Where does it go???

Greetings fellow Oilheads! I recently had the clutch cable break on my y2k RT. While removing the old one (it broke at near the lever) a tubular felt piece fell out from somewhere in vicinity of the the lever. I went ahead and installed the new cable without it. Now I'm hearing this omission could lead to premature failure of the new cable. I kept the felt piece but have no idea where it goes. Any advice is appreciated!

Regards,
-Art

art1100 said:

Greetings fellow Oilheads! I recently had the clutch cable break on my y2k RT. While removing the old one (it broke at near the lever) a tubular felt piece fell out from somewhere in vicinity of the the lever. I went ahead and installed the new cable without it. Now I'm hearing this omission could lead to premature failure of the new cable. I kept the felt piece but have no idea where it goes. Any advice is appreciated!

Regards,
-Art

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The diameter of the perch where the cable enters is larger than the cable. It matches the outside diameter of that little felt cylinder. With the cable disconnected at the bottom (easiest) pull the cable sheath back that 3/4 inch or so and put the felt around the cable. Then with your fingers push it into the lever perch. Reattach the cable at the bottom and you are good to go.

PGlaves said:

The diameter of the perch where the cable enters is larger than the cable. It matches the outside diameter of that little felt cylinder. With the cable disconnected at the bottom (easiest) pull the cable sheath back that 3/4 inch or so and put the felt around the cable. Then with your fingers push it into the lever perch. Reattach the cable at the bottom and you are good to go.

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This answer is one of the reasons I Love this Club!

PGlaves said:

The diameter of the perch where the cable enters is larger than the cable. It matches the outside diameter of that little felt cylinder. With the cable disconnected at the bottom (easiest) pull the cable sheath back that 3/4 inch or so and put the felt around the cable. Then with your fingers push it into the lever perch. Reattach the cable at the bottom and you are good to go.

Click to expand...

Thanks Paul!

One of the contributors to failure of the clutch cable near the lever is the inability of the cable barrel to rotate in the lever. The barrel is the metal (usually lead) cylinder at the end of the cable. This piece fits in the lever with a slot through which the cable passes. When the lever is pulled tension is placed on the cable and ideally the barrel will slightly rotate as the angle between the lever and the cable changes. If the barrel can't rotate the cable is forced to bend a bit. Over time this bending or flexing of the cable leads to failure.

One of the periodic maintenance steps should include removal of the clutch lever, cleaning of the barrel hole and slot, and re-applying some grease. As mentioned previously if the clutch cable is disconnected from the end nearest the clutch first (and reconnected last) the clutch cable and lever are easier to remove and service.

The BMW clutch cables have a teflon lining and do not benefit from addition of a lubricant directly into the cable. This lubrication into the cable was necessary with older cables found on other bikes, but can lead to accumulation of dust/dirt, wear of the teflon liner, and difficulty in operation. Some bit of grease to the barrel after cleaning is beneficial.