Clutch cable broke this morning....

[mrpink]

Got on the bike this morning to go to work, started up like usual, backing it out of the garage, had the clutch pulled and the bike in gear, no problems. Let the clutch out half way to stop from hitting my wifes car while rolling back, worked fine. Went to pull the clutch back in and heard a pop. The cable pulled out of the barrel retainer on the hand control. Shifted into a neutral just fine and I pushed it back into the garage- took the truck to work.

Got home, pulled the clutch hand control off, popped the barrel retainer out- it snapped in half right down the center. Got to thinking about why this would have happened, got the clutch cable in some vise grips, it seems like it will not pull at all. The cable "seems" free... I have put almost 1000 miles on the bike this season already without any issues.

My questions are. Should I be able to operate the clutch by pulling on the steel cable (the outer portion was in the holder on the bars). If all I need is a new barrel retainer, that seems like a pretty simple fix- is it? Could my clutch be locked up? What else can I check before tearing the cover off?

Thanks.




p!nK

 

[pyroman]

The LEVER gives You lots of LEVERAGE, off the pivot point to operate the clutch. Replace the cable and You should be good to go.

 

[5twins]

Let me guess ..... MikesXS cable?

 

[alfredo]

This thread scares the shit out of me. What are you guys using as the reliable cable?

 

[retiredgentleman]

650central.com sells the E-Z Pull clutch cable. The E-Z is 0.098" while the one that Mikesxs sells is 0.080". The E-Z works great and I trust it will not break on me.

 

[alfredo]

650central.com sells the E-Z Pull clutch cable. The E-Z is 0.098" while the one that Mikesxs sells is 0.080". The E-Z works great and I trust it will not break on me.

Thanks! Going to put an order in asap!

 

[aldo5468]

+1 for the E-Z Pull cable from 650 Central - I put one on my '82 SJ a year ago and have no difficulty in adjusting the clutch properly or finding neutral.

 

[gggGary]

Motion pro cables have treated me well. LUBE your new cable. Odds are pretty good lack of lube is what made the old one break. Create a funnel out of tape around the top of the cable, pour some oil in the funnel hang the cable somewhere, when oil shows up as drips from the other end of the cable install it. Lube your throttle cable too. Throttle cables tend to fray and break at the handle end.

 

[generallee]

I have heard you use graphite lube for cables is this true? I picked some up the other day made by PB blaster.

 

[5twins]

I use the special graphite stuff on my speedo and tach cables. For normal cables, I like just plain motor oil. That spray cable lube doesn't work well at all in my opinion. Yes, it lubes the cable for the moment but is gone in a few days.

 

[gggGary]

I have tried a bunch of stuff it's all better than dry and rusty! Funnel, oil and just a smidgen of patience is good. Advantage of a power luber is that with something like PB blaster it will snot a bunch of rust and guck out of the cable then use oil which hangs around longer. Repeat every other year or so. For a warm weather bike the white grease aerosol is a reasonable lube too.

 

[retiredgentleman]

I use the graphite lubricant on all my cables.

 

[mrpink]

It was a factory cable, as far as I know. I have lubed it once before.

The cable did not break, the barrel retainer snapped in half.

I am ordering a ez cable from 650 central on monday, gonna try and rig something up for in the meantime.



p!nK

 

[mrpink]

Fixed it with a 1/4" tension pin, cut in half, brazed onto the cable end. It will get me by until I can get one sent from 650 Central.




p!nK

 

[cros36]

i got mine from mikes, dont plan on going very far on them. the clutch cable looks allright, but im scared to pull the throttle.