Keep breaking clutch cables

Do you "pop" the clutch often by letting the lever slip off the end of your finger tips to release it ?

 

if you can't find anything wrong with the assembly where the cable mounts. then i'd start looking at the clutch being stiff. OR. the cable is routed wrong causing it's own stiffness.

there's only two reasons for fraying cables. rick's suggestion of nicks somehwhere rubbing the cable. or the clutch is stiff. or the cabgle is cheap. as one of the posts suggested.

in the 28 years i've been riding. i've NEVER lubed my cables. and i'm pretty sure my 30 year old yamaha has the original cable.

 

I don't know if that's necessarily something to be proud of.

It's also not SAFE; motorcycle control cables need to be kept clean, adjusted and properly lubricated to prevent untimely failure.

A stuck throttle at the wrong moment can be a real eye-opener.

If you want to ride with unloved cables, go ahead; but please don't make it sound like a good idea to others who might read this.

 

One question not asked yet has to do with the "replacement cables". where are you buying these replacements? I bought one from JC Whitney a few years back and it was much thinner than the original cable. Maybe your replacements are not adequately robust enough to do the job. The replacement cable I had installed lasted about 1 season and then popped the same way you described. Just a thought.

 

@Seaguy, i don't think I pop the clutch (except when necessary, hehe) I think I am generally not abusive to the thing though. J

@bigfitz52. I don't think the guy was bragging, just making a general statement to the abuse cables are typically capable of.

And @Johno8 and others, I am leaning toward cheap cables being the culprit. The newest one is the same brand as the one that just broke, so if I break it, i am switching to a different brand. The Yamaha shop wanted double what the generic was, but of course if the cheap one keeps breaking, I will have learned a lesson about penny wise clutch cables...

 

That would be my call...cheap cables did me in which is why I went with the Harley cable! If this one breaks, I'll quit riding!

 

the cable is clean. the cable is free. the cable works just like it day from day one. the first bike i had 8 years. the cables were clean. the cables were free. and NEVER lubed. after 45k miles.


i've been riding for 29 years. been tinkering with bikes for 32 years. i've only had one cable fail and that was because of stiff clutch.