Venhill Cables no longer require lubrication

I'm about to order some for the first time and have been reading old threads on the subject here. In 2011 there was discussion of the lube question and a quote was provided from the Venhill site. The recommendation was for 3 in 1 oil to be used as cable lubricant and copper grease to be used on the nipples.
According to current FAQ on the Venhill site, no lubrication at all is needed for the cables, although the recommendation for copper grease on the nipples is still in place.
No maintenance items are hard to find on an old bike, so this will be a treat!

I wonder if these cables will hang up when used in wet conditions as my nylon throttle cables used to do? I ended up changing those out for some universal type standard cables.

Glen

I wonder if these cables will hang up when used in wet conditions as my nylon throttle cables used to do? I ended up changing those out for some universal type standard cables.

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Only if you totally immerse them for hours and then dry out. My Venhill clutch outer had chafed through against the battery box/oil tank and a 2 hour ride through torrential rain and 4" of water filled the cable. It was fine till the next day when it had almost seized. Some oil flushed out the rubbish and strangely it's been fine every since. I expected to replace it later but has now done another 20k miles with no further lubrication and is still smooth and light.

worntorn said:

I'm about to order some for the first time and have been reading old threads on the subject here. In 2011 there was discussion of the lube question and a quote was provided from the Venhill site. The recommendation was for 3 in 1 oil to be used as cable lubricant and copper grease to be used on the nipples.According to current FAQ on the Venhill site, no lubrication at all is needed for the cables, although the recommendation for copper grease on the nipples is still in place.

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"No lubrication" applies to the Venhill 'Featherlite' (Teflon lined) cables. Not all cables supplied by Venhill are Featherlite.

http://www.venhill.co.uk/Hoses_&_Cables ... cle/NORTON

I am only speculating here, but I would say lubing a teflon lined cable would only shorten its life. The lube will collect dirt. I have not lubed my teflon lined Venhill clutch cable for 7 years, so far, so good.

According to this article, all of their cables are now made to the Featherlight spec, although in the link Les provided it appears that only some of the Norton cables are Featherlight.

On edit: I phoned Venhill and it turns out that the news item is correct. All cables are now made in Featherlight, however the web pages have not yet been changed to reflect this.

Keith, it sounds as though the moisture problem on your Venhill cable only occurred because of the damage then? With my nylon lined cables, the moisture problem cropped up after two solid days of riding in rain, I guess enough water made it's way down the cable end or in tru the junction block to swell the nylon. After this happened twice I changed the cables to standard, no problem since.



http://www.venhill.co.uk/News/Featherli ... nhill.html



It was this post from pvisseriii about the need to lube the teflon lined cables that had me wondering. Pvisseriii, you don't need to do this with the teflon lined cables, in fact they are better off dry! I believe the information below was only meant for the non Featherlight Venhills, now a thing of the past.
quote="pvisseriii"]Venhill Document
"MAINTENANCE
Cable maintenance is essential to prolong the life of the cable and maintain the operation of the cable.

• Road bikes – At the beginning and end of the summer, remove the cables and flush through with
WD40. Once clean, lubricate the cable with a light 3 in 1 general purpose oil and lubricate nipples
where required with Copper grease. Note barrel nipples must be free to rotate in the lever blade.

Do not use heavy engine oils, chain lubricants or grease to lubricate cables as this will attract dirt,
increase cable wear and reduce the operation of the cable. Remember: Cables are a service item and
should be replaced at regular intervals. If you are in any doubt about replacing or installing a cable
please consult you’re nearest qualified motorcycle mechanic."[/quote]


Glen

worntorn said:

It was this post from pvisserrelli about the need to lube the teflon lined cables that had me wondering. Pvisserrelli, you don't need to do this with the teflon lined cables, in fact they are better off dry! I believe the information below was only meant for the non Featherlight Venhills, now a thing of the past.

Glen

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Thanks Glen,
Yes, I see that now. It would be nice if they weren't to lazy to add that info the their product description rather than have to look for it is some cryptic location. It's a little misleading.

That would also go along with what I said about not lubing Teflon washers in ISO's, contradicting what is mentioned in the manuals.

I guess I might want to flush out my featherlight cables now. That will give me something to do while waiting for my valve spring kit to arrive.

It was all a bit confusing, even when getting the info over the phone. For example, on the Norton web page there are two different " Featherlight throttle to junction cables" listed for one model of Commando. I pointed this out to the sales rep, however she wasn't sure why two listings were there.
She did assure me that all of the cables listed as non featherlite will be made up as featherlite. So in time the website will reflect this.
Price was very good, two Venhill clutch cables for the price of one nylon lined clutch cable at Old Britts. And based on my negative experience with the nylon lined cables and the good reports here on Venhills Teflon lined cables, the Venhill are probably a superior product.

Gleb

Keith, it sounds as though the moisture problem on your Venhill cable only occurred because of the damage then? With my nylon lined cables, the moisture problem cropped up after two solid days of riding in rain, I guess enough water made it's way down the cable end or in tru the junction block to swell the nylon.

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Correct. I'm still surprised that it still works so well despite the original damage, water ingress and subsequent lubing. In fact I only oiled it to keep it going while I got a replacement, which I never did. I've never been out in such heavy rain since so it hasn't been tested. I didn't realise nylon can absorb water like that, bit of a weak point?

Oil is needed to prevent the spiral outer sleeve from rusting.

Yes, nylon actually get more slippery when water is added, so that part is good, however it also swells, which did not work out so well for my throttle cable. Lots of fun coming into town with a fully laden bike, two up plus gear, rpm stuck at about 2500 and heavy traffic with stop lights every couple of blocks! :cry:

Glen

concours said:

Oil is needed to prevent the spiral outer sleeve from rusting.

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According to Venhill, no lube is needed or recommended.

Glen

worntorn said:

concours said:

Oil is needed to prevent the spiral outer sleeve from rusting.

Click to expand...

According to Venhill, no lube is needed or recommended.

Glen

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I saw it in the first post. Problem is, I'm old, been fixing machinery all my life. Unless they're using stainless steel, and they're not, the no lube needed is valid only of you NEVER wash the bike, NEVER got caught in the rain and NEVER left it outdoors overnight. I can't claim responsibility, Neil Young told us rust never sleeps.

http://www.holeshot.com/chemicals/cablelife_prod.html

concours said:

worntorn said:

concours said:

Oil is needed to prevent the spiral outer sleeve from rusting.

Click to expand...

According to Venhill, no lube is needed or recommended.

Glen

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I saw it in the first post. Problem is, I'm old, been fixing machinery all my life. Unless they're using stainless steel, and they're not, the no lube needed is valid only of you NEVER wash the bike, NEVER got caught in the rain and NEVER left it outdoors overnight. I can't claim responsibility, Neil Young told us rust never sleeps.

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The Featherlite cables have a Teflon liner and stainless steel inner cable (except brake inner cables which are galvanised steel) according to the Venhill onfo.

The Teflon liner forms a complete barrier between the inner cable and outer sleeve, so rust can't spread from the outer sleeve to the cable, and lubricant injected into the cable will not reach the outer sleeve, so would not prevent it rusting.

In the case of teflon lined cables the teflon IS the lubricant.

Does this extend to their tac and speedo cables? I'm about to install mine and noticed the speedo one says grease inner cable sparingly. I've had them for a bit though. I might be inclined to get the new ones, if it means I won't need to lube them.

Snorton74 said:

Does this extend to their tac and speedo cables? I'm about to install mine and noticed the speedo one says grease inner cable sparingly. I've had them for a bit though. I might be inclined to get the new ones, if it means I won't need to lube them.

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I don't think their instrument cables are Teflon lined, but happy to be proved wrong. All Featherlite cable numbers appear to have an F suffix.

I'm not sure either, but I think Les is right. The sales rep only mentioned that all brake, clutch and throttle cables are now in the Featherlite, she did't mention speedo and tach cables.
For the moment, until their website is changed, many of the cables without the F designation will actually be made up as Featherlite. So it is time for them to change the website!
Glen

I don't think their instrument cables are Teflon lined, but happy to be proved wrong. All Featherlite cable numbers appear to have an F suffix.

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Surely they are unlikely to take the constant cable rotation and would heat up and stick? I know nitro burning drag race engines used to (or still do for all I know) use Teflon buttons in the piston sides but they would be changed every few runs. What heat can Teflon take before it loses its properties?

Keith1069 said:

I don't think their instrument cables are Teflon lined, but happy to be proved wrong. All Featherlite cable numbers appear to have an F suffix.

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Surely they are unlikely to take the constant cable rotation and would heat up and stick? I know nitro burning drag race engines used to (or still do for all I know) use Teflon buttons in the piston sides but they would be changed every few runs. What heat can Teflon take before it loses its properties?

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Fair bit I would say.....look at your frying pan!

I bought a Featherlight clutch cable to non standard dimensions due to a different clutch lever....so I ended up talking to two people at Venhill in Dorking...you can get the cables by choice as Featherlight or not.....you pay more for the F.....

Quality items and they will make whatever you want! to spec or pattern....

Interesting :!: I bought a bespoke T160 clutch cable last year from Venhills and in the packaging came instructions to lightly oil with a light oil.

It's working very well. :?