Vandalised filler cap, rekeying, water?

[scots_jon]

Hi All,
It's just been filler caps for me all week!

After spending ages clearing out the rainwater drain hole and then drilling breather holes in my tank filler earlier in the week, I get to the bike tonight to find that some lowlife has forced open the filler cap. Heaven knows why, do people still try and steal petrol? I thought that went out in the seventies.

All the plastic inside the cap is broken and the lid itself is pretty bent. Looks like they used a screwdriver.

So, first question. I am going to get a new cap (see my post in the for sale/wanted section). Once I get one, how easy it is to swap the lock barrels so that the new cap opens with the ignition key? Can I simply swap the entire barrel or do I have to rekey the new cap?

Second question. They thoughtfully left the filler open. I don't know how long the bike stood like this, but I suspect that at least some water has got in there. The bike runs fine but I am worried about water in the bottom of the tank causing corrosion. How low does the fuel pick up pipe sit in the tank? Can I assume that because the bike is running ok, that any water will have been sucked out? Or could there still be water below the fuel pick up pipe? And if there is should I worry?

I was going to completely empty the tank just in case, but I live in London and I've no idea where to get rid of half a tank of petrol without either killing the local wildlife or getting arrested as a terrorist?!

Cheers,
Jon.

 

[Gas'd Off]

I don't know about the keying stuff but to save removing the tank this stuff "Wynns Dry Fuel" is supposed to remove moisture from fuel. No idea if it works though

 

[scots_jon]

I don't know about the keying stuff but to save removing the tank this stuff "Wynns Dry Fuel" is supposed to remove moisture from fuel. No idea if it works though

Cheers for that, I'd never heard of the stuff. I did a quick search and it appears on a few other forums, nobody seemed to have any horror stories so I thought it was worth a try.

No idea what is in the stuff, it smells like pure aviation fuel, the MSDS looks pretty scary: http://www.wynns.be/resources/documents/71867/71867_EN.pdf

Anyway, it reckons to use a full bottle per tank, but I reckon this is for a car, so I put half a bottle in a full tank, and I'll add the rest when I next fill up. The bike runs as normal, with no noticable differences or smells. When I was putting it in, there were few drops of water balled up on the filler tube, these disapeared straight away so hopefully it does what it says on the tin.

If I have any probelms, I'll post back here to let others know. Otherwise hopefully this stuff will sort out the problem.

Cheers,
Jon.

 

[Phil Clarke]

Dunno what that stuff is but I would guess its meths - this was the old dodge to remove water as water is soluble in alcohol (you knew that didn't you!) and the mixture still burns so shouldn't upset the running.

 

[Bryn]

Used to put a bit of pure Methanol in the tank years ago.. that mixes with the water and burns ok

Not the easiest thing to get hold of cheap unless you worked in a lab

 

[ciderman gs]

any good radio control model shop will sell methanol as it is used to make the fuel for glow engines

andy

 

[Gas'd Off]

Dunno what that stuff is but I would guess its meths - this was the old dodge to remove water as water is soluble in alcohol (you knew that didn't you!) and the mixture still burns so shouldn't upset the running.

So does that mean I could use isopropyl alchohol then? That's easy to buy.

 

[Fanum]

I get to the bike tonight to find that some lowlife has forced open the filler cap. Heaven knows why, do people still try and steal petrol? I thought that went out in the seventies.

All the plastic inside the cap is broken and the lid itself is pretty bent. Looks like they used a screwdriver.

Erm......

The cap obviously opens on the same key as the ignition.

Perhaps they were after the barrel to get another key cut...all you need to do is look at the leaves and see which of the four possible depths are in which order, then you can file a blank to that pattern.

I'd be keeping a rather good eye on the bike for a while IIWY