View Full Version : Clutch cable broke when riding
sabbath45
16th November 2008, 21:15
Was out on a ride with a mate and on way back clutch cable snapped :mad: had to ride home in 1st gear in a route where i didnt have to stop was so crap. took ages! has anyone ever had that hapnd to them and did u do. We tried to make a makeshift one when it hapnd but didnt work
marty
16th November 2008, 21:18
since when have you needed a clutch to change gear?
Ixion
16th November 2008, 21:19
Many a time. Once you're moving, there's no real issue, clutchless shifting isn't hard. The only time it's a problem is when you have to stop and you're not on a slope. But even then , not really a problem on something as light as an RG150. Push until you are doing about 5kph, engine idling, and drop into first gear. All good.
sabbath45
16th November 2008, 21:21
haha yea i thought it was real bad to change without the clutch but thats good to know if it ever hapnds again
Ixion
16th November 2008, 21:23
Opinions vary. Some claim it does no harm.Others, and not the least learned, disagree. Personally, I think it an unwise practice to do so regularly, but in an emergency it is quite justifiable.
Choco
16th November 2008, 21:28
Yeah, stopping would be the only problem! Stalling it at every set of lights would get painful :weep:
Starting it you just have to click it into neutral while your stopped, get it rolling and drop it into first.
YellowDog
16th November 2008, 21:32
Sorry to hear of this greif. There have been many posts on KB as to how you can easily change up and down without a clutch and just by regulating the engine speed. It is a shame your situation didn't jog your memory.
Hope you are now all sorted.
swbarnett
16th November 2008, 21:39
I had the throttle cable break on my CB250 many years ago. The break was right up by the 'bar leaving a tiny bit of cable sticking out of the housing. I unhooked the cable from the bar and pulled the wire while holding the housing with the remaining fingers of the same hand, resting my wrist on the throttle grip. Thankfully I was only a few km from home.
Motu
16th November 2008, 21:47
I've had clutch cables break plenty of times,and it's not a big issue - even with a child/adult chair on the side,complete with child and adult.It was a bit hard to push that one up to speed,but some gravel gives enough slip to dump it into gear without too much strain on components.
Lord Derosso
16th November 2008, 21:48
My gear change lever broke off just as I got my old XS360 Yamaha over the north side of the Auckland harbour bridge motorway heading home to Whangarei on a Friday early evening. 100 miles to go, gathering darkness and wondering what to do. I stopped the bike, ran back , found the lever and then started the bike in what must have been 4th or 5th and luckily found a open repair shop not far up the highway and they welded it back on for $10 and I got home OK. That was 1978. Joys of riding.
Moki
17th November 2008, 10:03
My gear change lever broke off just as I got my old XS360 Yamaha over the north side of the Auckland harbour bridge motorway heading home to Whangarei on a Friday early evening. 100 miles to go, gathering darkness and wondering what to do. I stopped the bike, ran back , found the lever and then started the bike in what must have been 4th or 5th and luckily found a open repair shop not far up the highway and they welded it back on for $10 and I got home OK. That was 1978. Joys of riding.
Yep, those were the days. What chance would a shop fire up the welder for that now? :blink:
vifferman
17th November 2008, 10:20
I had the throttle cable break on my CB250 many years ago. The break was right up by the 'bar leaving a tiny bit of cable sticking out of the housing. I unhooked the cable from the bar and pulled the wire while holding the housing with the remaining fingers of the same hand, resting my wrist on the throttle grip.
Yeah, that's OK when that happens, or the throttle cable breaks: you can always just bend the end of the cabe and yank on it.
Years ago, I did a crap job of reassembling my bike's clutch basket in a hurry, and had to go to work with a non-functioning clutch. It was actually OK apart from having to stop and start again. From memory, all I did was either find neutral before I came to a stop, then roll the bike forward and bang it into gear when I started off, or kill the bike with the kill switch, find neutral, kick start it again, then take off. Luckily this was Rotorua, and I had to make only a few complete stops in the whole trip. If it was D'Auckland at 'rush' hour, I would've been screwed.
vifferman
17th November 2008, 10:23
My gear change lever broke off just as I got my old XS360 Yamaha
I've broken a few gear levers in the "old days" - maybe they were made of shittier metal back then? It's OK if you have access to tools, and can either drill a hole through the lever and put a bolt through, or if it's completed gone, put a pair of vise grips on the spline.
I was very impressed with Valentino Rossi in one of his races this season - he broke the end off his gearlever and rode the whole race changing gear with the stub.
MotoKuzzi
17th November 2008, 16:54
I've had clutch cables break plenty of times,and it's not a big issue - even with a child/adult chair on the side,complete with child and adult.It was a bit hard to push that one up to speed,but some gravel gives enough slip to dump it into gear without too much strain on components.
With some electric starts you should be able to crank start it in first gear away from the lights. ( if the battery's good )
JimO
17th November 2008, 17:23
easy flick it into 1st just before you stop then run and hop on then drop it into 2nd and away you go
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