fix.

Hi Mark..........my sister and family live in Broken Arrow, OK...........hope you have not had any tornado or storm damage recently..............today, I have experienced what you had described with pics..........I had my bike in the sun at work with a tank fairly empty and the temp. today got up around 93..........so the tank was higher than that I'm sure.........just a little confidence for me to do this........I'll pull out all of the hex screws and the file off any shiny areas of the moving latch....any input would be appreciated.....thanks
Mark

kubota35 said:

Hi Mark..........my sister and family live in Broken Arrow, OK...........hope you have not had any tornado or storm damage recently..............today, I have experienced what you had described with pics..........I had my bike in the sun at work with a tank fairly empty and the temp. today got up around 93..........so the tank was higher than that I'm sure.........just a little confidence for me to do this........I'll pull out all of the hex screws and the file off any shiny areas of the moving latch....any input would be appreciated.....thanks
Mark

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Hello Mark - it's pretty easy to do, just pull the gas cap assembly using the hex screws (there are only three screws that actually attach the assembly to the tank), and use a metal file to slightly round-over the edge at the approximate locations shown in the pictures. After filing, ensure all traces of metal filings are removed before re-attaching to the tank (compressed air normally works good; just use eye protection).

PS - If you're on the road somewhere and experience the sticking problem (ie, the gas cap pops up slightly when inserting and turning the key, although the cap gets stuck and will not open up) you can use the included Allen wrench in the tool kit to loosen the three screws on the gas cap assembly - this will allow enough clearance to get the cap open until you have the opportunity to remove the offending edge.

Depending on which failure mode is your particularly issue don't wait to fix it.
I'd use dri-slide for lubing the tumbler not grease, oil, graphite, or something else that's gonna gum up the pins.

If the tangs won't retract the 3 bolts aren't going to help.
If you're really really stuck and out of options beating a screw driver into the hole and twisting might get it open. It's worked for others.