Keep breaking clutch cables

I keep breaking clutch cables right at the end that goes into the hand lever. The first one made sense since i had just gotten the bike and it had been in the weather. The cable was obviously rusty and very hard to operate when I took it off. But the replacement broke in the same place which i just figured was maybe a fluke, but now it felt a little funny and there was some clicking, so I inspected it and a few of the strands are breaking right where they connect to the end. Am i doing something wrong? each cable has lasted 6 or 8 months. Any ideas on what's going on or what to look for is greatly appreciated.

 

Does your bike sit outside? If not check the handle for sharp spots maybe?

 

It does sit outside. i'll take it apart and look for sharp edges and such. Good idea! anybody else got any?

 

maybe they are rotting from sitting outside, though I couldnt imagine that unless its really humid where you live, but I would imagine you would have lots of rust if that was the case.

 

If you keep breaking them off at the Lever End ...
The Barrel-end is getting pinched.
The Cable isn't in the Lever groove right.
The Barrel end isn't swiveling.
The Barrel end surround bushing is missing,
The Lever Barrel end capture slot and groove is filthy.

 

Second what Rick has said but will ad the following. Do you still have the rubber boot that goes over the clutch cable where it connects to the clutch handle? It's probably not there and if you ride in even slightly dusty area's you are inviting dirt. When its combined with oil it will make a very abrasive paste. Either clean and lube every thousand miles or buy a boot for it and lubricate every 1001 miles that should keep your clutch cable happy.

 

does the bike turn over strong? if not the engine might be grounding through the cable. very very rare, highly unlikely, i have seen it twice (once on a quad and once on a VW beetle). the high amperage running through it weakens the cables usually right at the ends where it has the most resistance.

check the other suggestions first as they are much more likely causes. if all else fails, take the cable off at the bars, and check for voltage with a meter between the cable and good ground while cranking the engine.

 

I would say that the engine grounding itself through the clutch cable at the clutch lever perch is, really-really, really-really rare.

I was wondering if just how rare could be accurately expressed.

There's less of a chance that the engine is grounding itself through the clutch cable than you riding along the road and suffering a front and rear blow-out by riding over a razor-sharp chunk of Einsteinium.

(At the very bottom of the Periodic Table is where you will find some man-made Elements [such as Einsteinium] that only physically existed for fractions of seconds, and only one single atom of which existed at a time. That's pretty rare.)

 

i would say its as rare as a post from rick that lacks superciliousness. but Einsteinium blowout analogy works too i guess?

 

ROFLCOPTER


Might as add my own simile

It's as rare as a New Holland beating a John Deere in any mannor of competition.

Sure, not as clever, but it get my poke.

 

now thats just BS!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

I had the same problem with my clutch cables...broke 3 of them in the same place too. I checked and rechecked everything that Rick mentioned above, still didn't help. Found out that the replacement cables I was buying were too flimsy (you get what you pay for) so I went BIG. I bought a Harley clutch cable. This monster could tie up the Queen Mary!! I've got no more cable snapping issues and the clutch pull is not bad.

 

Bought new clutch cable today and will let you know what I find. Perhaps I could find one made of unobtanium!!

 

I assume if something at the other end is in a bind that could cause the problem. but how do I tell? the pull seems fine especially compared to the rusted piece of junk I replaced!

 

sometimes cable routing can cause excess friction, you may be able to change the routing slightly to get a little less stress.

try taking the cable off the clutch end and pulling the lever, it should be super easy to pull.

 

We haven't discussed the possibility of the LEVER being at fault.

The Lever needs to have the Cable-end Bullet-capture Port be cleaned and not out-of-shape after suffering a fall-over or some other damage to the Lever.

If the Cable is being chafed by a bent part of a damaged Lever; you'll have to replace the Lever or make repairs to yours.

If the Cable-end Bullet-caputure Port is --> Out of Round <-- the Bullet-end will not swivel and begin placing repetitive bending on the Cable-end strands until they ultimately are fatigued and part.

Adjust the Cable so that there is NO Slack at the Lever.
But, make sure the Bullet-end is:
a) In the Cavity
b) The cable pushed through the slot and brought to Cable Sheath for alignment.

Those Cables are supposes to go a long while before they fail.

Is vandalism a possibility?

 

AHEM.

Did you LUBE the NEW cable, or just install it? It needs to be lubed, and NOT with WD40.

A binding lever won't break cables.

Do you have the complete 2-piece rubber "bootie" over the cable perch, lever pivot and adjuster? If not, it's a "must" especially since the bike lives outside.

 

how about the clutch being a little bit on the stiff side??????

that was my problem on one of the bikes i had.

you say it pulls fine. but how fine is fine?

 

What ever is going on, ... to be going through Clutch Cables that often ... when others are still on the one Yamaha put-on ... means that something is fundamentally wrong.

 

I agree in principal with Rick that something is probably wrong somewhere. but I still haven't figured it out. Today's quick repair after i ate lunch didn't reveal any obvious defects. The broken cable still looks to be in good condition with no rust and it operated smoothly. I did remove the lever and inspected for sharp edges but found none. When the cable started to fail, I noticed the strands furthest from the handle bars were fraying. If it were mechanical friction at the lever I would expect to see the strands closest to the hand grip to fail.

Would you suggest some heavy grease between the "bullet" and the lever?

 

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.