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Broken clutch cable on a group ride!

W

wilsonsandy07

Forum Mentor
1982 GS1100e, 14k

Hey yall,

So like the title says, my dang clutch cable snapped at the lever side while i was on a group ride with a couple buddies.

supposed to be about 2 hours out, pretty sweet Upstate NY back roads with some nice twists and turns, good mix of straights as well. super light traffic once we got out of the populated towns we started near. had two more experienced riders and two not. kept up through the twisties with the kawi 400rr and the Mt-07 pretty well too and absolutely dusted them on the straights lol.

anyways about 1,5 hours in we were pulling over to check something out and when i pulled in my clutch i felt it, i got it into neutral and pulled it again and she was gone. luckily we were right by a little hill road that dropped into the back road so i got some speed in neutral and popped her into gear, got about another 30 minutes quick shifting, but then we hit another little town and a bunch of lights and stop signs and after some......sketchy....decisions eventually had to stop her in a parking lot.

after not being able to find a cable anywhere at a few different shops nearby, tried to rig her up with some fishing gear that actually fit into the lever perfectly, but i didnt hace enough exposed cable even with the thing maxed out length. ended up having to trailer her home :(

all in all, still a fun ride, and the new cable comes in today and i got a back up just in case im gunna keep under the seat lol.
 
A real PITA, welcome to the real world... Being optimistic, a lot worse things can happen, glad things got sorted.
 
My clutch cable snapped one time at the lever and I was able to use a pair of vice grips and a few zip ties to hold it onto the lever, it worked for several hundred miles until the new cable arrived!
 
There's always a way! This was from Brown County a few years ago!
FN7uJTl.jpeg
 
What a bummer end to a day riding with buddies. There have been some clever improvisation, like Lab3 mentioned, involving vice grips and such. Sometimes clamped onto the clutch arm. I've had two cables snap on me, both times near home though. On multi state rides, I carry spare cables now. Replacing aging cables before they break let's me keep used ones on hand for those just in case moments. Maybe a buddy will need one if I don't, who knows.
 
Burque73 said:
What a bummer end to a day riding with buddies. There have been some clever improvisation, like Lab3 mentioned, involving vice grips and such. Sometimes clamped onto the clutch arm. I've had two cables snap on me, both times near home though. On multi state rides, I carry spare cables now. Replacing aging cables before they break let's me keep used ones on hand for those just in case moments. Maybe a buddy will need one if I don't, who knows.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you saved this poor soul that day! Now I carry spare throttle and clutch cables for all my bikes in my tail bag.:cool:
 
When you fit the new cable fit two and cable tie the spare to the one “in use” and just tuck the ends back on the other.
when one goes the other is ready for action….

another trick is to coil it and put 3 or 4 cable ties on it. If you get the coil diameter right it’s a perfect fit inside the back of the headlamp bucket…. Bit more work to fit than the other option on the road though. :)
 
Last edited:
salty_monk said:
When you fit the new cable fit two and cable tie the spare to the one “in use” and just tuck the ends back on the other.
when one goes the other is ready for action….

another trick is to coil it and put 3 or 4 cable ties on it. If you get the coil diameter right it’s a perfect fit onside the back of the headlamp bucket…. Bit more work to fit that the other option on the road though. :)
Click to expand...

this is a dope idea, im actually going to do that so i dont have to worry about it.
 
For years I carried one around inside the headlamp bucket.... never needed it though. :)
 
You can free up some cable length by yoinking the ferrule off, slicing and peeling some of the vinyl covering off, then unwinding some of the metal spiral of the cable housing. Break off the excess and you can easily free up an inch or two of cable. On most bikes you can weasel out a bit of slack, or you might need to re-route the cable a bit to make it work.

One reason this happens is because the hole in the lever wears into an egg shape that grips the round cable end and forces it to flex. Unless you replace the lever as well as the cable, you'll often be right back where you started pretty soon.

Also, most aftermarket levers are soft, cheesy junk that wears out quickly. If you can get them, new OEM levers are worth it every time.
 
I'm thinking the hole in the lever "should" be kept lubed... I know of nobody that does that.
 
In Italy I use this one in the photo, cable for Piaggio Vespa Classic, 100% perfect on the handlebars. And cable with internal Teflon sheath. and I always keep a supply in the queue. It costs much less than the original, never a problem. If it breaks on the road, replace it in two minutes
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In the early 80s, on my first coast to coast ride, I was in upstate New York ant thought I broke a clutch cable. I kept going but in Geneva, NY there was a little electrical fire. My heated vest wire got pinched and shorted to the frame. When stopped, I could see a hole in the clutch adjustment cover. The clutch pull rod bearing had seized. The pull rod broke and shot out through the cover. I got a motel near lake Geneva. There was a Royal Enfield specialist not far. Just outside the town where the Mormon religion started. I put duct tape on the hole and rode it up to the RE shop. I owned a 1968 750 Interceptor later, but what are the chances?. We wrenched on it a bit and saw the problem. Parts were ordered from a huge warehouse in Xenia Ohio. I thumbed back to the hotel. There was a IMSA GTP race at Watkins Glenn, so I endeavored to thumb over there. Paid the money and hot in. Sneaked into the pits. Those 962s had pretty lumpy fiberglass bodywork. surprising. The Canadian guy who picked me up hitching returned my to the hotel. Parts showed up and I thumbed to the bard where Royal Enfields were repaired. The RE guy had tigged up the crack and hole in the Trident clutch adjustment cover. In a Trident/Rocket 3 the right hand case is the primary chain. It is a wet case. The clutch is a singly plate dry clutch I think from a Mini its between the wet trans and the set primary case. Anyway, It was repaired mostly by me using his tools, and I was on my way until AZ where it was over 100 degrees. I took off my leather jacket and bungied it to the seat. on a bumpy road the jacket got loose. It wrapped around the rear disc and crushed it. It also bent the rim. It literally broke the bolt holes off the caliper too. The bike made it to the west coast without a rear brake. Turns out I use the rear brake more than I thought I did. Especially at gas stations and parking lots. Anyway, fun times. With an electric starter a broken clutch cable usually is inconvenient for sure.
 
Broke clutch cable on a Z650, less than two years old, a hundred miles from home in November rain.
The bike had a kick start so at least.....
Stopped at the fifty mile mark for a much needed hot coffee.
Sign on the door said no Bikers served!
I was in no mood. The kid at the bar tried his best to enforce company policy but I explained that I was an astronaut and had just landed out the back.
That seemed to be okay and got a few smiles from the patrons :)
Last year I broke the cable on the R1100R. That required a whole different strategy to get home.
 
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