Clutch Cable Recommendations

[eithr]

Luckily, while close to home, last night, my clutch cable snapped. Mildly annoyed as the cable was recently replaced, only months ago. I think I may have used an NOS OEM cable, so I'm guessing the premature snappage may be due to the age of the piece.

The bike is a 1976 GT380. I see that Motion Pro makes replacement cables (available thru Bike Barn and Bike Bandit). Anyone have experience with this brand? Any other suppliers? Recommendations? The bike is set up with clubman bars at the moment, so I could probably use a shorter cable if available - thoughts, recommendations on shorter cables and fit?

Much thanks.

[BRP Tourer]

Only tip I have is don't but the cheapest cable you can find, they won't hold up. I recently bought a $9.00 cable for my Honda, never even got out of the driveway. Bought the factory Honda cable for twice the price, expect it will last. Surprised the Suzi cable didn't last, are you sure something is not binding? Make sure you have no tight bends.
I recall back in the day riding dirt bikes cables broke often. We used to keep a spare routed and taped to the one we were using for a quick fix on the trail.
Have you thought about using a cable for a different bike? Many use the same mounts and are only different in length. The main thing to watch for is how it attaches at the motor end, the lever end is pretty much universal. Perhaps a big sport bike (GSXR-1000) would have a heavier clutch and a shorter, stouter cable. Just a thought.

[eithr]

Thanks for the thoughts. Definitely trying to avoid the cheapest cables. Carrying a spare cable sounds like a good idea. I don't think the cable is binding. The failure occured at the hand lever; it appears that the head of the cable snapped off.

Is replacing cables relatively easy? I've not done this before. The previous cable was replaced by the shop. I'm hoping to 'man-up' and start doing more of the work on the bike. This project seems like a good next step.

Pursuant to finding a shorter cable, aside from just buying cables randomly and testing them for fit, is there a way to check fit before purchase? Has anyone else on the forum put a clubman bar set up on a GT380? Anyone else possibly swapped the stock cable for a shorter cable?

[tz375]

I'd clean up the end of the cable and then remove the inner. Shorten the outer with a Dremmel and cut-off wheel. Slip the inner back in and cut it to length. Buy a new end fitting from Flanders cables and solder it on.

Most cable breaks at the end are caused by the nipple binding in the lever. The cable flexes back and forth at the soldered edge and breaks. Make sure the cable end can rotate in the lever.

[eithr]

I'm planning to purchase a new cable, actually two new cables. I don't know that I trust my soldering skills, plus I like the idea of carrying a spare cable.

I sent an inquiry to barnettclutches.com to see about getting a custom length cable. Any suggestions on length? Or suggestions on how to determine a better length than the stock cable?

Thanks for the info about the possible reason for the cable failure. Could that be caused by the excessive length? This being my first time installing a clutch cable, what are some recommendations on how to determine if the cable will bind at the lever?

[Barry S.]

Most cable breaks at the end are caused by the nipple binding in the lever. The cable flexes back and forth at the soldered edge and breaks. Make sure the cable end can rotate in the lever.

Keep the end greased in the lever so it doesn't bind up and break the cable off.

[BRP Tourer]

As far as checking length... I suggest, pull the top end out of the perch that holds the lever, follow the cable down to the end that fits in the engine cover, make sure the cable runs smoothly with no sharp bends (it helps to take the tank off). Tie or tape the cable end to the bars where it will line up with the lever and perch, turn the bars back and forth to check it doesn't bind (too short) or have excess slop (too long). Depending on the style of bars and where the grips are positioned you may have to reroute it around the steering head different than factory to get it to not bind or droop when turning.
Once you have it routed properly, you can hold the cable housing up against the clutch perch and figure how much longer or shorter you want it. Then measure the old cable. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is trying to describe how to do it. I have found that simply rerouting the cable differently around the steering head can usually compensate for a cable that is somewhat too long or short.
I took the stock bars off my bike and replaced them with "superbike bend" bars which are shorter and have very little rise to them. This made the stock length cables too long. I just rerouted them in front of the triple tree instead of behind and they fit rather well.
Don't be afraid to dive into it. Bikes can be intimidating to a newbie wrench, but aren't really that complicated to do most common repairs. Tip#1, get a manual or 2, Tip#2, take your time and look at what you are doing before starting to rip and tear, Tip#3, take notes as you work. As you get more familiar with your machine, you will appreciate it more, and also won't feel so helpless if something goes wrong on the road.

[Scorch]

I just replaced my clutch cable. I went ahead and got one from Cycle Design, OEM. It really made a difference, the action is very smooth as compared to the old cable.

[eithr]

Any chance anyone has a visual tutorial for shortening a clutch cable at home? I think I have a soldering pencil from when I was a student (I went to art school). Theoretically, should I be able to buy a stock cable and just snip it to length and solder the head back on? Will that be as strong a bond as stock?

I haven't soldered anything in ten years, and then it was just wire sculptures, very small wire sculptures. I wouldn't have trusted those solder bonds to hold up to the stresses that my clutch cable faces.

[eithr]

With the shorter cable (ordering today, yay!) how should I route from the bars to the clutch? As is, the cable was routed from the bars, behind the headlight bucket, under the tank to the clutch actuator case. I'm wondering if that should be the same basic idea with the shorter cable. The longer cable would rest against the ram air unit and/or fins; I see some melt marks on the cable housing... probably want to avoid that, right?

[rbond]

You would be surprised at the ex-changeability between models for parts. My GT500 clutch cable broke at the lever like yours. I had a spare cable for a T250 and a GS400. The lengths were nearly the same and the adjuster at the bottom was identical. I put the GS400 cable on, lubed everything good and 'am back rolling!! Yes routing is easy and no melting housing is not good. Basically run it from the engine to the main backbone under the tank, zip tie loosely in two places. One above the tranny (under the tank) and the other just under the front of the tank, maybe passing it off to the right so that you get a gentle curve back to the left going to the handlebar lever. This routing may take up some of the slack for the shorter bars and won't bind it any. Test fitting of course will guide you on your particular setup.

[eithr]

Awesome. Thanks for the routing info. Any chance you have some pics? I'm a visual person, so seeing the routing is easier for me to understand. I like the zip tie idea; so the cable should be loosely secured to the spine of the frame, under the tank, but not between the spine and the tank, right?

I went ahead and ordered a stock spec cable and back-up from Motion Pro, along with some cable lube and cable luber contraption.

I made the mistake of pulling the cable away from the handlebars without paying attention to the routing... when I tried to put it back to check for needed length, for possible custom cable, I couldn't figure out a route that didn't have the cable too tight. Somehow the shop that installed the cable, previously, had it set up in such a way that there was a lot of slack in the cable under the tank swooping over the Ram Air cover.