Pre lubing a clutch cable

Greg58 · Jan 29, 2013

I like a lot of members have broken a clutch cable, I installed the cable that came with my first kit as I found it and it lasted about two weeks. From that day forward I take the braided cable out of the housing and coat the cable with lithium grease leaving the last two to three inches of cable ungreased so the cable clamp will hold. The results were amazing, the clutch pull required was far less and the cable has been on the bike for a couple of years.

2door · Jan 29, 2013

All of your cables, clutch, brake and throttle will benefit from lubrication. I found that a heavy oil is easier to apply than grease and coats the entire inner surface of the housing as well as the cable itself. In fact I use chainsaw bar & chain lube, the same as I use on my chains. Once a year seems to be sufficient.

Tom

Greg58 · Jan 29, 2013

Tom I do that now I just wanted to let those that are new to Mb installing to know this trick.

bairdco · Jan 29, 2013

i've done that on every bike i've owned since i was 11 or so.

an easy way to grease them (instead of oil) is to take a blob of grease between your finger and thumb, then run the cable thru them as you push it into the housing.

bigbutterbean · Jan 29, 2013

I'm seriously considering using liquid wrench on my brake and throttle cables for my 4 stroke build.

WightBoy · Jan 29, 2013

I have used pb blaster on my cables with good results

Greg58 · Jan 29, 2013

Looks like we all have used different lubes, the one common thing is we all lube our cables.

Nashville Kat · Jan 29, 2013

One of the members here makes these- and still there I guess since page is.

Haven't ordered the clutch cable roller yet- but may some day
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZrxuupIlnvx3_7BFMq4WjI4dw4ekNhkcP9gQJNGwRlY/edit?pli=1

BarelyAWake · Jan 29, 2013

This may not be terribly relevant for many, but I thought I'd mention if you tend to ride in colder climates (significantly below freezing) the heavier oil & grease types tend to thicken up and increase cable drag, even preventing a full return. The lighter spray lubes like PB & Wrench don't suffer this, but haven't much longevity & require frequent reapplication.

I'm not particularly recommending this stuff, but it's what I use due to the above as molybdenum is a "dry" lube, it does work quite well if a touch spendy: http://www.amazon.com/Bike-Dri-Slide-4oz-Needle-Nozzle/dp/B001F2Y25G

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Pre lubing a clutch cable

Greg58

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2door

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Greg58

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bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes

bigbutterbean

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WightBoy

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Greg58

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Nashville Kat

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BarelyAWake

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