Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech vacuum lock??!

I have an 06 America...750 miles on her. I noticed that the gas cap is almost impossible to loosen and take off. Also, the fuel valve to turn the gas on is very hard to turn on, off or reserve. This happened all of a sudden. Is this some kind of vacuum lock? Anybody experience this? I'm taking by the dealership but just curious if any of ya'll have seen this?

I have the same problem 06 TBA 1000 miles with the gas cap, sometimes takes two hands to break it free. My fuel valve is pretty stiff also. I gave the cap threads a shot of WD-40 and it helped. Neither has effected the performance of the bike though.

Be interested in what the dealer tells you.

the solution was easy on mine, and i've heard many others say the same so it should work. When you're turning it after a few turns you'll feel it start to give some resistance. Stop right there and don't go any further and it'll never happen again. And don't worry about leaking or vibrating loose.....it won't. i turn mine right to that point then go back just untill the grip part is aligned pointing forward just for the look.

Thanks for the tip, the dealer told me when I picked it up to turn it till it clicks then turn it three more clicks no wonder I can't get the damm thing off. I know the point your are talking about. I have been going a good three turns past that point.

The cap on my '04 speedmaster was the same way for the first few tanks. It just got better and has been ever since. Maybe something just needs to seat in.

As for the fuel valve, mine still does that at times. The Pingel valve is supposed to be the solution for that.

Another cause is there could be too much paint on the very top of the gas hole on the tank. There really should be no paint, but for some reason Triumph figures they will paint that part too. You can stick a big rag in the gashole (hm, will that make it throught the censor filter?) and carefully sand the paint off and then put on a small amount of clear or just a little grease. This is also the reason a lot of us get paint residue in the gas. Asl moe about that one.

Regarding the stock petcock. Trash it now. Mine got a wee bit sticky. That wasn’t why I replaced it though. Seems that after the new tank install by the stealership, the mechanic could not see that the petcock was leaking. I did when I arrived home and removed the tank to correct the stealerships way bad valve adjustment. As I was lifting the tank to reinstall it, a puddle of gas was observed on the floor. Great part that stock petcock. I think a better use would be to toss it in the ocean and use it as an artificial reef, for shrimps!

Mine did that a few times when new. Works fine now.