MikesXS Cables

[Uhlaf]

Well, it finally happened.

I had a trip to Kingston Ontario planned for today, taking off from work. Last night I checked the oil, the charging system, once over with a spanner, everything is awesome.

This morning I wake up, throw on my jacket, boots, gloves, helmet, backpack of clothes and tools. It's cold and dark. Warm up my bike and I take off. I fly down the sleepy streets;

2nd gear, the air is crisp through my jacket and against my throat,
3rd gear, I feel the rumble of the engine through the frame and grips,
4th gear, I slide back in my seat and my elbows tuck in
5th gear, didn't really happened because my clutch cable snaps at the perch.

Cue me on the side of the rode, running with my bike in neutral trying to get enough momentum to drop into first and limp home. Taking the bus to work and a train to kingston now

Thanks MikesXS!

 

[grizld1]

Nah, Uhlaf, the cable didn't snap--the end pulled off the wire!

Sorry your trip was spoiled, but if it's any consolation I got burned on that part as well some years back. The word's been out on that cable for a long time, as a fast search on this site will show. This is par for the course with Mike's--still selling a part with known defects. In this case the standard excuse that makers are so hard to find that Mike's has to take what they can get just doesn't hold up.

Motion Pro has what you need, and one of their cables will keep you in business for many years.

 

[650Skull]

Learn change gears with out using the clutch.

I have driven cars and bikes for hundreds of miles when this has happened to me. It is a learned art and as long as you don't try to push through the gears then there shouldn't be any damage done.

 

[grizld1]

Skull, that's fine advice if you're riding on roads or streets without a lot of stops, but in this part of the world we have things like traffic, stop signs, and signal lights to contend with. Clutchless shifts are all very fine, but a little of that run-and-bump action goes a very long way unless you're young and strong. It's a whole lot easier to carry a spare.

 

[650mark]

as pointed out so many times on this and other forums, most of mikes stuff is sub par so don't use his stuff for important systems on your bike. the stuff that will keep you running and get you home must be from name brand and reputable manufacturers and it's not much, if at all, more expensive than mikes stuff.

 

[650Skull]

very easy to make a general statement that twists the facts. Haven't heard bad things about the caliper rebuild kits, brake lines, (stainless or rubber), 750Kit, aftermarket calipers to name a few parts for important systems.

Yes, they do sell a lot of sub-par and unnecessary parts and there are a couple of threads that used to be regularly updated with their bad products.

Link to the thread

And Here

Another thing to remember is that some bad parts may be ok later when a new shipment comes in........said Maybe.........

 

[650mark]

no twisting the facts here. both of the caliper rebuild kits I bought from them leaked like a sieve, as did the braided steel front brake line. and, yes, I know how to correctly install those parts. trashed them for some quality parts and had no more leaks or problems. hey, everybody is welcome to buy what ever parts you feel comfortable with but I do not trust my life to the cheap "important" stuff that might get me stranded or killed. just not worth the risk to save a few bucks. cheers.

 

[650Skull]

You are the first, I know of, to bring that up. Never had any problems with the caliper rebuild kits and i know of others who have used them without problems. Have no experience with the Braided lines

 

[650mark]

turns out the problem with the caliper kits was poorly formed edges on the seals. they were "wavy" in spots and allowed fluid to pass. the problem with the brake lines was that the "adjustable banjo ends leaked as well. fortunately these issues showed up immediately after install,, in the shop, before the bike ever made it to the street.

 

[fredintoon]

If the cable's end don't turn freely in the lever that's where it's gonna fail.
Sure, an el-cheapo cable will fail easier than a good one but the cable is only one part of the system.
Clutch cable maintenance starts at the lever and ends at the pushrod, eh?
Back in the 1950s it was common practice to run spare cables next to the cables in use so if a cable failed you could do the swapover by the side of the road.

 

[grizld1]

Amen, Fred; but those cables from Mike's are prone to failure no matter what you do.

For you new guys--inspect the hole in the lever where the cable end seats. If it's out of round, the cable end won't turn freely, with the results that Fred notes. Also note that the OE cable end is covered by a piece of nylon to provide a slick bearing surface and prevent wear to the cable end and lever. If that's missing, you can fabricate a replacement from a small piece of nylon spiral wire wrap. And don't forget the grease.

 

[fredintoon]

- - - note that the OE cable end is covered by a piece of nylon to provide a slick bearing surface and prevent wear to the cable end and lever. If that's missing, you can fabricate a replacement from a small piece of nylon spiral wire wrap. And don't forget the grease.

Hi grizld,
when my bike's original clutch cable finally died last year (it only lasted 28 years, piece of OEM crap!) I defied my inner cheapskate and bought a GOOD (I believe it was a Motion Pro) replacement.
To find that the carefully saved nylon thingie wouldn't fit between the lever's cable hole and the new cable's full size cable end.
And yeah, I didn't forget the grease.

 

[grizld1]

Fred, it's been a lot of years since I bought a Motion Pro cable (took to making my own around 10 years ago and never looked back), but the OE nylon sleeve worked fine with it. I sure hope MP hasn't switched to bigger ends! That's the only grouse I have with MMM's Easy-Pull cable; the end is too fat to sleeve unless you enlarge the lever hole. The ends I buy from Flanders work fine.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Might as well stick this in here:

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showpost.php?p=334326&postcount=2

 

[Uhlaf]

Just an update, I couldn't get in contact with 650central and we've been getting a stunt of good weather so I splurged on another Mikes' XS cable to last me until the motion pro.

I received it this week and am happy to state that there is a vast quality difference between the cable I received and the cable that broke. The sheathing is heavier and of higher quality, there are some rubber do dabs that cover the elbow to wire sheath and there is a "made in japan" stamp on it. Odd.

Also my clutch feels amazing now in comparison, a very smooth and consistent pull. Don't get me wrong it's still a pull but it's less janky now.

I'm still going to get the Motion Pro but I'm thinking I may not have to.

Is it common for MikesXS to change quality like this?

 

[figure8]

Is it common for Mikes to be very inconsistent and hit or miss? Yes, yes it is. [emoji6]

 

[5twins]

Yes, every new shipment of a certain part can be different than the last, you just never know with Mike's. About 8 or 10 years ago, they used to sell nice good heavy clutch cables. Then they switched to a thinner cable that didn't hold up well at all. Some reported it breaking in as little as a few hundred miles. Maybe the word on that shit cable got around enough so that their clutch cable sales dropped drastically, lol. The real "tell" here is to check the inner wire cable diameter. A heavy good one will be about .098" in diameter. The bad skinny ones that broke quickly only have about a .078" cable diameter.

 

[fredintoon]

- - - I'm still going to get the Motion Pro but I'm thinking I may not have to. - - -

Hi Uhlaf,
any old-school biker will say "Oh yes you do!"
Having a spare cable, (and extremists will add:- taped next to the one in use) is the best guarantee the the in-use cable won't fail.