Broken throttle cable

[IMARTIN]

On the way to Vermont the throttle cable on my 2000 1100RT snapped on the motor end. In the splittler box actually. The tech who gave me some help over the phone said he had never come across this before. Yet the first guy I talked to at the rally had the same thing happen on his RT, though one year older. About the same milage too (25,000 miles). Anyone else have this problem?

[BubbaZanetti]

yep, the cable on my 99 R11S snapped inside the bowden box, it was the cable from the grip to the box. probably just not set in its "track" correctly and the constant rubbing wore it out.

[PGlaves]

Doesn't happen all that often. Those cables are really a low stress, light pull application compared to a clutch cable - which is a beefier cable. The somewhat dirty environment from road grunge can find its way into the box. Grease on the barrels is a good thing here! Also, misalignment can cause damage. One little bend/kink can set up stresses that never go away.

Usually throttle cables start to fray about 2 inches from the top end.

[bmwmick]

On the way to Vermont the throttle cable on my 2000 1100RT snapped on the motor end. In the splittler box actually. The tech who gave me some help over the phone said he had never come across this before. Yet the first guy I talked to at the rally had the same thing happen on his RT, though one year older. About the same milage too (25,000 miles). Anyone else have this problem?

I seem to remember that ALL the bowden cables for the bikes with the cable distributor were recalled from dealer stock a couple of years ago. The barrels were falling off.

[IMARTIN]

Paul, you mentioned grease on the barrels. On both ends? We did not grease the end in the splitter box. What sort of lubricant would you suggest? WD40 was all I had available at the time of repair.

[PGlaves]

I'm not sure I'd go back in there just to grease the barrels if you put WD40 on them. I prefer a light grease - like white lithium grease or even Vasoline. The reason I prefer a light grease to an oil in this application is that the entire box can get a bit dusty and damp inside. Grease right on the barrels keeps the grit out of the actual wearing surface better than a liquid oil.

But, that is a lot of work for a marginal payoff. Next time I had the tank off and it was all more accessible I would slide the box out and grease the barrels, but doubt it would make a big difference until then.

[IMARTIN]

Good advice. Thanks Paul.