Broken clutch cable

[BRIENP]

I had a clutch cable break about 1000 miles ago. A (non-BMW) dealer fixed it. Then it broke again (see image). I fixed it myself. The break occurred just beyond the knurled knob that adjusts cable tension. Any diagnoses?

[TinyTrains]

That is strange. Mine broke at the gold rivet at the lever. Was the replacement a BMW cable?

[BRIENP]

Yes, the one that broke was BMW product.

[OHScot]

Maybe a bad ground cable?? Assuming the clutch pull is easy and all lubed up.

[98lee]

If you don't hold the sheath from rotating when you adjust the adjuster, the cable twists and unravels, causing it to break near the adjuster. It is a good idea to put a dab of grease where the sheath goes into the adjuster so the sheath does not get stuck to the adjuster.

The more common break is at the very end where the swage goes into the barrel in the lever. This is usually caused by the barrel not being greased and not rotating in the lever. his will cause the cable to kink right where the cable comes out of the swage and will fatigue the cable until it breaks. Then the barrel falls out on the road.

IF YOU CARRY A SPARE CLUTCH CABLE, ALWAYS, ALWAYS , ALWAYS TAPE A SPARE BARREL TO THE SPARE CABLE. You will probably need both if the cable breaks. DAMHIK

[deilenberger]

Lee's advice is spot on - and one additional thing. If the lubing of the lever barrel is ignored long enough the lever itself will wear, causing the cable to rub against the slot in the lever - wearing it out. Cure is a new cable, barrel AND lever. And then remember to grease it at every oil change.

BTW - Original poster (dunno your name.. hint!) - it's very useful if you include the year/model of your bike in your thread title. That way people who might be familiar with the problem are able to spot threads they might be able to help with.

[beemerguru]

Trying to remember if if some models used the felt around the cable or not?

[BRIENP]

Thanks for the helpful responses.

I also was surprised that the cable did not break at the barrel, from reading previous posts. That seems to be a common problem, and frequent lubrication at the barrel seems to be the prevention. Breaking where it did four inches from the end surprised me, and makes me wonder how to prevent future occurrences.

As for holding the knurled piece while adjusting the cable...I really can't remember for sure one way of the other. When I walk through the adjustment mentally, I automatically grab both pieces, though. (Like my dad used to say about wrenching pipe: "always use a hold-back".)

There was no evidence of felt there.

Although I am not adverse to lubing this section of cable, I note that there is some lubricating material (teflon?) evident to the touch already on the metal. Earlier posts warned against lubing the cable in general.

And thanks for the gentle hint about names and bike types. I'll try to set up a signature.

[98lee]

As for holding the knurled piece while adjusting the cable...I really can't remember for sure one way of the other. When I walk through the adjustment mentally, I automatically grab both pieces, though. (Like my dad used to say about wrenching pipe: "always use a hold-back".)

I did not say "hold the knurled piece". I said hold the sheath (the outer part of the clutch cable). You turn the knurled adjuster while keeping the outer part of the cable from rotating.


Do not put lube on the cable, just the end of the sheath where it goes into the knurled adjuster and on the barrel that goes into the lever.