I recently learned from a book by Steve Wilson entitled “Down the Road”, why modern bikes Monza fuel caps open backwards towards the rider.

When I was in my teens, in the 60s, Monza caps opened towards the front wheel i.e. hinged at the front.  This allowed the rider to flip the cap up and see what fuel was left, no fuel gauges in those days.

For racers the cap could be flipped up when coming into the pits to save time.   For ordinary mortals it was also much easier when filling up. 

It was argued around late 60s early 70s that in the event of a crash, the cap could fly open and fuel could splash out onto the rider.  Norton adopted the rear hinging type to prevent this possibility and to avoid any potential legal claims as some had been submitted.

This rear hinged fuel cap persists on bikes to this day, all because of early health & safety and fear of litigation.

This completely ignores the probability that in the event of a serious crash the tank may get split anyway, so the petrol could go anywhere and also the fact that most caps are locked shut.

At least I now have an explanation for something that`s been puzzling me for a while.

Old codger