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/5 Clutch cable replacement

67986

Member
I'm replacing the clutch cable on my /5. It has seen a lot of miles and this is just preventative maintenance.
I'm OK with removing the end of the cable at the transmission end and understand how the adjustment works at the handlebar lever end. At this point all the tension is off the cable.

I don't see how to disconnect the end of the cable at the handlebar lever end. I see where the end of the cable goes into a fitting that seems to rotate and see what looks like the bottom of that fitting on the bottom of the lever.

I'd appreciate any suggestions as to how to disconnect the cable at the lever end. I assume that is it is very simple but nothing comes to mind as I look at it.

Thanks
Bob
 
You have to push the cable into the lever the opposite way as when you pull on the clutch cable. Once its far enough into the internal recess of the lever, the barrel will slip out of the bottom and come off the cable. Hard to explain, but basically the cable terminal end holds the barrel into the lever.
 
Bob -

Look closer at the underside of the handle perch. You should see a slot that is 90 degrees to the direction of the cable. The idea is that you get everything loose and rotate the cable so that the internal wire of the cable can walk out of that slot. Bob's Your Uncle!!

When adjusting the clutch, be sure and find the procedure the Resources and Links thread in my signature line.
 
I think the cable end (removeable part) slides down out of the clutch lever, and then it rotates to come off of the cable itself. After removed, the cable then, can be pulled out through the hole where the adjuster threads into.

Be sure, when installing the new cable, that the part that goes into the clutch lever, MUST be clean & lubricated so that it can rotate in the lever when you pull the lever back. This feature keeps the cable itself from 'bending" and breaking after repeated use.

Hope this helps, as I am stating this from memory - I had to replace mine (cable broke where it was repeatedly bending due to the part not being lubricated in the lever) about 6 months ago.

Jimmylee
 
Mine is a 72, and as far as I know, that system was used on all the /5 levers. If you were working on a /6 and up, the post from Kurt above would work.
 
picture, thousand words, etc.

the large diameter recess is what the end of the cable ferrule bears on (this side faces the inside of the lever). Disconnect the cable at the transmission which will allow you to push the cable through this ferrule and far enough into the lever that the cable will be able to slip out throught the opening at the end.

clutch barrel.jpg
 
There you go...another way that the /5 is different than /6/7. I wonder if this is how it works on my R69S? I don't think I've had that cable off yet. Hmmmm....
 
Actually, on my /6 there is a slot in the housing for the cable to slip DOWN and then away from the hand grip/assembly. The barrel of course comes off and then as others have advised take the end of the cable out through the front.

MAKE SURE you replace the felt/cotton wadding on the end of the hole where the cable emerges from the assembly. One might put a bit of oil into that just to keep rain from entering.

For me, I use the method in the owner's manual, and have for perhaps 400k miles. Surely NOT to conflict with KURT whose method is surely worthwhile. For me, I just adjust the knurled adjuster in all the way up and the grip and then using a 10mm and 13mm down on the back of the transmission adjust the arm so there is 5mm or so of play in the lever arm.............Anyway, VERY useful method when out on the road and one does not have a bunch of measureing devices...............God bless.......Dennis
 
Just to add to the above advice from all of the above which are excellent. One old-timer told me to be sure to "safety wire" the spring down at the transmission end of the cable. Apparently he had lost one on the road one time, and the cable came out of the clutch arm down there.

So, I didn't think it would hurt anything, I took his advice and wired my spring so, if it does come loose, it won't fall off.

Could be worthwhile, as nothing but its own spring tension holds it in place.
 
I suppose tying the spring down might help, but the cable would have to come complete unattached at the aft end for the spring to actually fall out...not sure but I would thing the spring would push the clutch lever far enough back to hit the cross brace and the spring wouldn't really go anywhere. The /5 could be different, but the spring seems mostly captive on my /7.

However, one thing that needs attention is the pin that attaches the lever to the two bosses on the back of the transmission. There have been several methods for securing that to the bike. My /7 has a small c-clip...a bit fiddly to get attached. I think some others were a cotter pin and/or nut. Snowbum talks about this. If the pin should walk out and the clutch is engage, the twisting forces involved can easily break off the ears on the bosses, essentially requiring a rear cover replacement.

All in all, securing things like the spring and the pivot pin can be a "belt and suspenders" action!
 
I suppose tying the spring down might help, but the cable would have to come complete unattached at the aft end for the spring to actually fall out...not sure but I would thing the spring would push the clutch lever far enough back to hit the cross brace and the spring wouldn't really go anywhere. The /5 could be different, but the spring seems mostly captive on my /7.

All in all, securing things like the spring and the pivot pin can be a "belt and suspenders" action!

I thought the same thing, but when I thought about it, if the cable should come loose somehow, the spring could go bye bye.

The more likely situation is if the cable happened to break right at the clutch arm, the spring could also be lost. I now keep a new clutch cable, and a new throttle cable as backups when I ride. I learned my lesson!

I think one can get down the road without any other cable, but not the throttle or clutch.
 
/5 clutch cable replacement

Thank you everyone for your information and advice. I'll get to the job this weekend.
It see that it is very simple, now that I know how.
Bob
 
I think one can get down the road without any other cable, but not the throttle or clutch.

I broke a clutch cable right at the handle as you previously described...that was before I got smart and understood how it worked!! I was just outside Thunder Bay, Ontario. The anonymous book failed me...no local help. I managed to get going the next day. Made it about 150 miles shifting without a clutch to a dealer. I'm sure glad there were no stop signs or signals along that less traveled road in Canada! That clutch cable is still on the bike...maybe 80K miles later. You can ride without a clutch cable...shifting from neutral at a dead stop is kind of tough, though!
 
"150 miles shifting without a clutch"

Get home with broken clutch cable that broke at top end

Trap the broken end of cable under a nut somewhere (mirror mount maybe)
or reroute to extended footpeg or crash bar if you use these and push on
cable casing with foot to release clutch

Then when you need to shift or come to a stop just pull on the cable casing
and the clutch will work - crude but better than clashing gears
 
I broke a clutch cable right at the handle as you previously described...that was before I got smart and understood how it worked!! I was just outside Thunder Bay, Ontario. The anonymous book failed me...no local help. I managed to get going the next day. Made it about 150 miles shifting without a clutch to a dealer. I'm sure glad there were no stop signs or signals along that less traveled road in Canada! That clutch cable is still on the bike...maybe 80K miles later. You can ride without a clutch cable...shifting from neutral at a dead stop is kind of tough, though!

I've heard of people doing this!

I was lucky, while down in VA, I had one break, It was early enough in the day for me to have one over-nighted from Max'x BMW. But, while in the afternoon/evening, the Anon book showed me a dealer about 60 miles away. They had one, and I paid by credit card over the phone, and had them "hide" it outside their store. My son rode his bike down to the store, found it, and I had it fixed by 8:00 that evening. I had the over-nighted one diverted later to my home in Ohio! - most expensive clutch cable I ever purchased!

I can't imagine riding without a clutch.
 
I can't imagine riding without a clutch.

It's probably something you should experiment with just to have this "tool" in your bag. Maybe consider practicing on an automobile first. It's all about matching speeds between the gears. Roll of the throttle to unload the gearing, gently ease up/down on the shifter and wait for the gears to engage. Done right there's no gnashing of teeth/dogs. During my long-ish trip to get to the dealer, I only to shift from a dead stop into first a couple of times because I didn't time the lights correctly in whatever small town I was passing through. I helped things a little by getting some rolling speed before engaging 1st. Still, it wasn't pretty but the other gears went very smoothly.

Interesting suggestions the previous post about tying off the cable somewhere. Another potential fix is to use a pair of vise grips to grab some of the strands that stick out and pull the inner cable for engaging the clutch. I believe Matt Parkhouse had a roadside "bodge" for this situation in his Keep 'Em Flying column in the past 5-7 years.
 
I have mastered the shifting with no clutch on the upper gears by just practicing, in case I ever needed to use the procedure. But I have never done it from a stop in first gear starting out.

I have tried the vise-grips pulling on the inner cable strands, but for me couldn't get it to work.

One old-timer in our club said that what he did, was to "linger" around, pull into parking lots, etc. until he could be assured of a green light. When that wasn't feasible, he said that he would shut off the engine, and when the light turned green he would "start" up using the starter motor in first gear. I wouldn't like doing that, but I am not sure it is even possible as the bike must be in neutral to start the starting motor, I think.

In any case, I will take a spare cable and avoid the problem altogether. Since I already have a new one already (rather expensive considering all the shipping!), and it fits easily in my fairing.

When I raced motorcycles (while in high school) some of us would actually thread the extra cables right next to the existing cables so that in the case of a breakage, it would be just a matter of hooking up the ends and we were on our way!

JimmyLee
 
some of us would actually thread the extra cables right next to the existing cables so that in the case of a breakage, it would be just a matter of hooking up the ends and we were on our way!

I never really understood how to do this. You have to protect the exposed ends of the cable with something. It would be just me luck that, when needed, my "protection" broke down years ago and the cable was FUBAR...and I'd still be stuck by the side of the road. Obviously, a spare cable takes absolutely little room in the bottom of a tank bag, side of a pannier, or even wound inside the headlight bucket. Seems like those would be better places.
 
I never really understood how to do this. You have to protect the exposed ends of the cable with something. It would be just me luck that, when needed, my "protection" broke down years ago and the cable was FUBAR...and I'd still be stuck by the side of the road. Obviously, a spare cable takes absolutely little room in the bottom of a tank bag, side of a pannier, or even wound inside the headlight bucket. Seems like those would be better places.

You are correct that it is pretty easy to just coil them up and throw in a bag or fairing.

I did the parallel cable thing on the race bikes so that if the need arose, it could be "installed" in a matter of minutes.

The clutch cable is so easy to replace, that it isn't necessary as one can install in a matter of 5 minutes or so. On the highway, that't not too bad.

The throttle cables are a bit more work.
 
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