Topic: Home made throttle cable nipples

[Trevor from Warragul]

The "pull" throttle cable on my 350/4 recently snapped.  I went to David Silver Spares & discovered that the part is "No Longer Available" from Honda.  Crap!  I have previously made throttle cables for my Morini 3 1/2 Sport, so I decided that was the way to go.  I have perfectly good outers, I just need new inners.  The only problem I could see was the nipples.  The Honda ones appear to be made of some sort of aluminum alloy.  I snipped the nipples off an old cable, and drilled out the wires.  It worked okay, but I wasn't entirely happy with the result.  What I needed was some solid brass ones...

I searched the aisles of my local "Bunnings Warehouse", and I came up with the perfect item:



This is the part I paid $9.50 for.  It's good for 4 nipples:



I sawed off a "blank" with a fine hacksaw, then I was left with finding a solution to the uneven cut.  This is how I got around that issue:



I mounted the blank in my pillar drill, a medium file in my vice, and I soon had beautiful even ends.  I then drilled a 2mm hole, and countersunk with a 5.5mm drill.  This is the finished product:



Now all I need is the inner cable I've ordered from Venhill...

[fastbroshi]

Different cable style, but I thought if was worth a look.  Check out the other pages, this guys documentation and pictures are excellent.

http://bullfire.net/Triumph/Triumph28/Triumph28.html

[754]

Cool, nice homebrewed solution.. Congrats on solving the problem..

 Model shops & metal supply places may have brass cheaper..

 If you need a McGyver fix in the future, I may be able to help find a solution..

[diskman]

I went to the local Menards (Home Depot/Lowes) and picked up 3 feet of 1/4 inch brass stock.

I cut off a 6 inch piece and chucked it into the drill press.  I had to file it down a tad.  Worked great!  I then held my hacksaw against the spinning stock and cut off a bunch of small pellets.  Had to do a little bit of filing to remove the center nibs from the cut, but it worked great. 

Drilled and brazed on my new throttle cables. 

Thanks for the brass tip though!  I was using regular steel bolt shanks and brazing them.  The brass is cake compared to steel.

[fastbroshi]

   Would the brass be too soft for this app?

[754]

In most apps its fine..
 Consider,
 would you rather wear the wheel part your throttle cable pulss on or the nipple?

 Would you rather wear out the pivot surface in your clutch lever or the nipple?

 And consider if you can make the nipps yourself and install them, it wont matter that much..

[dusterdude]

damn,thats slicker than snot!!

[Trevor from Warragul]

All finished!  I got the inner cables from Venhill, and I must say I'm impressed with the quality & price.

http://www.venhill.co.uk/Cable_kits_and_components/CABLE_COMPONENTS

It took two goes on each cable to get them just right (I wasn't happy with the length).  The great thing about making your own inners is that you can get the length absolutely spot on.  I rode the bike & realised that my recently clumsy gearchanges were down to a slightly binding throttle.  Now to work on my too-long Morini clutch cable...

P.S.  Here's another tip.  Soak the cable outers in kerosene overnight.  It cleans the inside very nicely & leaves an oily film

[MaaseyRacer]

All finished!  I got the inner cables from Venhill, and I must say I'm impressed with the quality & price.

http://www.venhill.co.uk/Cable_kits_and_components/CABLE_COMPONENTS

Does anyone know of the US equivalent of Venhill?

[Mattbastard]

All finished!  I got the inner cables from Venhill, and I must say I'm impressed with the quality & price.

http://www.venhill.co.uk/Cable_kits_and_components/CABLE_COMPONENTS

Does anyone know of the US equivalent of Venhill?

Found a place, right here

http://www.flanderscables.com/FlanCableSearch.html

[754]

Barnett has cable ends, may have to order thru a dealer.. Ask to see a catalog, or look online.

 Barnett nylon lined are the smoothest cables I ever ran.. I can tie a throtte cable into about a 3inch loop and move cable with 2 fingers.