I had purchased a Clarke tank for my TW and after filling it only twice, the top broke out of it the gas cap. I called Clarke mfg. yesterday and they just asked for my address and said they would send a new cap out that day. Now that is service. I do think that they may have and issue with the design/material that the cap is made from, but they are obviously aware of it and are handling it in a very responsible way. Thanks Clarke mfg.
Broken gas cap to Clarke tank
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Actually, I think they don't have enough radius where the inside of the cap transitions from the threaded area to the sealing area, and HDPE is a material that has lousy enviormental stress crack resistance. Any tendency to overtighten the cap at all will put it under enough stress to cause it to fail eventually. For me, I thought two tank fulls was way two early. However, I will definitely only tighten it enough to let it seal from now on. I must say that a pet peeve of mine is when manufactures of plastic products choose a less than ideal polymer for the application. It gives the industry I spent 35 years in a bad rap.
Well, maybe you ought to learn not to over-tighten a gas cap.![]()
With the proper material that wouldn't be an issue. Their choice of materials leaves them in a bad position if someone was to get hurt as a result. BTW, if the effort I used in the tightening of the cap was over-tightening, then they really do have a serious issue. I am hoping that it was just the result of a molding imperfection that allowed it to break with such little force. I haven't cut the cap apart yet just in case they wanted it back, but will if they don't provide an RMA.
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I hope you do have the opportunity to employee your experience doing a failure analysis. We would all benefit by knowing for what we should be looking to avoid problems. I've thought over the years that the Clarke caps were not extremely well made. I wouldn't be surprised if the caps were bought in bulk since I have seen outdoor power equipment with what appeared to be identical caps.
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Well, maybe you ought to learn not to over-tighten a gas cap.![]()
Maybe use the 'little righty' . . . .
Bag
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282 Posts
A little heads up on the Clarke cap issues. We sell Clarke tanks at the shop I work at. There was a batch of caps made that were not ethanol/alcohol safe. We've had issues with a coupe of caps and Clarke swapped them out no questions asked. I don't think this is a 'made in China' issue as much as the wrong material was either spec'd or used.
GapRunr
GapRunr
I called clarke today to get mine replaced and they were not very helpful. He did say they are getting lots of calls on the cap. He suggested that I buy a aftermarket cap. That is not acceptable to me. I have never had a cap break on any tank in 500k miles.
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Zackly. Most just give up dealing with Clarke and buy an XR cap or billet cap
No disrespect, Gaprunr, but they're feeding you a line. Go to a crowded offroad area on any given weekend and you'll see bread wrappers or baggies screwed under cracked Clarke caps in an effort to salvage the day's riding.
No disrespect, Gaprunr, but they're feeding you a line. Go to a crowded offroad area on any given weekend and you'll see bread wrappers or baggies screwed under cracked Clarke caps in an effort to salvage the day's riding.
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IIRC the Honda XR600 cap is one with the same thread pitch.
A couple of aftermarket outfits make billet caps for those. Don't take my word as gospel, do a search. I think there have been multiple threads addressing which ones fit either on ADVrider or Thumpertalk in the past.
I have a couple of spare Clarke caps from other Clarke tanks so I've never tried the above.
A couple of aftermarket outfits make billet caps for those. Don't take my word as gospel, do a search. I think there have been multiple threads addressing which ones fit either on ADVrider or Thumpertalk in the past.
I have a couple of spare Clarke caps from other Clarke tanks so I've never tried the above.
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No disrespect taken, but it does make me wonder why the three different caps I have had replaced have been fine now for almost a year. The first ones would disintegrate within days of using ethanol based fuel and start to leak. The rubber inside the cap would soften and become the same consistency as honey and literally drop into the tank. The replacement ones have not done this despite the fact we are still using fuel with ethanol.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the Clarke gas caps are great. They are pretty cheap, but they legitimately had an issue with the non alcohol/ethanol safe rubber components which they have addressed.
I've got aftermarket caps from Acerbis in stock. I'll see if they fit the Clarke tanks.
I finally got my replacement cap from clarke today. If this one breaks I will go with aftermarket.
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255 Posts
The factory cap from my 2001 Honda Fourtrax ATV fits the Clarke tank perfectly. The Honda cap appears to be of better quality and has a ratcheting feature which prevents overtightening. I don't know what they're worth but you usually get what you pay for.
The Clarke cap.
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The Honda cap.
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The Clarke cap.
The Honda cap.
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255 Posts
2001 Honda Fourtrax 4x4 FE. I have actually put the Honda cap on the Clarke tank and will leave it there. Bike runs great and gives it a different look.
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