Clutch Cable… again…

[Soggz]

Hi all.
Long time…
 My clutch cable snapped… AGAIN.
It’s only 450 miles old. I havnt been riding my K bike, for a long while, as I have other bikes. When I got the bike, the cable snapped up by the lever, on the nipple. I just thought it was ‘wear and tear’, as it looked like the original cable or at least a very old one, so I replaced it. I was coming back from a ride last night, got home, put the side stand down, to open the garage door, etc, then sat on the bike, operated the clutch and I noticed the side stand never automatically went back up. I thought it was a bit odd, so operated the clutch a few more times and *snap* went the cable, but this time, about 4” from the lever. What caused this I wonder? It was fine before, lubricated when I put it on and has only done 460 miles. The bike has low bars and the cable was routed as it should be. ( no pics).
It is the correct cable for the bike for low bars.

[daveson]

Hi Soggz,

Can you notice any binding at the barrel?

There shouldn't be any load on the side stand when you pull the lever. Because I'm used to bikes that don't have mod cons, I always kick the side stand up, but I appreciate the safety feature of the auto retract system. I know of a rider who spent a few months in hospital because his bike didn't have this feature.

[Soggz]

Hi.
It’s the afternoon the next day. I just did some more inspections and simply pulled the cable from the outer casing and lever. Turns out the break is about 15” from the lever nipple, not up by where I thought it was. I’ll get the tank off later when I get a bit more time and look for obstructions. Just wondering if the heat from the engine dryer it out/did something.

[Laitch]

Hey Soggs!
It could be the sidestand retractor needs to have less tension on it. Excessive tension can possibly stretch the cable to the breaking point after much usage. Attached is a video explaining clutch adjustment but also how to adjust the side stand retractor. Retractor adjustment begins at 4:00.

[Soggz]

Thank you. I will check it out later.

[Soggz]

Hello again.
Had a chance today to move the tank. This is the outer casing, still in position. ( the rear one).
Measuring from the clutch cable end, the break in the cable is at this bend.
It’s free all the way down to the rear gearbox clutch lever, and it’s not caught at the top, but I was wondering if anyone knew if it’s the right cable, as the bend is more of a right angle, so maybe too long?
Just thinking that it could be, as my bike has the lowest bars, and could this cable be for the next size bar up, so it would have a longer bend?
Just a thought.
IMG_8155.jpeg (75.04 kB . 768x576 - viewed 150 times)

[Laitch]

No Brick should have a clutch cable with a bend in it like that. It's too long. Find the various clutch cable lengths of each model here in the Steering sections. The K75S is the shortest; the K75RT is the longest.

[Soggz]

Thanks.

[Soggz]

Couldn’t find the cable length. My vin is 0111674.

[Duckbubbles]

The tightest bend on my '85 K100RS is from the clutch lever area heading down by the left side of the steering head and from there it is a pretty straight shot to the rear of the transmission.  That cable appears to be exceptionally long.  The correct length should follow the same path as mine regardless of the k model.

Frank

[frankenduck]

Couldn’t find the cable length. My vin is 0111674.

Clutch cables:

32732324955: 1510mm - STD, C, S, RS, K1

32732324960 & 32731450215: 1625mm  - RT, LT

[Soggz]

Clutch cables:

32732324955: 1510mm - STD, C, S, RS, K1

32732324960 & 32731450215: 1625mm  - RT, LT

Ah! Thank you. I have just ordered one from Motoworks.
Thanks again.
All the best.

[Soggz]

Hi. New cable came today. 1510 in length… same as the one I took off!
Re routed it slightly different this time and managed to take that harsh angle out a bit better, but had to pull it up above the handle bar rubber facia a little.
About 3 mm play at the lever, 75mm at the clutch arm end. Hope this one lasts longer. Must have been the routing was wrong on the last one.
Thanks All.

[frankenduck]

Hey Soggs!
It could be the sidestand retractor needs to have less tension on it. Excessive tension can possibly stretch the cable to the breaking point after much usage. Attached is a video explaining clutch adjustment but also how to adjust the side stand retractor. Retractor adjustment begins at 4:00.

On one of my K75s the side stand didn't retract all of the way even with the special nut using all of the threads. I cured that by bending a washer into a V shape and installing the washer in front of the special nut.