1994 R1100RS broken clutch cable, shifting possible to limp home?

[hillbillync]

Cable broke at shift lever pulling into work parking lot. I live about 20 miles away and can take some backroads that keep most traffic off my rear.

Questions:
- Is it possible to work thru the gears to be able to limp home?
- Minor or major damage using this technique for a limited time?

I was able to down shift coming off the freeway into the parking lot. I saw a YouTube video of a guy taking off in 1st by fast walking the bike while starting it but he only stayed in 1st gear.

 

[Omega Man]

In my experience, You will be fine shifting without the clutch other than starting off. A running start on a down hill will help on the start. I have shifted many bikes without the clutch.
Good luck.
OM

 

[m_stock10506]

You should be able to shift without damage.

Lesson #1. Keep a spare clutch cable on the bike. Lots of folks put the spare cable alongside the working cable and just cover the ends. I keep a spare for each bike in the saddlebag.

Was this the original 94 cable? Lesson #2. Make sure that the barrel end in the clutch lever is greased and moving freely. Breaking at the lever is usually due to the barrel not moving which causes the cable to flex every time the lever is pulled. Take a wire hanger and bend it back and forth. It breaks at the bend point in a matter of less than 10 flexes.

 

[20774]

I had to ride for quite a while without a clutch cable on my /7 many years ago. Having forward speed will help with initial shifting out of neutral. I found that when it came time to up shift, I would roll off the throttle just a bit and then put firm pressure on the foot lever. I just kept the pressure on the lever and let the gears mesh naturally. Similarly when down shifting. Also obviously you'll need to anticipate what is happening ahead of you. Avoiding having to go to neutral is the key...keeping moving is best.

 

[BC1100S]

After a push-assisted rolling start, just upshift as normal - as if your clutch cable was unbroken - rolling off the throttle, etc. As someone has already pointed out, preloading the shift lever helps.

Downshifting is a little trickier. Try to have as neutral a throttle as possible and that your speed is reasonable for the gear you're about to go into.

 

[jrogers]

I use to try and carry spare parts on the bike but it seemed you never had the right one for the current problem. Hall sensor, Spark Plugs, Coil Stick, plug wires, fuel filter, fuel line, hose clamps, tire plug and pump, extra tools needed, extra nuts and bolt plus a few more parts. It got to be ridiculous as when I did break down, we never had the part needed for the fix. Luckily we do a lot of maintenance or pre-maintenance I should say checking the bikes over very well and haven't had many breakdowns.
About riding home, it's more what your comfortable with but your really pushing a safety issue in my opinion. Starting out from a stop is the hard part without a clutch but it can be done if you have the skill level. A lot of guys ride daily shifting without the clutch so that's a matter of matching rpms and being smooth. Good luck getting it home.

 

[bluehole]

hillbillync, let us know how things work out.

 

[chrisinsc]

I downshift without clutch by rolling full off the throttle with max engine braking, preload shifter, blip throttle to unload the gear set and it pops right into the next lower gear.

Pick a route with as few lights as possible and time the lights. Four way stops with cars lined up are the worst thing, worse comes to worse use the shoulder, make a right turn without stopping and find a place to u turn and do it again when you get back to the intersection. Moto's are far closer to being bicycles than they are to being cars so use that concept

 

[BC1100S]

I once broke a clutch cable in downtown Toronto. Made for an interesting ride out of the city. I will admit to cheating through more than one yellow/red light.

 

[hgerhardt]

My 2004 RT (hyd clutch, 6-speed) shifts better without the clutch, both down- and up-shifting, especially when cold. Obviously the biggest challenge for you is to get the bike rolling a bit before engaging 1st gear.

Hey wait a minute: Isn't the starter safety switch within the clutch lever support? Which means you could stop the engine, engage 1st, pull in the clutch lever (even though it doesn't do anything), and then hit the Start switch. The starter should have enough torque to get the bike rolling.

 

[pauls1150]

Long time ago, I broke a cable on Broad Street in downtown Philadelphia. No Way to avoid the red lights, and I did a few wheelies getting into first (better than stalling in traffic). Got pulled over, showed the cop what was going on, and he understood... but "strongly recommended" that I just push the bike. Did that until he was out of sight...

Gerhardt - that would be a HUGE drain on the battery, and possibly overheat the starter, since it would be fighting more resistance than just starting (through the geared-down link to the flywheel).

 

[hgerhardt]

........Gerhardt - that would be a HUGE drain on the battery, and possibly overheat the starter, since it would be fighting more resistance than just starting (through the geared-down link to the flywheel).

Not really. It wouldn't be worse than doing a sub-zero winter cold start where you're cranking for many seconds... Still, I wouldn't recommend doing that where you have a stop sign every 100 feet, but a few times shouldn't hurt.
Besides, a new starter is still cheaper than a tow if you don't have AAA Plus with motorcycle add-on!

 

[BC1100S]

Gerhardt - that would be a HUGE drain on the battery, and possibly overheat the starter, since it would be fighting more resistance than just starting (through the geared-down link to the flywheel).

Agreed. What's wrong with pushing the bike to a walking speed and then selecting 1st gear? Or if you don't like that idea, just paddle ahead while astride the bike...and then select 1st gear. Using the starter to propel the bike forward is just a bad idea.

 

[AntonLargiader]

Cranking the engine from a stop works just fine. Squeeze the lever and the interlocks don't know the clutch is engaged.

 

[dieselyoda]

Cranking the engine from a stop works just fine. Squeeze the lever and the interlocks don't know the clutch is engaged.

During my years that I had to recover our "stuff", cooked clutches or fishing them from rhubarb, warm the engine. Drop into the lowest gear, even bull/bull low, bypass the safety switches, put in gear and get it to roll.

'pends on the tranny but the trick was to shift gears at lower than expected RPM, almost off idle with a 10/13 speed.

You could hit the gears without clashing.

Approaching stops, lights/signs, patience then throttle and brakes. Cruise on through at the right time.

The big takeaway is to be patient, don't force a gear change.

I got buddy still driving his 5on4 with 10 million, yes, 10 million miles and we have never done his clutch behind a 475HP 3406C.

It did get a few pistons/liners/bearings over the years but at 10 million miles, they key he said, was patience shifting.

 

[hillbillync]

Thanks for all the advice

You guys rock! I was all but ready to give it a try but one thing kept me from attempting it besides never having practiced clutchless shifting before. I have the dreaded 3rd gear skip on an original M93 transmission. Based on the information I have read right here, I'm on borrowed time as it is... Not wanting to risk further reducing the transmission life I opted to phone a friend, get home and rent a U-haul trailer. New clutch cable is on order from Beemer Boneyard. As far as the skip goes, I recently installed a Gemi chip, GS tubes and K&N filter. After a balance of the throttle bodies, I find I can manage the power band better and not lug the 3rd gear as much and it seems to skip less when controlling rpms. Anyway, thanks to all.

 

[bluehole]

The important thing is you get home safely. Thanks for following up.

 

[tibork]

It's not easy at all, I lost my clutch around 70 MPH on the highway last year, fortunately was heading home and I don't live far from the highway. I got home OK but did drop the bike once when coming to an intersection and couldn't shift down fast enough from 2nd so the bike just jumped when I was almost at a stop - nobody saw me . Got rolling again and made the short drive home OK. Have to admit it was kind of scary. My issue actually wasn't the cable but a broken small cylinder that holds the clutch push rod in place, also wasn't easy to replace.

 

[bewareboy]

Clutch, Who needs a stink'in clutch... (think Blazing Saddles)

Not to get too off topic, but the past 2 days, I took advantage of a BMW Demo Truck at my local dealer. The staff was explaining the newer clutch system that allows you to not use the clutch, except when in 1st gear (starting/stopping). It really took some mental effort to not use the clutch lever out of habit. Found that the upshift seemed a little less refined than the downshifts. I'm sure it was mostly my newness to the system and not getting the revs or throttle as correct as expected. When using the clutch, it was much smoother... I seemed to be better at the downshifts than the upshifts at this point. During the downshifts, I did notice a the need for more pressure on the shifter pedal than when using the clutch, but again I think its just a matter or time and getting more accustomed to a new way of riding. Sorry for the slight detour.

 

[tibork]

Not to get too off topic, but the past 2 days, I took advantage of a BMW Demo Truck at my local dealer. The staff was explaining the newer clutch system that allows you to not use the clutch, except when in 1st gear (starting/stopping). It really took some mental effort to not use the clutch lever out of habit. Found that the upshift seemed a little less refined than the downshifts. I'm sure it was mostly my newness to the system and not getting the revs or throttle as correct as expected. When using the clutch, it was much smoother... I seemed to be better at the downshifts than the upshifts at this point. During the downshifts, I did notice a the need for more pressure on the shifter pedal than when using the clutch, but again I think its just a matter or time and getting more accustomed to a new way of riding. Sorry for the slight detour.

Yeah the newer bikes also have the shift assist, must be nice. Before the BMW I had an '86 600cc Yamaha, for some reason it was much easier to shift with no clutch and I did it ALL the time. The BMW definitely seems more of a challenge and I rarely shift without clutch .. and I believe my many years of experience with the Yamaha helped me a lot getting home without a clutch.