Clutch Cable Maitenance

Along with the 360 degree workaround, it is a good idea to inspect cables regularly. Two clutch cables of my recent acquittance have brought this point home to me rather bluntly.

The first belonged to a '99 Suzuki SV650 which I was working on to sell. The bike had been sitting for a while and the clutch required significant renewing. That particular bike requires the cable to be adjusted in two steps involving a screw and locknut adjustment at the hub and an angle measurement at the linkage. Even though I knew the clutch pack was fully functional I could never get the bike running up to my standards of rideablity. It was finally suggest to me that the clutch cable could be the culprit, being ten years old and having endured 33,000 miles moderately hard riding. I shopped around for a good deal on an OEM cable and purchased it. Before I could install it however, I sold the bike to another local wrench and gave him the parts. He reports the cable replacement solved the problem.

The second cable was on my '99 BMW R1100R and it failed in a similarly subtle way. Now matter how many times I adjusted it, or tweezed on it. the clutch would just not sound or behave quite like I know an oilhead clutch should. This went on for weeks until finally on the way home from MMI a few days ago the lever just went to mush as I exited the freeway for home.



Broken Clutch Cable, something every rider should be prepared for.

Careful examination of the mechanism at the handlebar revealed that due to wear or improper instillation the cable had failed one or two strands at a time over a period of weeks, and when it finally got bad enough to collapse it was hanging on by a mere two strands. Fortunately there was a suitable replacement on hand. I would like to use some of the details of the installation process to pass along a couple of general tips about cable replacement.





Handlebar clutch assembly covered with 30k+ miles of coastal and desert mucky muck.

First, do not just replace the cable, but take the opportunity to service the entire assembly. Clean and degrease all the parts on both ends of the system and apply fresh lubricant on the cable and everywhere metal, meets metal-particularly where cables bend. You will be surprised at the increase in rideability if you take this step.



Make sure to leave the old cable in place as a guide for correctly installing and routing the new one

Secondly, do not remove the old cable until you have the new one ready to install. Use the old cable as a guide for correct routing, placement and tie-down. Cable routing is extremely important for the proper operation of the machine and the longevity of parts. Not to mention the safety of the rider.

Follow these tips and you will have a much happier and safer machine plus a more satisfying ride.

Repairing Plastic

All motorcyclist know that horrifying sound of expensive plastic breaking. Replacements for fairings, painted body parts, boxes, etc. are extremely high. Thanks to my partners brief career working in a Hollywood special effects model shop, she knows a lot about bonding plastics, and this is our second successful experiment using non-standard techniques to repair plastic motorcycle parts.

This project came out of the need to replace the hinges in a Honda Trunk box that was still serviceable, but pretty battered. We had experimented before with bonding plastic using fiberglass repair fabric and Cold Weld with excellent results. Unfortunately, none of those materials was at hand so our special effects expert suggested just a piece of stout plastic and Gorilla Glue.

We obtained the needed bonding/re-enforcement piece from a common laundry soap bottle.



After some further sizing and cutting, the bonding surfaces of both the box under repair and the re-enforcement piece of bottle were roughed up using a medium grit Dremel sander. Then carefully wetted, glue applied, and clamped.



We probably could have used another clamp or two but were able to make due with some household tape. Once dried the bond was strong and has survived a week of normal, commuter, in and out service with no signs of weakening.



The hinges are proving to be a different story. Keep your eyes open for the rest of the story.