Ideas on improvising gas cap gasket?

[Anonymous]

Has anybody successfully made a long lasting gasket for their tank? The one on m 1100 is cracked and I'm worried it will ruin the paint. A new cap sells for 70USD which is quite a bit.

Thanks, Steve

[argonsagas]

You could try what I did, Steve.

Carmen found a guy who had a decent cap, then talked me into driving over there with him to check it out. The owner seemed a decent guy, so we did a bit of bargaining over the cap.

His price for the cap was a bit high, but after some discussion, we finally agreed on a number. After all that arguing, the owner felt something I could not identify, but he resolved the difficulty within himself by very generously donating the bike that he had parked under the cap.

[argonsagas]

Seriously, Steve. Take the cap with you to an aut parts store and see if you can find a friendly parts salesman. He needs to compare yours with other caps.

Your cap comes apart easily. There are two small bolts on the underside, that hold the latch mechanism. Take that off, and remove the old gasket.

Take the gasket with you to be sure you get something close. Look at the pressure marks on the old gasket. There is room for some difference in overall diameter, and with the hole diameter.

You will have to buy a complete cap to get the gasket, but the cost should only be 6 to 7 dollars. Once you get a match, buy the replacement cap and take it apart.

Install your new gasket and put the bottom back on.

[deano]

how about a toilet cistern washer?

[saaz]

I also would try an auto parts place. There could be a complete cap or generic replacement rubbers available.

A cistern rubber may not like petrol too much

[argonsagas]

You could take a look at this item, Steve

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10066&item=2447935414

[Anonymous]

Stinking guy won't send to Canada. 8O I guess he doesn't know where to buy Canadian stamps. :roll: hehe

Anyway, I got some rubber from the plumbing department of Canadian tire. Then I got a set of hole saws for cheap and used a 2.5" and 1.5" to cut the rubber. The fit on my gas tank is mediocre due to the tanks holes being more or less metric. I'll probably have to cut another gasket by hand. You can test the fit by rubbing a little bit of grease on the tank opening and then putting on the cap.

If anybody else tries this you'll need a 1/3 HP drill press to bore through the rubber. Even so, it really slows down the motor.

Cheers, Steve