Lubricating Cables

After a Portland, Oregon winter of riding his motorcycle in the rain, Doug's throttle began to stick and was slow to return to idle. Additionally, the clutch required more effort to engage as well. Besides posing a safety risk, the extra effort required to operate these controls takes attention away from the road ahead and fatigues muscles quicker than fully operating controls. Take back control of your controls by spending $20 and 20 minutes lubricating your cables.

First buy a cable luber, some cable lube and a screwdriver. Loosen tension on the clutch cable via the adjuster at the top of the clutch perch. Remove the clutch lever and feed the cable out of the perch. Put the cable luber over the end of the plastic sheathing and the cable. Attach the plastic straw to the aerosol cable lube, shake and attach the other end of the plastic straw to the cable luber to begin spraying. The luber will force lubricant down the clutch sheath, and work the clutch cable up and down to help draw the lubricant down the cable. Keep spraying and working the cable up and down until drips of lubricant emerges from the bottom end of the cable. Wipe everything down and reinstall the clutch lever. Adjust your clutch to the proper tension using the adjuster located at the top of the perch. Proper clutch cable tension is part personal preference but you should be able to put the bike in gear, pull in the clutch and push the bike without undo resistance. If you can't achieve the proper adjustment via the perch adjuster, screw the perch adjuster all the way in, making the cable way too loose, then use the larger adjuster located where the clutch cable enters the transmission to set proper clutch cable tension.

The process is similar for the throttle cables. Start by removing tension from the cables by screwing in the adjusters located near the right hand throttle. With tension gone remove the cover over the throttle tube. Use the screwdriver to spin a cable until it can detach from the throttle tube. Lubricate the throttle cable in the same manner as the clutch cable. Re-install the first throttle cable and remove the second throttle cable. Lubricate the cable in the same manner as above and re-install. Throttle cable tension is a personal preference but your owner's manual will give you a ballpark figure of how much throttle free play is needed. With the motorcycle off, spin the throttle all the way open and release, noting how long it takes for the throttle to recoil. Continue adjusting using the small adjusters near the right hand throttle or use the larger adjusters located on the carburetor or throttle body. When throttle tension is to your liking, start the motorcycle and turn the handlebars from the left steering stop to the right steering stop. You should not hear an increase in the engine's RPMs. If you encounter a rise in RPMs then you have over-tightened the throttle cables and then need to be slackened. Cables stretch and need periodic lubrication so show your cables some love and they'll be smooth to you.

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