I got a '99 tank for my '93 and the bolt holes for the mounting ring for the cap does not line up. I assume from either a difference in the year or that its a non-emissions tank with an emissions cap. I have the Cali one I can trade +cash if reasonable. If not I can hog out the holes a bit I guess..

Tank bolts for all tanks are the same. I have had both CAL and non-CAL tanks and made easy swaps.
Something else is wrong if something does not fit.
Fuel caps mount exactly the same.

I will take a pic and post it..

Adidas do you know if the cap for a Cali tank being used on a non-Cali tank would cause any venting issues? I heard they were different..

OK so the issue is that if I bolt the ring on the cap is a bit too far back and wont go into the tank, for now I just don't have the bolts in and when I fill it I just pull the whole thing off.

Pics?

I have regular and CAL tanks. All gas caps fit the same and work the same. I have never found a difference for the gas cap. And that also covers 1989-2000 and 2001+ tanks. All have the same gas cap.

I will shoot some pics when I get home of the fit on the old and new tanks..

My guess is one tank is either not a real GS500 tank or it has been modified for a different gas cap.
Gas hole is right in the middle - not off center.
4 screws hold it in.
The other screws are decorative (some caps are 7 and some are 8 screws - the missing one would be where the cap hinge is located but spacing is still the same 8 screw spacing).

It's been a while since I worked on my 500's but if I remember right the cap only goes on one way. Did you try spining it 180 degrees?

Ya its on the right way
Here is a pic of it on the old tank.. You can see how it clears the opening in the tank just fine..


And here it is on the new tank, you can see how it does not clear the rim of the opening in the tank.

Quote from: wera90ex on December 09, 2012, 06:17:50 AM
It's been a while since I worked on my 500's but if I remember right the cap only goes on one way. Did you try spining it 180 degrees?

Now why would I do something smart like that, I just realized that I "think" I have it with the hinge towards the front and did a quick net search and it looks like the hinge goes towards the back. I will have to look when I get home. I thought it would only go one way because of the pin under the rim. When I took those pics I know I had it on the old tank the same way I do on the new one (hinge towards front) and it opened and closed OK.

The hole is a couple MM off center. The hinge goes towards the rider. Yu have the cap on backwards.

I have swapped gas caps from 89-00 normal and Cali bikes and with 2001+ tanks.

Believe me when I say they all fit the same. I never have to think about what kind of tank it is and  on one I never noticed it was a cali tank until I had to remove the tank - but had already swapped out the gas cap.

Finally got back to this, so it appears that there is a difference in the tanks. The locating pin on the new tank is 180 off from the old one. If you look in the image below one tank has the pin near the drain hole and the other has it opposite the drain hole. Just had to move the short faux bolt to the other side..