Went out this morning to ride the bike over to the storage garage i use and i tried opening the locking gas cap cover and it turned real hard. I should have gotten the heat gun, but like the bull in a china shop i am at times i forced the key.

The key turned but the latch never opened.
So i just spent the last hour or so, trying to use a brass feeler gauge as suggested here https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...fuel-door.html but no luck.

I also thought maybe i could remove the chrome cover on top of the tank and access it from the back. I had a look in my service manual and it just says to remove the seat, remove the one hex head bolt and the one socket head cap screw from the front of the cover. Did all that and it seems like something under the gas cover is keeping it from coming off.

Before i have to shell out the dough to the dealer or a locksmith, im wondering if anyone here has any idea on how to get the thing open without prying or forcing it.

 

Slip a long screwdriver under the console from the front of the tank & trip the lock with that. Be careful not to scratch the tank.

 

then get the push button

 

Do not get this one 53842-00C ... You will be much happier with 53919-04A, it requires no key of any type, just push the button and the door releases!
http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/g...bmLocale=en_US

 

I would second the one without the key. I have the one that uses the key and it works but can be a pain to open.

Though sometimes I lock the fuel tank but 98% of the time I dont.

 

A friend & I both have the ones with the key. We never lock our own, but if the other guy ain't lookin' we sneak over & lock his........

 

Thanks Jinks out of town for the week. Will give this a shot next weekend. Yeah i had read through the entire thread i posted and it looks like ill be going with either the Kuryaken or the HD non-locking one. Still not sure about leaving the gas tank unlocked and the HD locking push button combo doesnt seem all that great.
Will let you know how the screw driver trick works.

 

Actually I like the locking unit. Don't use it much, but it's handy when I have to leave the bike in a motel parking lot. There are five barrel locks on my bike. A couple of times a year I squirt a little lube in each & rotate them a few times. That's kept a batch of '07 locks workin' pretty well.

 

Mine broke about 4yrs ago. I used a thin piece of stiff plastic between the cover and console. Fiddled with it for awhile and finally got it opened. Put the HD push button on. No problems since.

 

The console won't come off because the filler cap is holding it on. That lock is universal, not keyed to match, so I would just replace it, when you finally get the darned thing off. Shouldn't cost too much.