Clutch Cable Replacement

[Turtleface]

So, went out for a nice evening ride tonight. Got about thirty feet away from the house, to the stop sign at the end of the street. Started to slowly release the clutch, and it suddenly snapped to the handlebar, and stayed there. I had obviously just eaten a clutch cable. Thankfully, it was really close the house, and all I did was kill the engine from the sudden clutch engagement. Successful first mechanical failure! Successful in that I didn't break anything else, or injure myself.

So, I've (hopefully) located a replacement cable, locally. Motion Pro, one of the lower end cables. Something like a 12-15 bucks. Anyone have any experience with these cables? I'm fairly sure the cable I have (had?) is original. Looks like the ball end that sticks into the lever wasn't greased well enough, and cause a binding issue that lead to stretching of the cable.

I was curious as to the amount of work involved in replacing this cable? My bike is a 1982 GS 1100 EZ. Can I swing it without having to remove anything terribly major? I've not worked on a motorcycle before, but have tons of experience on other machines. It's disconnected from the transmission end, and the handlebar end. The cable seems to be routed underneath the gas tank, but I'm not terribly sure. I've given it a few tentative tugs, but is seems like it's being held back by something. I figured I'd check with the internets before I go doing something I really shouldn't.

[Turtleface]

Hah, old one came out with a little more pulling. Just had to overcome the coefficient of drag from being bundled with a bunch of other cables. Now that I see how easy this is, I feel sorta foolish. When routing the new cable, tomorrow, I should just follow the factory routing, right? Or can I use whatever routing I want, so long as I use large radii for the bends, and don't let the cable get caught in any moving parts?

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. Turtleface,

Good work. Unless you have a compelling reason to change it, I would use the factory routing as described in your manual. It's not hard to remove your gas tank, just one or two bolts by the seat and it lifts off. That should be all you need to get the cable back on.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[teet]

Hah, old one came out with a little more pulling. Just had to overcome the coefficient of drag from being bundled with a bunch of other cables. Now that I see how easy this is, I feel sorta foolish. When routing the new cable, tomorrow, I should just follow the factory routing, right? Or can I use whatever routing I want, so long as I use large radii for the bends, and don't let the cable get caught in any moving parts?

Basscliff is right on with his advice. I would also add.....make sure not to over tighten the nuts on the engine end of the cable. Ive seen a few broken castings where folks have gotten a tad overzealous with the wrench.

I'm assuming your bike has the sort of open threaded casting for adjustment on the engine? My 79 Gs1000 does...

Should be an easy swap..just remember where you pulled the old one out, and try to get the new one as close as possible, when your done, move the bars around, and feel to see if the clutch is binding at all, if so you may need to reroute.

I rerouted mine when I installed new bars, and whenever I turned my bars to the right, my clutch would engage. Not good while riding to loose power to the wheel while turning. I learned my lesson, and check for binding now.

Piece of cake!

Jeff (teet)

[Turtleface]

Thanks for the quick replies. I've got a copy of the Suzuki service manual, complete with the additions for the later models, so I've got a nice routing diagram for cables. I'll just stick to that. Thanks for the tip on binding in turns, the bars on the bike aren't stock, so there may be issues there, but as they're lower rather than higher, I don't anticipate anything huge.

[Guest]

I just put a new one on mine last weekend. I tried to tape the new to the old ends together and fish it but it just wasn't having it. The previous one was only 3 years (and few miles) old when it popped. Forutnatly it was near home and my beater with a heater is always equiped for foolishness.

The cable that just busted was installed by a bud that happened to be riding it 3 years ago. I don't know where he got it, but the one I just bought looks better. The one I just put on cost a little more but it was NOS from BBandit. It has a nylon clip intergrated in to the handle end of the cable. It looks like a great idea to allow ease of slip/movement without direct strain on the cable end. It also has a light spring at the working end under the rubber boot, but it's not real clear what it is for. It was a little adjustment here and there, but now we're back on the road.

[Turtleface]

Thanks Yasser. The cable I broke looks just like the one you bought from BBandit. Same spring and clip. And I just got an email from BBandit letting me know I've got forty bucks to spend with them. Wooo!