Topic: bummer...my throttle cable broke a long way from home

[neil young]

well i was about 80 miles from home yesterday.i was at a stop light.when it turned green i hit the gas then my cable snapped
well needless to say it really sucked.it also showed me i need a few more tools in my tool bag...needle nose pliers being #1 on the list.
i tried jerry rigging it, but to no avail.
is there anything i could have done to get me home.
i tried switching cables ,but the other was to short.and a real pain in the ass to get my fingers in there with the carb boots and air box in the way.
any way it was a good thing my buddy had a CAA card..so i had to get a flatbed to tow it home.
i know there are threads relating to this but i cant find them at the moment.
i have new push-pull cables and will be replacing them today or tomorrow...but if I'm not mistaken they have both end on them..so how do you feed the ball end through the light switch.or do i cut them off and reattach?
if so how do i reattach them.
it's a 77 cb 550 by the way

[Klark Kent]

that sucks neil-
dont cut yer balls off!  the right switch has two large holes on the bottom for cable ends, they are filled witht he jamb nuts that are on the metal curved end of the cable.  The way i did the cables when i switched bars was to hook up the push cable to both the grip and the carb and then spin on the pull cable at the grip androute it back to the carbs.  then adjust the slack out.  i had to do it twice this past weekend and it was the most enjoyable part of the bar swap.

hopefully the cables did not change on the later 550s and this applies to you- I couldnt understand how the airbox and boots were giving you trouble.   

glad you were with your buddy and CAA

[neil young]

the trouble that came into play was i couldnt remove and reattach the fuel line from the gas tank without needle nose plyers (line is tight as hell on the pet cock.) so my tank could only be moved slightly out of the way
scractched the crap out of my side cover
i had trouble refeeding the broken wire back through the metal 90 that screws into the light switch without the ball end on it.hence the question about new cables.i tried tying the wire first to the throttle to no avail.then tried switching the cables around.but as i said it was to short.

[Klark Kent]

sounds like old fuel line.  i was amazed when i replaced mine how easy it was to take on and off with just my digits. 

i think i might have misunderstood your question- definately replace the pull and while you are at it the push cable.  was the issue with trying to repair the broken pull cable? 

[neil young]

oooopps my bad...i didnt realize that the cables come with the metal 90's attached
i ordered a push and a pull cable last year...wouldnt you know it..they sent me 2 push cables  grrrrr.
so i just ordered 2 pull cables and a clutch cable...about 3 days waiting time,so i should be up and running again this weekend
but is there something that would have gotten me home as a quick fix at the time

[Klark Kent]

i didnt know that the cables were that different in length, ive only ever replaced the pull (yup, that cheap).  i know i have heard tell (or tale) of folks either swapping the push for a pull or just swapping the carb end and riding back with a forward twist throttle. 

[DJ_AX]

.... of folks either swapping the push for a pull or just swapping the carb end and riding back with a forward twist throttle. 

AHhhh.. great idea! ... I think that's the answer you were looking for eh? I'll definitely have to remember that.

[edbikerii]

Yes, great idea, but it doesn't work on the 77 and 78 CB550K.  The cables are not the same length.

.... of folks either swapping the push for a pull or just swapping the carb end and riding back with a forward twist throttle. 

AHhhh.. great idea! ... I think that's the answer you were looking for eh? I'll definitely have to remember that.

[Klark Kent]

i owuld be a little paranoid about instinct kicking in in a panic.  in a split second situation i could see myself reverting to muscle memory and instead of speeding up or slowing down i would do the opposite right into whatever i was trying to avoid. CAA sounds like it was the quickest fix. I'd still have to wait for a new cable to do any real riding.  CAA would get me home safer.  well AAA for me.

[DJ_AX]

i would be a little paranoid about instinct kicking in in a panic....

yeah I thought of that too.. I'd ride like 35 on the side but it's way better than walking or waiting for a ride.

It freaks me out to be immobile.   

[seaweb11]

When mine broke on PCH in  OR.   I did have the needle nose pliers.

It took a while but here is how I solved it on the road.
I remember re-tying the cable near the throttle, using pliers    and a zip tie came in to play down at the carb end  

I called my Sister in SF and had her order one for me to pick up in N. Cal.............. where it arrived when I did 1-1/2 days later

The Zip Tie was the key.........keep a couple in your tool sack on longer trips

[edbikerii]

That's some damned good advice for all sorts of things!

The Zip Tie was the key.........keep a couple in your tool sack on longer trips

[Klark Kent]

its the thinking mans duct tape.  i carry several different sizes on the bike at most times.

[ken74-550K0]

When it happened on my 550, I turned up the idle screw and it was good enough to get me home, it was only a couple of miles, but it sure was better than leaving it or pushing it home.

[Buber]

Sooo.. noboday actually came back home by himself? Well, I did. when my pull cabel snapped i fixed it. 1st of all NEVER go out without your trusty Leatherman. Then you look around, even on your bike, (but i was lucky to roll to a parking lot, and very often somebody will have something) to find a nut, say M5 or even M4. Then you hammer it flat on the end of the line, and goign easy on the throttle you go back home. It helps to kind of "splti" the end of the cable to create a kind of "bundle" at the end, as the cable may want to slip out. This way it "jams".

it got me home no problem, and I invented it on the spot.

On the other hand, for ecery long trip you should take a cable repair set. You can buy it in bike shops. It contains cables and screw-in ends. Actually those ends would do the trick, and they weight nothing! You could strap them in somewhere in the bike.... now, this is an idea!

[neil young]

When mine broke on PCH in  OR.   I did have the needle nose pliers.

It took a while but here is how I solved it on the road.
I remember re-tying the cable near the throttle, using pliers    and a zip tie came in to play down at the carb end  

I called my Sister in SF and had her order one for me to pick up in N. Cal.............. where it arrived when I did 1-1/2 days later

The Zip Tie was the key.........keep a couple in your tool sack on longer trips

good call Seaweb.i have quite a few tie wraps (used a few to hold the wires for my Dyna in place)
i figured there was something i could do...but on a sunday afternoon in a big city like Toronto a lot of stores are not open or close early ....damn zealots
thats why i ordered 2 pull cables and a clutch cable (keep them in my saddle bags)for future trouble.i ride many miles in the summer out of town.i was lucky this time...i wont get screwed 300 miles or further from home next time.

[dpen]

Many many years in the bush I cut a long length of wire from a farmers fence, wired it into the slide & wound it around my thigh.
  Lift your leg to accellerate, lower it to slow down.
Got me home but what a mad ride

[gregimotis]

Many many years in the bush I cut a long length of wire from a farmers fence, wired it into the slide & wound it around my thigh.
  Lift your leg to accellerate, lower it to slow down.
Got me home but what a mad ride

Wow, that there is a good story

[edbikerii]

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=27507.0

[scadaman29325]

This is what I did for my clutch while on the road. There was a pack having various sizes. I am going to make one for my throttle using an allen screw.

If it is broke just a few inches from the end you may be able to cut off some of the sheath and install the emergency ball end (whatever it is called)... It might get you home.

Later, Phil

[neil young]

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=27507.0

i knew i had read this before...just couldnt find it 

This is what I did for my clutch while on the road. There was a pack having various sizes. I am going to make one for my throttle using an allen screw.

If it is broke just a few inches from the end you may be able to cut off some of the sheath and install the emergency ball end (whatever it is called)... It might get you home.

Later, Phil

good call

[neudl]

Just had my pull cable snap today about five miles from home - and here's the trick for getting home.  The cable snapped right up at the barrel, so I slid the frayed cable end out from the control, and tied a knot at the end.  I then took the ring off my keychain, and threaded it onto the knot, so that the terminal end was now attached to the ring, rather than the throttle control.  I then slid the ring over my thumb, so that to accelerate, I only needed to pull on the cable by closing my fist while holding the grip (i.e. pulling with my thumb) and to decelerate, just let off with my thumb.  It wasn't pretty, but it got me home.

[Buber]

Continuing from the bag of tricks.... 
At my last trip the pull cable broke somewhere in the middle about 100 miles from home. I fixed it in 20 minutes. How? By swapping teh cables at the carbs, so I came home (and I'm still driving, new cables are coming) by not "pulling" the grip, but "pushing" it forward. It was a bit strange at the beginning, but works perfectly, and I consider this an "elegant solution. 

Good luck on the road!

[strangedaze39]

Any try this? I'm not even sure what it's used for but I googled "cable repair clamp" and this is what popped up.
http://www.ridegear.com/rg/item/F-50558/Barnett-Tool-Eng/Emergency-Cable-Repair-Clamp.html
 I think a really cool fix would be a clamp or fitting that attached to both ends of the break and then attaches together. You could either fabricate one or find something that would work I imagine.

[Buber]

Yep, that's known solution. But wont fix a cable broken somewhere else than the end of it... 

[bggann]

Back in my old VW mechanic days, I carried a short peice of copper tube - just big enough to fit over the cable.  Slide it in and "crimp" it with pliers.  Works quite well for breaks not right at the ball.  Combine it with the repair clamps and you have both fixes.

[Shenanigans]

A list of "Jerry rig tricks on the road" thread would be interesting.

Heres a few from a friend and fellow member Grohidighast when his clutch cable broke a state and a half away from home.


Hard way.



Slighty less hard way. Foot clutch.