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It is hard to say what level involvement the DOT and EPA have....but now you have CARB dictating what the rest of the country gets - which is TOTAL bullshit. I'm sure all fuel system regulations are insane. Also oxygenated fuels do not help. Ducati had a big problem with some plastic gas tanks on a few models from 10 years ago. The tanks would deform and eventually split. The early BMW GS1100 had a similar issue.
It is probably mandated that the caps fit really tight to start with and then oxygenated fuels might deform it slightly causing it to be a PITA.
I am less likely to blame HD - gas caps are simple and they have been making them for more than 100 years. I'm more inclined to blame our government who is trying to save us from the ridiculously miniscule amount of global warming motorcycles are responsible for.
I once shared a long flight with a sun visor engineer, his company designed and manufactured sun visors for many auto manufacturers. Simple right? It would seem so until you involve our government. Listening to him describe the specifications put forth by DOT it is no wonder that an OK car costs $30+ K
As a machinest I've cut, chased, and tapped many threads over the years. They either go or not go! If you have to force a thread there is a problem!
My cap required two hands to remove it. Shame on Harley, of all the things we watch for and worry about on the road our gas caps shouldn't be one of them.
I got a Stant gas cap from Walmart for $3.96 The Stant cap is made in the USA but time will tell if it is better. I figured for $4.00, what the heck. the threaded part of the Stant cap is white vs the black threaded area of the Harley cap.
Originally Posted by highgear05
Bought a replacement at walmart. $3.70
Stant 10834
Same here. For 4 bucks - what could it hurt when we throw thousands of dollars changing other components.
Ive owned 13 HDs over the years & never had a gas cap issue, including my 07 SG until I got my current 14 SGS. Here in Reno, NV we have Calif Gas w/ 10% ethanol mixed in but it never affected my 07... just my 14.
The bottom of my 14 gas cap is marked 0834 leading me to believe its a Stant bottom w/ a HD logo top.... ie: Stant makes them for HD.
Maybe it's a Stant issue with their material & not a HD generated problem.
The bottom of my 14 gas cap is marked 0834 leading me to believe its a Stant bottom w/ a HD logo top.... ie: Stant makes them for HD.
Maybe it's a Stant issue with their material & not a HD generated problem.
The Stant gas cap has a white bottom/threaded portion while the HD version is black.
I'm guessing that fact alone might make it a slightly different material.
Here's the Stock ('14) gas cap in all black on the left and my Stant 10834 gas cap with white threads on the right
The HD all black cap measures 1/16" larger diameter than the Stant cap with white bottom
My stock ('14) gas cap is stamped 1004 as shown in the photo below.
What that means, I have no idea. But I do know the Stant gas cap works a hell of a lot easier than the HD cap.
Edit to add....
Notice how the black HD cap has a thicker 'ring' around the end and a thinner shaft while the white Stant cap has a straight shaft
Last edited by Baeseman1; Jul 19, 2016 at 11:57 AM.
Just wondering if the white one has a different pressure relief valve than the black one
Its possible that the white & black have different material specs
The sealing ring gasket looks different between the two as well.
As several suggested, I reduced the diameter on the lower area & it seem to solve my issues.
I have a friend that the cap won't screw all the way in. Started while we were on a 2500 mile ride. I have no issues with my cap so we tried my cap and it too would not screw all the way in. Not sure it is the cap at this point, but I messaged him to try the Stant. We are both on Limiteds. His is a '16 I think. Mine is a '14.
Just wondering if the white one has a different pressure relief valve than the black one
Its possible that the white & black have different material specs
The sealing ring gasket looks different between the two as well.
As several suggested, I reduced the diameter on the lower area & it seem to solve my issues.
I think the rubber sealing gasket looks different due to the white vs black body of the fuel cap.
I've reduced the diameter on the lower end on 2 replacement fuel caps and within a few months, they again were hard to remove.
I had the same problem on my 16 Road Glide. The dealer acknowledge that Harley was having an issue and replacing them...anther friend did the same. The new one is nice and easy.
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