I bought a 2012 Ultra Limited, 30K on the bike. Well taken care of. This bike, along with others I've had both new and used always end up with the paint around the edge of the front brake reservoir cap crinkling up. I was always very careful not to overfill and tighten correctly on my other bikes, I haven't done any brake maintenance on this one at all yet. Is this a common thing? Is there anything I can do other than buying replacement caps to fix it?

 

Mine do it

 

Brake fluid dissolves paint.

 

No, common problem.

From the picture it looks like you have one that has a lip on the gasket that gets squeezed between the base and the cap. On the replacement I bought (42855-06c) the gasket fits inside the lid. Does not seem to leak like the old one.

Just be advised, the torque specs on the new cap are a lot less then the old one, don’t over tighten.
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They replaced mine like that under warrenty. They had a faulty seal design back in that time period. Mine is a 2011.

 

Many of the leakers have been over tightened.

Very little torque is needed.

 

They all do that

 

Could be, and that was the claim by the MoCo for years.
Mine was under tightened: the day after I had a service done I noticed some seepage and found I could turn the screws with my fingernail.

But what is the proper torque?
My manual says 7-10 inch pounds for front, I believe the 2011 manual says 8-12 for the same cap.

It was just a poor design.

AS I Recall ...
The MoCo got tired of replacing these things under warranty and told dealers that any replacements should be done using the 42855-06c kit. (Comes with new cap, new style gasket that fits completely inside of the reservoir. New style gasket must be used with new style cover.)

That cover kit became standard on the 2013 touring bikes. I believe the torque spec for the new cover is about 6 inch pounds.
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My cover started to wrinkle the first year after I bought the bike new (09 FLHTC). I believe that my dealer said it wasn't covered under warranty. After looking at it for several years I got a chrome replacement for $60, a genuine HD part made in Italy. I'll let you know when the chrome starts to peel.