| Author | Message | ||
     Ferocity02 |
I was headed out to run some errands a little bit ago and the clutch cable snapped right at the clutch lever. Luckily I was only two blocks from my house and was able to limp it back into the garage. Is this a common problem or might there be a deeper issue that caused it to break? The bike has about 13k miles, it's an 05 XB12Scg. I just ordered a new cable and o-ring from American Sportbike. That's all, thanks! | ||
| Nillaice |
i've heard of it before, and consequently have a cable on standby for when mine goes. | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
yea its common, my was 3threads away from snapping.. I just replaced it yesterday. The newer cables have a plastic tube within the whole-cable encasing-over the clutch cable which travels throughout the line, and seems much much better design to prevent it from happening more often than not. comapared to the other one I had before its a major improvement (Message edited by ochoa0042 on June 20, 2009) | ||
| Dennista15 |
Yup, I have heard about this as well. I also have a new cable for when mine breaks, or if I get bored and change it anyways. | ||
| Froggy |
I wouldn't say it is common, but they do wear out over time. The service manual has you check the cable during services. Mine snapped at a little under 40k. | ||
| Sparky |
When it breaks at the fitting in the lever, that's an indication of improper maintenance. The fitting and its hole in the lever needs to be clean and lightly greased every so often so that it can swivel in the lever. If it does not swivel, like when dirt gets in there or it runs dry, then the constant bending imparted by the lever fatigues the cable strands one at a time until the cable fails. | ||
| Ulynut |
I would say its a motorcycle related problem. As in, sometimes motorcycles break stuff. | ||
| Metalstorm |
I have to strongly second what Sparky says about putting a little grease in the pivot area of the clutch lever. When I do my oil changes I loosen the clutch cable enough to completely remove it from the lever and then I put a little wheel grease around the (can't remember the proper name at the moment) end piece. The results have been very good. I have an 05 XB12Scg as well. Only 26K miles on her so far but the original clutch cable is still in excellent shape. It looks to be good for another 25K miles. On the other hand.. I once had an 87 Kawi EX500. I bought (financed) it brand new when I was 17 and I never touched the clutch cable. Ever. Not even to lube it. I was a teenager, what did I know? Anyway.. I went through about 4 cables in the 4 years that I owned it. | ||
| Court |
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| Metalstorm |
Thanks Court  | ||
| Froggy |
Metal, I never touched the clutch cable ever since getting the bike, now that I am a little older and much wiser I will be doing stuff to the new cable. | ||
| Ulynut |
http://www.protectall.com/cable_life.htm This is your friend. Use this when you change your oil and primary fluid. | ||
| Metalstorm |
I have one of those cable lubers. It does a good job and it's easy enough to use on a regular basis. Once in a pinch (because I left the luber and spray at work), I took a small ziploc bag and cut the corner off of it. I put it over the cable and taped it tight with black electrician's tape. Tape because I didn't have any zip ties. I sprayed some Tri-Flow lube into the bag and squeezed it down into the cable housing. It worked but was a little on the messy side. Froggy, that's good to hear. The extra 15 or 20 minutes it takes to care for that cable could save you a couple hours of sitting on the side of the road | ||
| Dbird29 |
Picked up a new cable and o-ring at Paradise HD/Buell today and it was $29. Cheap insurance to never have to replace it (now that the old one knows it is on notice) | ||
| Ferocity02 |
While changing the clutch cable I figured out the problem. The cylinder thing that attaches to the clutch lever was jammed, so it wasn't able to rotate when I pulled the clutch it. This looks like it put a lot of stress on the cable right where it came out of the clutch lever and just finally broke. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Mine went at 10K miles. Upon examination it appeared the salty ocean air/exposure to elements and lack of lubing may have been a contributing factor to its deterioration. We bought the bike used with 1200 miles from the Tampa area and have no idea what its history was, but judging from the level of TLC it needed, she most likely was not kept in a nice dry garage like she has now. If you change it out yourself, please do research on badweb before you attempt it. We would've saved ourselves $40 and an additional trip to Seminole on a SECOND replacement cable had we checked here first. | ||
| Gunut75 |
LUBE THE DARN THING!!! I lube mine every time I change my oil. No wear so far. 8800mi. | ||
| Hobbes |
I'm really glad I read this post. I just checked mine and found my cable to be 2 wires away from completely snapping. | ||
| Gunut75 |
Just an FYI! I bought my bike with 7300mi on it. The 5000mi service was done by an HD dealer. At EVERY service interval the cables are to be inspected, AND lubed. I can tell you that when I lubed the cables for the first time, they were bone dry. I know they were never lubed till I got to them. | ||
| Hobbes |
I called my local Buell dealer and it looks like they want 40 bucks and it's going to take 7-10 days  | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
yep yep | ||
| Froggy |
Yuppers. I believe $38.50 is the exact price. A week seems a bit long, I got mine in 3? days, and the only reason it wasn't in stock was because they just used up their last one in the service bay. They should have it sooner, they might just say a week to cover their ass and make it look good when it comes sooner. | ||
| Ferocity02 |
You can order them online. I got mine in a couple days from American Sportbike. | ||
| Hobbes |
Cool, thanks for the info fella's |
