Broke my clutch cable today...

[madjak30]

I rode my bike to my buddies place to help him out in his garage, and on my way home the clutch cable broke at the lever   ...I didn't even make it out of town and had to limp the bike back to his place to get him to give me a ride home   ...100kms (60ish miles)...

I thought I was being so smart saving money on fuel and riding the bike in rain/fall weather (4C...38F)...now I have to take the truck and trailer down to his place, pick up the bike and bring it home...atleast I wasn't on a ride in the mountains when it broke...

How hard is it to replace a clutch cable?  I'm hoping it is pretty simple, since my truck goes into the shop on Tuesday and I was planning on riding my bike while it was in there...

Later.

[birdhandler]

its pretty simple
there are two places to adust the cable tension one at the by the lever loosen the locking ring and screw the in slotted ferrule the cable sits in
the other adjustment is on the upperside of the front sprockey cover and needs to be screwed into loosen as well
remove this cover unhook the old cable and fit the new one
I am suire you will find a more deatailed explanation in the manual
Cheers

[Elijafir]

Took me about 20 minutes.  Never done a clutch cable before.  Not that hard at all.  Didn't need a manual or anything.  Pay attention to the way it's on there and routed.. put the new on the same way.

[madjak30]

Thanks for the input guys, I'll let you know how it goes...

I guess riding may be coming to an end for me for the season, they are calling for snow flurries tonight...aaahh, the joys of being Canadian   ...gotta luv the long winters   ...I better go out and winterize the RV...this time of year sucks...

Later.

[Big Rich]

Once you disconnect the bottom end of the cable, wrap tape around the bottom of the old cable and the top of the new cable. Then gently pull the old cable while pushing it up towards the tank. Once the new cable is routed, just cut and remove the tape.

[skirecs]

shoulda just rode it home !

[madjak30]

shoulda just rode it home !

No, I think 100kms is too far to be riding without a clutch...it was only two or three back to his place...

Anyway, I couldn't borrow a trailer so I picked up a ramp to put the bike in the back of my truck...reason #15 to not have a lifted truck   ...what a pain in the ass that was    .

Once I got it home it was no problem, my driveway has a good uphill slope to it...now I just have to wait for the cable to come in (about a week)...I bought a cable lube tool and some cable lube...I don't think the cables on the bike have ever been lubed (I know I never did   ), so this winter I can go over the whole bike to clean and lube everything up for spring...also getting a new rear tire, so the bike should be nice and fresh in the spring...

Later.

[JonM1211]

Yah its easy stuff.

My aftermarket cable was about to snap recently, so I put my old stock one back on. Prolly because of lack of lube.

[birdhandler]

you may want to ask a local bike shop probably the older type ones or those that look after classic bike
Some can replace the inner cable and resolder on some nipples that may be quicker and you will then have a spare
Had my choke cable done cost $20 US approx 
Just a thought

[madjak30]

The new cable is under $25, so the cost wasn't too bad...having to wait a week and the weather is supposed to be summery this weekend, that's the bummer...I think changing the cable will be pretty straight forward, so I'm not too concerned about that.  I guess it will give me some time to get the neglected projects done around the house...maybe clean out the garage so that the wife can park her SUV in there...happy wife, happy life...   

Later.

[Twism86]

Where is a good place to get a new one? I probably need one soon...

[madjak30]

I'm getting mine from the Suzuki dealer in town...prices seem cheap for the parts so far...if you don't have a Suzuki dealer nearby check at any bike shop, we have a used bike shop in town that will bring parts in if you need them...

Good Luck!!

Later.

[madjak30]

Man, can't beleive how long it took for the clutch cable to come in   ...I finally got the call today, "it's in"   ...I'll replace it tonight so that I can go for a couple of rides on the weekend   ...let's hope the weather holds...

Later.

[madjak30]

Well, was that ever easy to replace...I think it took me 20mins to remove, replace and lube the cable...

Took it for a quick ride, and man is the new cable ever smooth...luv it.

I'm back on two wheels again...woo hoo 

[adidasguy]

I'm glad to hear it was easy. Now I'm not fearing replacing mine if I can find the right one. Here's the situation:

Are there other cables we can use? We know the GS has that 45* bend and comes off the perch at that odd angle to get around the instruments. Problem is I want to put the 650 perch on with ASV lever. The cable comes straight out so with only a 45* bend, it is a problem with hitting the instrument panel. If the cable had a 90* bend it would clear just fine. I've never explored clutch cables so I wonder if we can use a cable from some other bike, like a Ninja 500 which has a sharp 90* bend in the cable off of the perch. Or what can we use to clear the instrument panel?

I figure it has to be the right length. And the end at the perch could probably be anything since the fitting to the perch and lever seems the same for all of them. I guess it is what is at the engine end that could be different. (I'm doing fine at "pimping my ride", but still new at the mechanical stuff.)

[Big Rich]

You can check www.motionpro.com. They will make you a custom cable for a little extra cash.

[adidasguy]

Great! I'll check them out. I don't mind some extra $ if I can get what I want.

If I call the bike a "company vehicle" I can deduct it for taxes!    Money is no object!