Broken fuel cap mounting point

Thom

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Restoring an XS2, but have a problem. One of the tabs sticking back from the fuel filler neck broke. The pin that holds the cap's latch goes through one tab and into the other. Glued the piece with JB Weld, but it only held for a short time.
Does anyone have a fix for this? It' looks like cast aluminum, but the ring it is part of is attached to the filler neck. It's so soft I can't imagine it hasn't broken on others.
Of course I'd be interested in any early XS 650 tanks anyone might have for sale. I think that would be '70, '71 or 72, with the strap for the plastic emblems welded to it.
 
Brass melts at a higher temp than aluminum. And it looks like crappy, porous cast aluminum, which likely will melt almost as soon as it heats up.
 
It got brazed or welded to the tank originally w/o melting, didnt't it?
 
I don't know how they attach the ring to the filler neck. But I need convincing the ring and the tabs are steel before I'd bring a flame anywhere near them. Cast aluminum will turn to liquid in seconds, and then there's no going back..
 
The filler neck and tabs are cast in but I am not sure what the material is. Im pretty sure brazing would damage whats there. When I had my tank painted the painter chemically cleaned the first tank and did not realize the filler neck was not metal. The end result was a loss of most of the filler neck including the tabs. Lucky i had several tanks at the time. I saved the tank to be repaired using a good neck from a beat up 71 tank. The idea was to cut the neck out of the 71 leaving as much metal surrounding it and then welding that into the 72 tank. That plan failed when I could not get the pin out of the cap and broke those tabs off the 71. The filler neck material is very brittle and will not take a lot of twisting. Not sure how you are going to fix those tabs. Maybe you could fab a small tab out of metal and tac it in place. Let us know if you think of anything else.
 
Buy the way I sold that 72 tank to someone in Norway with the understanding that he was going to weld a flush mount cap in its place. That would look very good however not a restoration.
 
I need convincing the ring and the tabs are steel
Testing it with a magnet might do something. A lot of cast stuff is zinc or "pot metal" zinc. If it was aluminum and less than 1/16" you could probably bend it with your fingers. There are items around the house that will discolor aluminum pots and pans, another possible test. Or scrape off a small amount and hold it in a blue flame and look at it with a spectroscope to discover what elements are in it....
https://www.homesciencetools.com/product/spectroscope/
 
Yeah, the magnet is obvious, but crappy "pot metal" would have a very weak attraction. And if you cast aluminum, it won't bend - even at 1/16" thick. Think of the fins on your motor.
I'm thinking of some thin plate I could glue on either side of the tab. With glue on those pieces plus where the broken piece connects to the tab, that might be enough. I'd have to grind some off the latch to make room for the inner gusset, but that hardly would be the biggest challenge.
 
Wait a minute, cra-Z1, did you say that a solvent dissolved the ring? If I could remove it, I could make a new one in steel, perhaps tacking two pieces together, and braze THAT to the filler neck.
 
Can you put up a pic of it? I think mine is totally different.
 
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