Snapped clutch cable

[Filmcamera]

My clutch cable snapped today.


Nothing too surprising I know except it was less than a year old and had less then 2000 miles on it.


It came from motobins so it was not OEM but their stuff is normally pretty good.


It broke right at the nipple by the clutch lever on the bars so luckily I was able to jury rig it with  a screw on terminal, a la Johnny, and get her home.


What could be wrong that a cable snaps so fast? I did have the felt thing installed and the clutch seemed to work fine, they are not light clutch pulls at the best of times but it has always had the same feel since I had the bike.


OEM one ordered from Max BMW $52  :yow

[Chaos]

I carry an extra so mine never breaks :clap:


Seriously, and it's been posted here many times, the prime reason for broken clutch cables is the little barrel attached to the end of the cable is not free to rotate in the clutch lever, causing it to bend, stress and break there.  Couple drops of oil there every once in a while and mine has lasted decades.

[Chaos]

$29   https://www.beemerboneyard.com/cables.html

[Filmcamera]

OK thanks, I will make sure to oil the next one!

[Martin]

I'm still on my OEM 25 year old cables. I lube all my cables with a PTFE based lubricant called Triflo, available from bicycle shops. Never use WD40 or it's like as they can degrade the Teflon liner. I also lube all pivot points with white spray lithium grease, and I have fitted a grease nipple to my clutch arm. You also need to make sure your clutch lever is not sloppy at the pivot point, and allowing the lever to catch on the cable. The none OEM cables are easier to pull but seem to break more frequently.
Regards Martin.

[rbm]

Theres supposed to be a felt piece that is inserted between the clutch handle and mount, that retains oil and lubricates the bowden cable.  Do you have that piece?  BMW part 32721231610.

[Filmcamera]

Yes it was in there, but very dry. I will make sure to lubricate the new cable

[KIWIDON]

Will second what Martin mentioned regarding sloppy lever pivot. Original clutch cable snapped at lever ferrule after 25yrs 200Ks, fitted OEM replacements but only lasting 1.5 years. Noted that slop in lever pivot was side loading ferrule and flexing the cable until it frayed/broke again. A new plastic pivot bush fitted to lever removed all slop and nil further cable issue after 4 years daily commuting.

[stokester]

Will second what Martin mentioned regarding sloppy lever pivot. Original clutch cable snapped at lever ferrule after 25yrs 200Ks, fitted OEM replacements but only lasting 1.5 years. Noted that slop in lever pivot was side loading ferrule and flexing the cable until it frayed/broke again. A new plastic pivot bush fitted to lever removed all slop and nil further cable issue after 4 years daily commuting.

Great advice, I'll have to check the lever pivot on mine as my last cable lasted only about 5K miles.  The barrel was quite dry so I attributed it to the lack of lube causing the barrel not to pivot.  Both breaks happened on the road, one at the end of a 5K mile trip only 10 miles from the house.

The last ones I bought were Venhill from Beemerboneyard which included the felt and barrel.  The sheath seems to be a bit larger in diameter but has been working well and I've been more diligent in cleaning and lubing.

[Filmcamera]

Thanks for the tips, I have to wait a couple of weeks for the new cable to arrive but will check everything mentioned above when installing it.  I am also going to carry a Johnny emergency cable just to make sure the new one never breaks!

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I have a small oil can with some SAE 30 near my bikes.  Every couple of days I put a drop on that barrel.  I have also started putting a tiny bit of spline lube on the barrel when I do the drive shaft splines.  Messy, but I trust it is effective.

[Chaos]

Just snapped the clutch cable on my Ural, same basic setup up but apparently my knowledge of K bike maintenance didn't transfer to the Russian bike :yow

[Filmcamera]

Ah but do you carry an extra one on the Ural???


Welcome to the club - I had push my K a few hundred meters uphill, even with two less than willing volunteers we were all exhausted after a couple of minutes. Light there bikes are not!  I am sure the Ural is heavier but at least it is balanced on the three wheels which probably helps a little.


Good luck with the repair, here's hoping you are back on the road soon  :2thumbup:

[Chaos]

haha,  I carried a spare around for 6 years believing the magic juju that if I had an extra whatever I would never need it. :nono  Fortunately I was still moving and able to drop into first, maneuver out of traffic and into a KFC parking lot, had the cable changed in 15 minutes.  Gotta love old school simplicity :yes

[Filmcamera]

 :clap: :clap: :clap: :riding: :riding: :riding:

[Motorhobo]

Welcome to the club - I had push my K a few hundred meters uphill, even with two less than willing volunteers we were all exhausted after a couple of minutes. Light there bikes are not!  I am sure the Ural is heavier but at least it is balanced on the three wheels which probably helps a little.

Filmcamera, I don't know about your K100 but you can ride a K75 fine with no clutch cable by putting it into second and pushing the start button to bump-start it, which should get it started and moving, then speed-matching to shift through all gears, or just riding it in second. I've had to do that a couple times in the 18 years I've had K75s. To stop, you have to hit the kill switch and repeat the bump start to reboot. Not a good scenario if you're in traffic for sure, but IMO that would have been preferable to pushing it up a Costa Rican hill.

Just sayin'...

That only works if your clutch switch at the lever is working. Otherwise, you can't start it in gear.

[Filmcamera]

I did try that but he hill was so too steep for the starter to be able to give the bike enough momentum to get it started in gear.  I briefly considered turning it around and doing it down hill but there is nowhere easy to turn around until the very bottom of the hill 2 kms away and if I had an issue I was going to need a tow truck.  In the end I decided a bit of hard graft was the best option!  Later a got a terminal I screwed on to the end of the snapped cable to give me enough clutch to get the bike up the last bit of hill on my property so it is safe and sound where it always parks, just waiting for the new clutch cable.

[Motorhobo]

Safest solution -- trade that house in for one at the bottom of that hill.

[Filmcamera]

LOL - that will happen eventually - a few more years when all the kids have gone it will be time for a smaller house at the bottom of the hill - and a bigger garage!

[Motorhobo]

LOL - that will happen eventually - a few more years when all the kids have gone it will be time for a smaller house at the bottom of the hill - and a bigger garage!

Make sure the new house comes with a trailer  :2thumbup:

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Make sure the new house comes with a trailer  :2thumbup:

[beemrdon]

My clutch cable just snapped. It frayed about3-4 inches from the lever. The pivit was well greased. This cable lasted for about 25,000 miles/1.5 years. Bought from BMW dealer for around $50.
It is a strange place for it to break. It looked frayed, maybe a manufacture defect?

[daveson]

Maybe the bend in the cable is too sharp there.

[Martin]

PTFE lube will definitely help extend the life of your cable, I flush my cables twice a year. Non PTFE based lubricants may degrade the Teflon liner also causing problems. Regularly lubing both nipples and lubing the wear surfaces of the lever, and fitting a grease nipple to the clutch arm will also extend cable life. Sloppy levers can case wear at the barrel and eventually lead to breakage.The clutch stand retract on some of the Bricks may put extra strain on the clutch cable, and I avoid using it on my Brick.
Regards Martin.

[beemrdon]

Son-of-Dave, I think you might be right about the angle there being too sharp. Can't think of anything else that could cause the cable to fray at that spot unless there was a defect in the inside of the housing that caused friction. Next time I will not zip-tie it so tightly to thee handlebar. These things should last a lot longer, especially as I maintained the ends with plenty of grease.