[ahondaforever]

so the previous owner lost the key and drilled out the lock. However the lid still won't open. It looks like he got everything out from inside the cap but it's still stuck. any ideas on how to get it open? (2009 kawasaki ninja ex500)

 

[yorkie]

apart from a flat blade to force it open not sure, that cap is scrap anyways. all the methods I would have used to open it have been defeated by drilling the lock out. looks screwed to me.

 

[ahondaforever]

apart from a flat blade to force it open not sure, that cap is scrap anyways. all the methods I would have used to open it have been defeated by drilling the lock out. looks screwed to me.

Yea it came with a new cap so i'm not worried about that. I'm not sure i'm going to get it out without damaging the tank which sucks because they're about $300 on ebay unless you want one with rust in it. Which mine probably has. When i drained the fuel it looked like chocolate milk for a few seconds before going clear.

 

[ducatiman]

EASY DOES IT. This thread Servicing your gas cap shows the innards and what you are up against. The actual locking latch is spring loaded.

 

[ducatiman]

the yellow x is the actual latch. Can you get a magnet inside the drilled section of your cap?

 

[ducatiman]

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www.ex-500.com

notice latch and spring shown on bottom? Pulling the spring may be the wtg. Spray wd40 heavily on the forward section of the cap to get it to move, it may be stuck with corrosion.

 

[ahondaforever]

Good news, i got it! I ended up just prying on the cap until the latch fell into the tank. Even better news is the tank looks perfect inside. There's just some red/brownish sediment that might have been some engine treatment that had settled to the bottom.

 

[ridervfr]

Its really amazing all the engineering and manufacturing that went into a crappy little thing like a gas cap, something most take for granted. It is really important to operate properly as a bad one can get your arse stuck or collapse your tank by not venting properly.

I took mine apart years ago and removed some diaphrams (orange) that were probably there to limit the amount of vapors into the stratosphere. Problem was the bike would make whistling sounds when I got home. Did some research and decided to take it apart and remove them. Never a problem and the whistling was gone, this was done at least 5 years ago or so.

 

[yorkie]

yeah there are two of them, one allows the tank to vent (in hot weather) the other allows air to enter the tank so a vacuum is not created inside the tank, that would cut off the fuel flow (the most problematic one) removing them does no harm.
note aftermarket ones don't seem to have them fitted.
only down side is if the bike goes over fuel can escape out of the cap now there is nothing to stop it. keep the bike upright no issue.

 

[ducatiman]

due to the ageing nature of all EX's...I'm an advocate in the preventative removal of both "flapper valves" (upon receiving or prior owning) on any and all EX's.
Just a matter of time before one, the other,or both stick shut!

 

[bpe]

The cap on my '06 stopped venting in'07.

 

[ridervfr]

due to the ageing nature of all EX's...I'm an advocate in the preventative removal of both "flapper valves" (upon receiving or prior owning) on any and all EX's.
Just a matter of time before one, the other,or both stick shut! View attachment 57673

Nice, I hear flapper valve and think of my toilet.🤣good pictures!