First Ride Ruined

I had this problem twice in the last two years and I dont do much mileage. Last month I had a close look. Could see naught amiss. But
as I pulled the lever in, I could see and hear the barrel catching and releasing, juddering, as the lever moved. It had lube and was new.
So off to the discards box and pulled out a tired looking lever. Installed and like magic, no juddering just a smooth movement of the barrel
on the end of the cable.
Take a look at the lever - barrel hole. Maybe ream it just a bit to make sure the surface is smooth and true, both top of the working area
and the bottom as the barrel middle doesnt touch just the top and bottom so make sure both surfaces are touching.

Tornado said:

Lost the barrel part that sits on the lever opening to trap the nipple.

Click to expand...

Tornado said:

Just checked the parts schematic at AN....no "barrel" thingie in the lever....just nipple fits there.

Click to expand...

'Alloy lever' cables I've bought from Venhill have had the 6mm barrel and nylon sleeve which doesn't require lubrication, not the full-size metal barrel which must rotate within the lever, therefore, must be lubricated.
https://www.venhill.co.uk/cables-amp-components/n10-nylon-nipple-sleeve-38in-od-n10.html

Solderless nipples can be useful to 'get you home'.
https://www.cable-shop.nl/contents/en-uk/d2.html

concours said:

huh?
Light it up, duck paddle, stuff it into gear, rev match the rest of them & make your way home.

throttle cables are a pain....

Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with that approach.

Triton Thrasher said:

Yes. Ride it home, don’t push it.

Click to expand...

Fellers, the man said he pushed it.

If you can smash it home more power to ya, personally wouldn't take the chance in stop and go.

I wouldn't push a bike with the clutch cable snapped mate
Just start it up ,get it moving and snick it through the gears it's fine

concours said:

huh?
Light it up, duck paddle, stuff it into gear, rev match the rest of them & make your way home.

throttle cables are a pain....

Click to expand...

I've gotten home without a clutch cable a few times. Throttle cable only twice, but still managed (no, it WASN'T easy!)

grandpaul said:

I've gotten home without a clutch cable a few times. Throttle cable only twice, but still managed (no, it WASN'T easy!)

Click to expand...

That' s one good reason to keep the choke cable assembly on your bars , you can easily switch them on carbs , and go for a fun ride with the choke lever acting as throttle .........funny , yes it is !

I just tied the cable in a knot, reached under the tank, and tugged gently on the cable at the top of the carb. One carb was enough to get me home.

L.A.B. said:

'Alloy lever' cables I've bought from Venhill have had the 6mm barrel and nylon sleeve which doesn't require lubrication, not the full-size metal barrel which must rotate within the lever, therefore, must be lubricated.
https://www.venhill.co.uk/cables-amp-components/n10-nylon-nipple-sleeve-38in-od-n10.html

Solderless nipples can be useful to 'get you home'.
https://www.cable-shop.nl/contents/en-uk/d2.html

Click to expand...

Every now and then I put a little dab of soft synthetic grease or similar on the last bit of cable right at the lever, just to keep things slippery thru the perch.
It's probably not needed, but it was recommended somewhere in the Venhills literature.
One can lube the lever pivot at the same time with the same grease.

Glen

I failed to properly re-torque the head on my '71, back in '72; felt a loss of power and reached for the reserve tap (on the right), I saw a tongue of flame coming from between the head and barrel licking the fuel line. That one I had to push. I've only had one clutch cable fail, pushed it to a slight hill and rode home, I gave thought to a route where stopping would be more of a dice roll rather than a certainty, got real lucky and got home. Checking cable condition got added to my pre-ride check since then.

Cable condition should be part of a pre-ride check along with tire pressure, chain adjustment/lube, fuel lines, fastener torque, oil levels. At my age I'm thinking (when I can) about making a written check list. I do have AMA, AAA motorcycle pickup insurance, several credit cards and a cell phone as a back-up plan...

Best

marinatlas said:

That' s one good reason to keep the choke cable assembly on your bars , you can easily switch them on carbs , and go for a fun ride with the choke lever acting as throttle .........funny , yes it is !

Click to expand...

I did that through rush hour traffic in Wellington NZ on my ES2, certainly keeps you focussed on the task at hand.

L.A.B. said:

'Alloy lever' cables I've bought from Venhill have had the 6mm barrel and nylon sleeve which doesn't require lubrication, not the full-size metal barrel which must rotate within the lever, therefore, must be lubricated.
https://www.venhill.co.uk/cables-amp-components/n10-nylon-nipple-sleeve-38in-od-n10.html

Solderless nipples can be useful to 'get you home'.
https://www.cable-shop.nl/contents/en-uk/d2.html

Click to expand...

Took a look at the old cable that came with bike/fitted to Hirider bars so a long one. Not Venhill, quite a bit thinner overall. But it does have what looks like teflon or maybe white nylon sleeve over the lever end nipple. Will try trasnferring that end on to the remains of the broken Venhill....

Tornado said:

Took a look at the old cable that came with bike/fitted to Hirider bars so a long one. Not Venhill, quite a bit thinner overall. But it does have what looks like teflon or maybe white nylon sleeve over the lever end nipple. Will try trasnferring that end on to the remains of the broken Venhill....

Click to expand...

Why not use the Hi-Rider inner cable and shorten/resolder the nipple at the gearbox end?

Edit: Or, just shorten the complete Hi-Rider cable?

L.A.B. said:

Why not use the Hi-Rider inner cable and shorten/resolder the nipple at the gearbox end?

Edit: Or, just shorten the complete Hi-Rider cable?

Click to expand...

Yup that's an option...but I do like the heavier duty Venhill with teflon line inner. Plus if I can fit the other nipple on the broken end in situ, no need to remove the tank to re-route the whole cable (I've just filled the tank up).

Don't forget that teflon cable end cylinders at the lever and inner teflon cable linings call for no petroleum based lubrication. You can purchase teflon based sprays if only necessary. The gearbox end nipple never receives enough lube. That's why I use Redline Red.

Mine likes to break further from home. Last time I lost the adjuster... headed home running a few stop signs through the rural fruit farm countryside thinking about how I was going to get thru the lights and across the Welland Canal. Came up to a Tim Horton's, killed it grabbed a coffee and called for the CAA Bike Rescue trailer. If it does it again I'll play with the clutch plate stack heights and see if I reduce the pull. Made it halfway back.

marinatlas said:

That' s one good reason to keep the choke cable assembly on your bars , you can easily switch them on carbs , and go for a fun ride with the choke lever acting as throttle .........funny , yes it is !

Click to expand...

How we got back to NOLA from Biloxi, MS once. VERY interesting to say the least.

OK got the hirider nipple off and moved it onto the remains of Venhill cable. I followed cable methods shown in many of Lunmad's videos where he splays the ends of cable to mushroom it on outermost side of nipple hole. I did need to drill out hole to accommodate the thicker Venhill cable. Lots of flux and a little heat from propane torch and filling with solder. Slipped the teflon sleeve over the nipple and refit to lever. It rotates nicely when operating lever. I think this may be where failure came from, insufficient lube or perhaps some out of round wear or a burr making cable bend repeatedly leading to strand fatigue.

Newly fettled cable holding up while out on a more successful shakedown run. Did an hour or so around town and some bits of 70 mph work. Changes since last season include new timing chain (tensioned via the OldBrits bracketry tool); glassed oil pump body with new seals; De-sludged oil tank; 7" headlamp shell (old original stock off ebay) to swap out the HiRider 5 3/4" unit; DT Headsteady rose joints (no MKIII spring thingie just yet); Re-sleeved original Amals (Bruce Chessel's handy work).
Had quite some trouble dialing in the carbs. Seemed to want the air screws in quite a bit than standard 1 1/2 turns starting point. Particularly the the left side...which seems to like only 1/3-1/2 a turn out from closed. Most likely will need to take it apart and get medieval on that pilot jet. Sprayed fine on the bench prior to installing on bike.

Noted the DT Steady was in contact with the repo tank at the rose joint heads. I'd put down a bit of anti-friction tape (UHMW plastic tape) to protect the metal. I could detect some slight knocking/rattling at times. Need to fettle the tank metal a wee bit for clearance. Otherwise, I can state the steady has certainly all but eliminated the 2200-2500 vibration antinode. Didn't get to try any high speed corning nor a stretch of grooved pavement on a highway overpass that always tends to wiggle the back end harshly....