The spring loaded oil filler cap on my '05 XL 1200C keeps popping up. It doesn't come off since it has to be unscrewed after popping up but it is very annoying. I think I'm hitting it with the back of thigh while riding. Haven't noticed any oil around the cap but worry that the tank is not sealed when this happens. Could this cause a problem with oil delivery to the engine? Any one else have this problem? When the cap is closed it looks to me to be 90 degrees out of whack with the contour of the tank but that is the only was it will install.

 

dont know much about the newer style oil tanks, but this subject has come up in the past., id take it to the dealer and raise hell!!

 

Hi- I have the same problem on my 04 xl883. In order to get the additional 90 degree of turn I have to remove the seat to get a extra good grip on the cap and then it takes quite a bit of force to tighten. Hopes this helps.

Nice cool morning here in Amissville, Va.

 

Mygirls-- I talked to a woman at my local dealer who actually traded her 1200C in for this reason. She kept getting oil on her pants! What you need to do is ditch that pop up cap and get the new one with the temp gauge built in. It's been available for quite awhile now. It costs about $45 bucks. That's what I got. It makes checking the oil way easier. Your dealer should have it in stock. It is a direct replacement for the troublesome pop up cap. Hope this helps!

 

I agree. Go get another dipstick. Mine never popped out like that, but I have heard of it happening to others. On top of that I sliced my fingers on it once or twice. It looks nice, but it's an annoying POS.

 

I got the temp gauge cap/stick also, and it's a LOT easier to unscrew (you do have to really grab hold of the stock pop-up and twist HARD to get it to seat properly - but if it's seated correctly, even when popped up it shouldn't leak).
Good luck!

 

re: pop up oil cap not closing properly.

God I love this forum. I just bought a new 2007 and the same thing happened to me last night only oil did spray out. I kept thinking there is no way a bike designer is going to havethe pop up cap ridge line out of wack with the rest of the cover and this forum helped me. I have to turn the cap harder to get it to line up!

 

I belive this may have been my first post on here? My oil cap did the same thing seems I didn't tighten it down all the way just when you think it's tight it will turn a 1/4 more then push it down. If you don't it will pop up from your thigh and cause oil to come out.Pain in the *** mess to clean up. Hope this helps.

 

I have a '04 1200 Roadster with 42,000miles. It been a great bike except for that darn oil cap. With mine it was regressive when it began to get very tight over the past 4 years where I had to use one of those rubber belt wrenches to remove and install. In the past few months I would find that the cap would unseat and not stay clicked down. I took the spring mechanism apart and found that some of the plastic had cracked away from the base.

I called H-D service to ask if there is a problem with driving it for a few days with the cap popped up. No problems, apparently the tank does not need to be pressurized. My new one will be here next week; $42 and no oil gauge either.

Pierre.... 1st post on this forum

 

My '05 pops up occasionally, not sure why. It hasn't been doing it lately though. You also need to turn it the extra 90 deg and as mentioned, that can be difficult. I think the O-ring hardens a bit which causes the added difficulty. Try a little silicone lube on the O-ring, should make it easier... worked for me.