Topic: PLEASE HELP -- Clutch Cable

[macisaguy]

Okay.  Feel free to call me names, laugh, and generally make fun of me for buying a vintage bike when I'm the least mechanically inclined guy out there.  (I am trying to learn.  Really and truly.)

I cannot for the life of me figure out this effing clutch cable.  I'm putting a new one on my '78 CB550.  OEM part, so it should be right length and everything.  It seems though that there's not enough length/slack in the cable to get it into the arm down at the bottom.  It's just so short.  Even if I did get it fitted, the arm would stay up as there is NO slack.

I have combed through my Clymers, owner's manual, and my Honda Shop Manual.  I have gone through this thread and read numerous posts, watched videos and am now resorting to yelling and pulling my hair out.  I'm confused, angry, but mostly frustrated. 

Here are photos of the setup.  Does anyone have ANY IDEA what I'm missing here???  Why isn't this cable long enough?  Is it just that the cable's too short and either I ordered the wrong part or was sent the wrong one (the former being far more likely)





Please help. 

[Reganator]

This seems like an obvious question that went unanswered... I'd assume you have the old cable available to compare lengths?

[macisaguy]

Yes...and this one is shorter.  But I don't think the one I took off was stock, as this bike had some crazy high chopper bars on it.  So it needed to be longer.  (It could have been stock...but I doubt it as the bars and forks had both been swapped out and were longer and higher than stock parts.)

But it simply may be this cable is too short and I'm over complicating things.  Just needed to see if I was missing something as I'm all alone on this, and needed the opinion of folks who know what they're doing.

[Reganator]

I can't speculate on the cable you removed, but assuming you've got the routing correct I'd guess you got the wrong cable somehow.  It isn't as if that is something which has never happened.

[reddyvv]

First, check that you have the clutch arm on the case adjusted so the notch on the arm lines up with the notch on the case. Also make sure the adjuster at the lever end is fully screwed in. Next put the cable end into the arm first and then pull it into the adjuster bracket.

[bjbuchanan]

I went on dime city and pulled up your bike and the page I'm linking has the rough stock length of the cable. Granted it is a motion pro cable which is never the real length but is functionally long/short enough for the bike

52.5" long, motion pro is usually just a little too long

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-cables-honda-cj360-cb360-cb550-cb750-clutch-cable-02-0005.html

[uksparky]

Ok your problem is the cable where it goes through the bracket, bolted to the rear mount...the cable nut has to be flush with the bracket..tap it through until it stops at the cable nut....the other end runs under the guages to the clutch lever

[macisaguy]

Thank you guys so much.  Finally got it sorted out.  uksparky was right about that adjuster nut not being flush.  (Turns out it was too big for the bracket.  Took it off, put the original adjuster nut on the new cable.  BAM.  Major success.  Thank you all again for the help.