getting rid of the key in the gas cap?
 

ok this is an off the wall question, and im sure tweety has an answer if no one else does. this is for my 98 zx6r. but im sure all gas caps work the same. i dont want to spend the money for a keyless gas cap. its not cheap and im cheap so the two dont go hand in hand. what im wondering is if theres a way to remove the lock mechanism and replace is with some kind of permanently fixed piece of metal that acts as a key, that i can just depress and turn like i would a key, but without using a key.

Get a blank made and glue it into the lock?

Off brand keyless caps are $30 shipped on ebay...

You cant even rig it for less than 30 clams. You could drill the lock out but its not easy. Why not just use the key?

problem with the kawi is that they only made the keyless gas caps for a couple years and then switched to how it mounts so theyre harder to come by and not that cheap, 45 is the cheapest ive seen but the bastard wanted like 30 to ship it. and i cant seem to track down any used ones as no one seems to want to get rid of theirs.

the bike is gonna be a track bike, the lock is showing some wear and i have to wiggle it a little to unlock the gas cap so id rather hot have to worry about playing with the key to make it work, plus im gonna attach the key to the ignition with something so that if igo down and for some reason the key comes out as it has a little play in the ignition, i wont be key less, its the only one i have for the bike.

and for whatever reason i believe the 98-99 were a 5 bolt setup where as the rest of the years only use 3. i suppose i could buy a newer one and drill some holes in it but id rather not if i didnt have to :)

If you go down har enough for the key to pop out, play or not, loosing the key isn't going to be your main concern... Plus, copying the key will be cheaper than any of your other options...

A question though... If it's a track only bike, why bother with a key in the first place?

And no... You do not want a key sticking out of the gas cap if you go down... That will break a rib quite easily, not a good option for track riding if you ask me...

Start thinking safe, and forget about cheap... It's gonna cost you in medical bills later...

true thats a good point. as for the ignition is it as simple as ripping it out and putting a couple of wires onto a toggle switch ?

Oh BTW according to a few quick searches a 95-99 ZX6R should have 7 bolt holes, so what's up with that?

Yep, look at the schematic for the bike (find a service manual) and replace the ignition with a killswitch... Should be easy to figure out... Lemme know if you want help though...

OK so go ahead & drill it out. Then you use a flathead screwdriver to open it. Lost of racers do this. You could probly track down used items for cheap. My racebikes have 2 different keys but its no real hassle. Look on ebay & other race forums (WERA, BARF, NESBA) or join the zx6 forum & ask around. Hot wiring isnt quite that easy & would comprimise security.

Huh?! Hotwiring is actually that easy, but yeah "compromises security" is the understatement of the day...

Just an example... The VTR pre-HISS has three wires to the ignition switch... Just short them together, the whole bunch and ride off... Bypassing it is that easy, wiring it to a second kill switch takes a few seconds more...

Take a flat edge screwdriver, place it into the key slot and smash it three of four times and it will turn and open with anything you stick in there. Had to do that to a tank I bought with no key.

haha i like the smash approach sounds like my kind of customizing :D i may do a dual toggle switch, one up top and hide one somewhere else on the bike for security reasons. hah security, the bike weighs like 360 pounds i bet i could drag it into the back of my truck on my own, lol. tweety ill let you know if i need a hand with the wiring, i may lift up the ignition and see how many wires are in there and take it from there.

as for the gas cap, yeah its a weird setup, i could have sworn it was only 5 but 7 could be right, either way they arent common on ebay and im too damn cheap to fork out the amount theyre asking for one. ill sort it out, chances are ill get drunk one night soon and buy one off ebay only to temporarily regret it the next day. that seems to be the common way of me buying things i want but cant justify sober, lol.

Do not cut out the ignition until you determine if there is a resistor in it. Some bikes have this as a security measure to keep you from hot wiring.
You may dismantle the gas cap to the tumblers and push them out, then you may open the cap with anything. Be very careful to reassemble the vent system correctly.

thanks for the info, the bike is a 98 zx6r im not sure how smart it is, i may just try jumping a couple wires with everything in place first. and thanks for all the help with the gas cap guys. again im sure while drunk ill either buy one on ebay or punch this one out with a hammer and punch, lol

Lol yeah I wish...sorry I got sidetracked in the middle of my post...Just be careful with how hard you whack on the cap. I did it with a rusted old gs500 tank I didn't care much about and it will dent in the top of the tank if you hit it too hard.

so i should do it sober is what youre saying? lol. im gonna keep watching ebay i think and just buy a threaded cap, or maybe get real lucky and get a quick fill where you push in the metal plate and fill it up. a guy i know has one on his gsxr1k its sweet.

I drilled out the lock on a 929 tank I picked up a couple years back. The whole lock popped out, and I can still use the cap with a screwdriver. It's a little awkward, but the price was right.

I used to be friends with a guy that owned a lock shop. They would get keys for locks that looked like a dead bolt switch when the key was incerted. They attached to a key head with a set screw. Maybe you could get one of them and use it on a second key that is cut short. With the low profile you dont have to worry about catching a skinny key in the ribs. They come in chrome, brass, and polished steel. Just a thought.... good luck.

thats a great idea, never thought of doing anything like that. maybe i can just take my key have an extra cut and then attach something like youre mentioning to it and set screw it into place.