Lock cylinder in tank stuck closed

My key won't open the fuel tank on my 5th gen. Nothing new in the world about a stuck lock cylinder. Any tips on getting it unstuck? I'm debating between graphite and a penetrating oil. I didn't have a chance to try either, yet. I looked on another bike, and I'm sure undoing the bolts around the filler cap wouldn't do any good. Jiggling it doesn't help. Ha.

Anyway, your thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

 

Been here, done that on more than one bike. These lock cylinders are not the highest quality and the fact that they are often outside and horizontal means they get full of small crud.

You won't be able to remove the entire cap assembly when it's locked as usually that requires removing one bolt under the lock.

There are several youTube videos on techniques to get them unstuck.

Step one is the "soak with silicone and cross fingers" method. Repeatedly inserting and removing an oil soaked key will remove some of the crud, a little at a time, assuming that's the problem.

 

Light machine oil, wd40 or the likes of, time and patience. Make sure the key is in good nick.
In,out,in out and so on.

Try turning occasionally but don’t force.once open strip clean and lube.

 

+1 to the above - persistence and WD40...

Good luck

 

push down on the cap while trying to unlock.

 

this works for me most of the time, too, yes!

 

Good replies. I like wd40 for cleaning things. It is not a lube but it does clean up things really nice. Personally, I would stay away from any silicon sprays where it may get into the tank. Once you get that thing open, remove it from the tank if you can and soak it in either wd40 (you can buy wd40 in a liquid form) or a solvent really well. Take an air hose at it and blow all the dirt and oil out of there really well and lube with graphite If you are using a spray graphene, don't go over board with it.

Soon as you feel the lock getting tight, take a pencil to the key and grind lots of the lead onto the key and work it in and out to keep the lock cylinder properly lubed. Pencils work great on squeaking door hinges and door locks in the house the same way ans I mentioned above.

 

Hey guys I didn’t use my bike for over a year and the fuel gas cap is totally locked up. Happened to me before and bent the key. I know this is a new one (entire assembly) I bought 2 years ago. I also think the problem is the two tabs inside the lock don’t recede. see picture. What can I do?
I put all kind of lubricants in the key hole nothing worked. Tap tap tap nothing. Was thinking about using an orbital sander (with a towel and a piece of wood under it if course) hoping the vibrations may loosen it up...

 

it often helps to push down forcefully on the cap while turning the key.

 

As said above, use a third hand to press the cap down whilst turning.

 

Ok so I tried to push down, then more l’un and rubber hammer, none worked. Then... I know you are going to get a kick out of it but it is not what you think!
More l’un and I first used my vibrator... didn’t help as too weak but my male friend gave me his for shoulder massage. A sheer that gives massages. That thing is super powerful and I used it 3 minutes on the cap and YES: it opened!!!
So happy it worked!

 

now do some work on the lock...

 

Ha Ha


VF1000F2F, in bits

 

Thanks for posting this Vroumvroum... I would never have thought of using vibrations to do something like this but it makes good sense, in the same way that an impact driver can free up seized fasteners. I don't have any err, massagers, but I do own an orbital sander that could be useful.

 

Ask the wife - lol

 

Had the same problem, turned out the vent hose was crimped and creating a vacuum. I ended up using a small flat tip screwdriver, inserted it into the keyhole and gently wiggled it back and forth to loosen up break free the lock.