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General Category => General Banter => Topic started by: Greg on March 20, 2011, 09:24:24 PM
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Perhaps I'm looking for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, but ... has anyone tried one of these after-market key less gas caps? Years ago I was not thinking and put my tank bag on my tank with the key left in the gas cap slot. The key bent significantly, but I was able to remove it without breaking the key. (This is now why I always have a 2nd key with me, ha).
Seams like a neat idea, though I don't know that I've ever seen anyone use these. Anyone?
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/5/93/10330/22703/PITEM/Pro-Tek-Keyless-Gas-Cap-2007-Honda-CBR1000RR-Parts.aspx (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/5/93/10330/22703/PITEM/Pro-Tek-Keyless-Gas-Cap-2007-Honda-CBR1000RR-Parts.aspx)
... and I'm not sure it's a "problem" worth a $100 fix, lol.
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I dislike keyed gas caps. I had a keyless cap on my Ducati 999 and loved it (and it was pretty). My current bike has the stock cap. It works fine and is technically an impressive piece but I am tempted to get a keyless - if they were not so silly expensive.
Why are M/C caps typically keyed anyway? Is there a big problem with malicious people tossing stuff in or is it a way to make sure we close the cap?
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I started seeing them around this tiime. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_energy_crisis People were stealing gas.
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Now that you mention it, I remember locking caps for cars being heavily advertised at the time.
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Caps are keyed to prevent theft and tampering. It would suck to find out someone decided to dump sugar in your tank.
The keyless caps that are out there are intended for track bike use. If you're bike has no ignition lock, it doesn't make sense to still have a key for a gas cap. Locks not only add unnecessary weight, they add complexity. I remember being at a track day where a guy ruined his day because he forgot the key to his gas cap. Dohhh....
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I started seeing them around this tiime. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_energy_crisis [/url] People were stealing gas.
Caps are keyed to prevent theft and tampering. It would suck to find out someone decided to dump sugar in your tank.
The keyless caps that are out there are intended for track bike use. If you're bike has no ignition lock, it doesn't make sense to still have a key for a gas cap. Locks not only add unnecessary weight, they add complexity. I remember being at a track day where a guy ruined his day because he forgot the key to his gas cap. Dohhh....
Both of these are valid points.
I remember the gas crisis of the late 70's as well. I worked at Normandale Mobil (84th & Normandale Blvd.) pumping gas during that time period. One Saturday the owner had me take a "last car" sign and tape it to the trunk of the last car in the long line of cars as we had to ration our sales until our next delivery arrived. As I was taping the sign to the last car, a car pulled up behind him and the driver offered me $5 to put the sign on the back of his car, ha.
As I *never* leave my bike out in the open overnight, I feel the threat of gas theft isn't too high a risk as they'd only get 3-4 gallons anyway. Having someone maliciously put something in the tank is a probability though. :(
Anyway, like I said, I'll probably not make the purchase as the convenience of it isn't worth $100 to me. If it was $50, maybe ...
These do look cool though :)
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/5/93/29191/DPITEM/Street-Bike-Gas-Caps-PSR-Quick-Release-Gas-Cap.aspx?WT.ac=SLIsearch
Daydreaming of bikes on a snowy Thursday,
Greg
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Got this one from Harris Performance in UK for $60 GBP: https://www.harris-performance.com/website/acatalog/Online_Catalog_Filler_Caps_67.html#aFUELCAP
(http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz298/burn-zee/054.jpg)
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I'd put one on my Duc if they weren't stupid expensive as well.
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One other small thing that might be a headache is the fact that it's not attached to the tank. Now when you go to fill you have to set it some place while you pump gas. Not a big deal, but it could fall, get dirty, and ruin those small threads.
I had one on my race bike and it always worked well, sometimes it seemed like it tightened up on it's own. I had always tried to be careful not to over torque it on there but didn't want it coming loose either.
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Get one of these, then you don't have to worry about it tightening up too far.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bs1922/5072579817/in/photostream
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Not long ago every thing we put gas in we had to put the gas cap on top of the gas pump. No big deal and still isn't.