Had my first broken clutch cable.....

[johnnyquest]

Last week, riding home after being on my bike all day, I hear and feel a pop. I'm new to motorcycling, and K-bikes, so I wasn't sure what it was. Then I tried to stop at a stoplight and realized the clutch was only partially disengaging. I had just had it in the shop for the clutch input shaft spline lube, and knew the whole back end of the bike was torn apart, so I wondered if the problem might be something at the transmission lever side. Rather than stop and actually look at my bike (kinda dumb), I turned around and headed accross town back to my dealer to have them look at it.

On the way I had to pay attention and try to match revs to get the bike to downshift, and at stoplights I could still feel the bike pulling a bit. I got distracted and was following too close in traffic, almost crashed when traffic came to a stop in front of me. I grabbed too much of both brakes in a panic and locked up both tires. I somehow had the presence of mind to remember my training and let go of the front brake. I kept the back locked and was able to steer around the truck in front of me and into the center turn lane. All this happened at 40 mph, so it didn't scare me too bad, but needless to say I stopped worrying about my bike and started paying more attention to the road. I'm sure a MSF instructor would say I did several things wrong, but I didn't fall and remembered to let go of the front brake which I think saved my bacon.

So, got to the dealer and found out the cable was broken at the lever. They agreed to fix it on the spot for me which I thought was cool, Cost me $21 for the cable and $64 in labor.

Lessons learned:
1. Keep a spare cable in the garage or on the bike, they're cheap! (can they be coiled up tight enough to put in the tail storage of a K-bike? Or is that not good for the cable? Anyone?)

2. When something goes wrong, stop and check it out. Had I found the break at the lever I would have rode home and got the part, done the work myself and saved $64.

3. Lesson from the friendly guys at my dealer. Check the pivot barrel on the clutch lever monthly, clean and lube it. I had no idea that there was a pivot barrel there, that it required lube, and that if it wasn't lubed or got dirty that it would kink the cable and eventually cause it to break.

4. Don't let a minor mechanical problem distract you from safely operating the motorcycle. Pay attention to your surroundings no matter what!

JQ

[jdiaz]

Keep a spare in the tail section. It'll be enough to get you home.

[Bobmws]

Yes it will coil into the tail section, no problem. Also buy 2 pivot barrels, they usually fall out if the cable breaks completely and you pull the lever in. DAMHIK!

[James.A]

Every bike that I ride has a spare clutch cable hidden on it somewhere. My experience happened when pulling into a parking lot. Mine broke at the transmission end and resulted in an abrupt clutch-out after a downshift. I knew immediately what had happened. I was trying to get turned around when a motorist in a big pick-up truck decided to have a little fun and was driving straight at me. I was compelled to brake the bike down to a stop. I tried to run him down on foot, but he got away. After that, It was spare cables for everyone.

[johnnyquest]

Yes it will coil into the tail section, no problem. Also buy 2 pivot barrels, they usually fall out if the cable breaks completely and you pull the lever in. DAMHIK!

I would never have thought of that, guess I thought the new cable came with the barrels on them. Maybe I need to go buy a cable and barrels and familiarize myself with that section of my Clymer manual.

JQ

[MechanicSavant]

An old enduro rider showed me this setup many yrs ago ,I've used it myself w/good results numerous times...When installing a new cable clutch ,throttle whatever tape a second one right along side of it except for the last 6" at each end , tape up the exposed ends of the spare cable & tuck them out of harms way once the primary is installed....this makes change out a lot simpler and you're les likley to blow the next time check!!!! :thumb

[PGlaves]

The BMW clutch cables have a bottom barrel which comes with/on the cable but the top barrel is loose/removable. The cables almost always break right at the top where connected to the barrel at the lever. Often when the cable snaps the barrel falls out of the lever. Stpped at a stop sign you can often find the barrel if the hill isn't too steep and it doesn't roll too far. If it broke on a 4th to third downshift on that last curve about 1/2 mile back, and it falls out, finding that particular barrel will be more than difficult.

I always carry a barrel - even when I don't carry a cable, because it is possible to make a broken cable work and hold as long as you have a barrel. You have to shorten the sheath about an inch, and reassemble it with a 90 degree bend in the cable end, wedged between the side of the barrel and the hole. It takes a set of good pliers to wedge it together. The bottom of the lever frame is open, so bend the cable down not up. Then splay the twisted cable a little bit and put a glob of JB Kwik (5 minute metallic epoxy) to ensure it can't pull through. You need to readjust the clutch at the bottom usually and then take up some slack at the top. I've done this on an R80, K75, R1100, and several other bikes at rallies over the years.

Paul Glaves

[johnnyquest]

I haven't checked this thread in a few days, but these are some great ideas. Thanks everyone! Oh, one more thing. How long can I expect a new cable to last on my K-bike if I clean/lubricate the clutch lever barrel once a month as was recommended? I'm going to a rally in May, about 5 hours each way plus the local rides once I'm there, and just wanted to know if I should worry about packing another cable since I just had a new one installed. Thanks.

JQ

[deilenberger]

I haven't checked this thread in a few days, but these are some great ideas. Thanks everyone! Oh, one more thing. How long can I expect a new cable to last on my K-bike if I clean/lubricate the clutch lever barrel once a month as was recommended? I'm going to a rally in May, about 5 hours each way plus the local rides once I'm there, and just wanted to know if I should worry about packing another cable since I just had a new one installed. Thanks.

JQ

The new cable should basically last almost forever if the ends are kept lubricated. I know more than one person with > 100k miles on the original cables, and I suspect Paul Glaves may have > 350k miles on his.

Check the lubrication at each oil change - makes it easy to remember. I'd also lube the following spots once a year (good time to do it is when you change your transmission and rear-drive oils)

The throttle housing. You'll notice a more or less rectangular cover on the top, with a large flat-slot screw in it. Remove this screw, and lube the gears that are exposed. If kept lubed - these last for > 100k. If not kept lubed, they have a rather short life. You may also want to lubricate the sleeve the throttle rotates on over the bars - with this cover off - you can slide it off and lube it. If you have heated grips - do this with some care. The wiring SHOULD be long enough to allow you to do this - but if not - don't tug hard on it. Before putting the cover back on, make sure the scribed lines on each gear line up with the other gear.

The bottom fitting of the throttle cable uses a pivot much like the one on the clutch cable - it's worth rubbing a bit of grease on it to keep it rotating nicely.

Side and centerstands - are often ignored. If you have an early K with the self-retracting sidestand, failure to lube this can cause clutch cable failure. Some of them have a grease fitting on them - others have a small hole in the sidestand where it pivots on the stepped bolt. The centerstand also has these small holes. These require a rubber tip for your grease gun.. and should be lubed at least once a year. The retracting mechanism for the sidestand hangs out around the pivot point, and is fairly easy to view if you lay down next to the bike. These should be well lubed.

Besides the pivot on the end of the cable for the clutch lever - it's worth unscrewing the screw that holds the lever into the housing, and lubricating both the screw itself, and the end of the lever where it rubs on the housing.

Depending on the year/brake design of your K bike - there may be a grease point on the rear-brake lever pivot.

[johnnyquest]

deilenberger, thanks for the great advice. I appreciate it when veterans take time to answer newbie questions. BTW, a thread you posted in back in July of last year helped me with another problem. My fairing was bouncing all over the place, basically since I bought the bike. Since I'm new to motorcycles, I thought that perhaps all bikes with fairings did this on bumpy roads. My only indication that something was wrong, the proverbial light bulb that went off in my head, was when I started hearing a squeak at low speeds coming from the fairing. I used the search engine here and found an old thread about this problem. Turns out the 10mm lower left bolt that attaches the fairing bracket to the steering head was all the way out, how it stayed there without falling out on I-10 at 80mph I'll never know. On top of that, the top left allen bolt was loose, about 4 turns out. I tightened them both back up, replaced the headlight with the one I bought at the IBMWR.org marketplace, then re-assembled everything. The front of the bike is now totally solid even on the bumpiest (is that a word?) sections of my commute to work. So, anyways....thanks for sharing the knowledge!

In addition to the fairing repair, I also changed my engine oil and filter (fram filter with Valvoline Syntech 20w50), changed my brake fluid front and rear (front was really dirty), and today I changed my transmission oil and final drive oil. Now all I need is a grease gun to grease up the side and center stand like you mentioned and I think that other than engine oil I should be good for a year or more.

JQ

[PGlaves]

Don,

My K75 isn't still on the original clutch cable. I replaced the original at 139,000. I've done better since then. The second cable is still sound at 361,000.

[deilenberger]

deilenberger, thanks for the great advice. I appreciate it when veterans take time to answer newbie questions.


Big Snip..

In addition to the fairing repair, I also changed my engine oil and filter (fram filter with Valvoline Syntech 20w50), changed my brake fluid front and rear (front was really dirty), and today I changed my transmission oil and final drive oil. Now all I need is a grease gun to grease up the side and center stand like you mentioned and I think that other than engine oil I should be good for a year or more.

JQ

JQ - thanks. I got help from "veterans" when I first got a BMW (one that had gone into the ocean for a bit and needed just a bit of rebuilding..) and it's pretty much a "pass it forwards" sort of thing.

One thing - you mentioned using a Fram filter. Hopefully it wasn't one with the "easy-grip" coating on the outside. The filter number that was on the IBMWR list as a replacement got this coating a number of years ago. Problem with the coating - it is made of sand, and it comes off in the oil (since the filter is sitting in hot oil.)

Oil with sand in it isn't a good thing in an engine. Fram does carry (at least they did) a direct replacement for a K bike filter (listed in their book) that is fine to use - it's unpainted and made in Europe... only thing is - it costs almost as much as the dealer filter, which comes with a new crush ring and O ring for the filter cover.

I just use stock, and figure on changing the oil and filter every 10k miles or so (about once a year for me.) That's based on using Mobil1 15w-50 (it used to be "red-cap" but they've changed designations and prices.)

The reason I'm confident in this mileage can be seen at:

http://www.eilenberger.net/K75S/C21138.pdf (you'll need Adobe Acrobat to view it.) Blackstone did make one mistake - they listed the oil as 15W-40. The viscosity reading at 210F show that the 50 part of the oil is still working just fine.

Best,

[Vito]

Ditto what johnnyquest said!
I also saw the exact thread about the bouncing fairing and fixed mine as well with missing fasteners. After reading this thread, I have installed a new clutch cable and kept my old one as a spare and have lubricated the cable pivot barrels and handle screw- with extra barrels to be ordered. I was so used to the "old" clutch handle operation that it now feels effortless...cool...

[johnnyquest]

Don,

My K75 isn't still on the original clutch cable. I replaced the original at 139,000. I've done better since then. The second cable is still sound at 361,000.

Wow! :thumb That's just amazing!

JQ

[johnnyquest]

Fram does carry (at least they did) a direct replacement for a K bike filter (listed in their book) that is fine to use - it's unpainted and made in Europe... only thing is - it costs almost as much as the dealer filter, which comes with a new crush ring and O ring for the filter cover.



Yeah, I used the direct replacement filter, a PH 6063. Cost me $8.49 at Checker auto parts (same as Kragen/Schucks in some parts of the country). I went in looking for the Fram car filter, but they all had the sure-grip stuff on them. After seeing the warning on IBMWR.org I knew to stay away from that stuff. To me, the main benefit to getting a fram filter there was convenience.....the new Checker auto parts is literally 1/3 of a mile from my house, I could walk there if I had to! It's kinda funny, the fram filter looks exactly like the BMW filter I put in it the first time, same color and finish, just doesn't say BMW on it. I didn't sweat the crush washer/o-ring because I had new ones still from my first oil change when I bought the bike. I inspected them and they still looked great, but I think next oil change I'll swap them out regardless.

JQ

[johnnyquest]

Ditto what johnnyquest said!
I also saw the exact thread about the bouncing fairing and fixed mine as well with missing fasteners. After reading this thread, I have installed a new clutch cable and kept my old one as a spare and have lubricated the cable pivot barrels and handle screw- with extra barrels to be ordered. I was so used to the "old" clutch handle operation that it now feels effortless...cool...

I know, I've learned a ton since last november hear and at IBMWR.org. I think I'll be in great shape for the rally in May.

JQ