Clutch snap-age

[Fare]

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I am in a bit of a bind...

I went out to ride my bike to someplace to get some lunch, after the bike warmed up a bit, i pull in the clutch to throw her into first and the clutch snaps.. no lunch for me i guess... well the bigger issue is that I am at work and thats 55+ miles away from home. it looks like snapped at the little-lock-in-metal-thingy. Is theres a quick fix or should I call for help?

theres a couple other bikers where I work, so I'll see if anyone can help me.


P.S. I guess its good that this happened before I took off, what would have happened if that happen, oh at highway speeds?

 

[spindle]

Not sure what kind of traffic you have to deal with. I've ridden home 50 miles with a broke clutch cable. Most of it was highway. You really only need the clutch for take off. Use neutral to come to a stop. Turn the engine off, when the light turns green, start the bike in gear. No it's not something you want to do very many times and yes it's a little hard on the clutch. But unless you have another way to get the bike home it'll get you there. Hope this helps.

Thanks,

 

[Fare]

the joys of having old bikes...

It appears that no where near my work has them in stock. I am new to motorcycles (640 miles as my thing on the odometer says) so I don't feel comfortable ruining my clutch...

never a dull moment...

 

[nabrams]

Been there, done that.
Yes, you can ride home. Just make sure to be in neutral before you come to a stop. Once stopped, the fun begins. Here's the drill for getting the bike going again: Push the bike with your feet till it's rolling at 5 MPH and then put into first gear. Now you can ride the bike "as usual" except that you'll up-shift without clutching at about 3K-4K RPM (depending on the gear) and down-shift at 1500-2000 RPM (depending on the gear).

 

[focus frenzy]

Not sure what kind of traffic you have to deal with. I've ridden home 50 miles with a broke clutch cable. Most of it was highway. You really only need the clutch for take off. Use neutral to come to a stop. Turn the engine off, when the light turns green, start the bike in gear. No it's not something you want to do very many times and yes it's a little hard on the clutch. But unless you have another way to get the bike home it'll get you there. Hope this helps.

Thanks,

harder on the starter than is is on a clutch thats engaged and not slipping. coordination is key to make smooth shifts up and down without the clutch. I have done it as well.
it is always a good idea to have a baby vice grip tool stashed on the bike someplace, you can screw in all the cable adjustment and lock the vice grip on the end through the barrel hole and nurse home that way.

99% of cable failures is the end coming off.

get a factory replacement cable, after market cables are not remotely as reliable or long lasting and the price difference is not that much.

 

[Fare]

thanks for the advise, and if i was doing 10-15 miles, i might consider it, but rush hour (where highways turn into parking lots) for 50 miles (where it is nerve racking at my inexperience level as it is) would be...um...bad?

serves me right for riding to work TT (first time I did it too...)

 

[Jethro]

No one can help you unless they have a spare clutch cable for a 1981 GS1000G on them. After breaking my 3rd clutch cable I always travel with a spare on the bike. Barring that, if you can get your hands on a set of vice grips, clamp the end of the cable and route it so that you can pull the cable while you shift.

But I have ridden many a mile with no clutch. Get it in neutral, start it up and push your bike like you are going to roll start it, jump on and drop it into gear. If you come to a stop light that you just can't run (which is what I usually did) try and get it into neutral again. Sometimes you can rev it up and power slam the bike into 1st gear from a dead stop- but be careful!