Ouch! . easy baby!!

[ClarkGriswald]

Oh poor XS.. Broke a clutch cable a day before my new one is scheduled to arrive.. Just what I didnt want happening after just renewing my gears and what not..

Well I was only about 5 miles from home so as it happend on downshifting for a stop, I almost could have kept goin but for traffic. Put her in neutral so I knew where I was then I slipped it into 1st.. with cars behind me I got off the bike pushed it and ran along as I started it in gear then hopped on hehhehe.

No prob plus had a little time before I got to the fatefull turn onto my dirt road to compose myself.. (MX experience pays off again), a blip of the throttle and you can downshift clean just like you were clutching but man I hate to resort to that after just being in the tranny.. slipped her right into neutral and coasted into my little parking spot on my back sidewalk (trailer). Come on UPS, bring me that new cable tommorow !!!!!

I knew that thing was gettin near its end but todays deep creeping and "operating aggressivly " hahha well lets just say that was probly the last straw.. (made a hotlap around a couple miles country block in like no time haha).

Anyway I thought it might be a comical thread of crazy stuff like that.. I had my throttle lock up several different times back in the day racing quads.. literally used my kill switch and clutch to make a few more laps. (scary on a banshee). One time I landed so hard (badly) that somehow even with fullface helmet my chin contacted the bars right on one of those bread tie things that holds the cables.. I had cuts just like that pattern , at the same time both exhaust mounts broke and the pipes came undone from the engine.. I continued for a few more laps bleeding and really loud to finish the race hahaa. I got tons but those stick out.

[3Phase]

[Schermerhorn]
You maaniac!
You insane man!
[/Schermerhorn]


I think I need to get a spare clutch cable before I go out riding again!


Regards,

Scott

[yamahansolo]

this happened to me twice... i broke the origional one at work leaving the lot. so i stole the one off my parts bike at home... and forgot to order the new one.... then two weeks ago leaving to go to work i broke the other about 1 mile from the house. i didn't need to hop on it. i just bliped the throttle popped it in gear and took off with no problems!!! then the new one came about 5 days later!!!

[trbig]

At stops, I just kill it and drop it into first. Downshifting... just lug the engine a bit and it will click right down into the lower gears. There's a switch on your clutch up behind the handle.. if you pull back on that wire just a bit, you can start it without the clutch being pulled if the handle is broke. Then when it's time to go, use the starter with it in 1st gear. A lot easier than push starting. It catches... just take off. and blip the throttle just a tad when shifting. If you shift at lower rpm, it is smoother and easier under 3k... but I don't use a clutch when getting on it and shifting at high rpm either.

Tod

[egsols]

Broken clutch cable

That's why I'm always in neutral at a stop. I see too many riders pull up to a light, clutch pulled in (cause they're in first), revving and revving. Now, suppose their cable breaks at the same time the tach registers 4500


Hey ClarkGriswald,

Glad you made it home, good workout pushing an xs11 and then hopping on, used to do that back in '82 when my battery was toast. Didn't replace it for about two months, talk about being young and foolish (or was that young and cheap, or both)

Unfortunately you can't run the starter in first gear on the XS. When I lost the linkage in my old datsun I just shut it off at the lights and used the starter in first to get going again.

[webbcraft2150]

My old Combat Norton had a real appetite for clutch cables. I used the same trick I did to my dirt bikes on it. I would route the spare cable with the one being used and zip tie em together. When the cable broke, I was able to quickly effect a repair without having to take the tank off. You should seen my routine for a roadside Amal carb float replacement.

While i have a spare clutch cable for the XS, I have yet to replace it in the 20 some years I have owned it. Every couple of months, I will use my trusty cable luber on it, I guess that is what keeps it going.

[ClarkGriswald]

Sorry mabye it was misunderstood that I pushed started the bike .. yikes that would hurt.. na i just got off it and ran along for a few steps and started the bike in first (with the starter) so my extra weight wouldnt be on the poor starter motor. Probably could have just as easily stood up off the seat and walked along straddling it.. actually there is no way that I could ever possibly push that bike in 1st gear hahha.. I did stall it in high gear rather than downshifting more when it first broke cause its better to kill if in a higher gear than chunky chunky first..

By the way I like that reasoning for not sitting at the light in gear, and spare clutch cable pre-routed thats good stuff too..

Mine starts in 1st no prob, clutch or no clutch no matter what gear. Only bad deal about it was that I was considering going on a ride with some friends. Up in kalamazoo there is a cycle shop that some good friends of mine own mabye some know of it, they are a ducati/ktm/triumph dealer.. well ever since they started years ago, there has been a standing tuesday night ride. Customers, friends whatever just show up there at quittin time and pick somewhere to go, mabye get a bite to eat then come back home whatever.. I was just driving home thinking if I was gonna go to that as it has been years since ive had a working bike that I could take haha.. Im not kidding it was right then that I pulled up to that stop and "snap" hahha.. Oh well. mabye next week. (wasnt looking forward to freezing my stuff off either last night, not really up to par on apparal yet).

[ClarkGriswald]

Well, new cable lubed and installed ahhhh thats smooth.. old crusty cable was real hard pulling, new one barely fit on the bike and is sittin at the bottom of the adjuster(on bars) and has just a little play so I need to work it and stretch it a little. I did the adjustment on the clutch too but maybe have to back that off a little more than 1/4 cause I was slipping the clutch in 4th and 5th pulling hard. Thing is I knew I was having a few slips here and there before but Its difficult to "feel" the clutch when the old cable is like that.. Now it is really nice and I can tell Im right at the edge of bein to tight so might be a little of both, needs stretchin.

Funny I was holding off on judgin the clutch till I got a new cable on there cause before youd think that there were some massive strong springs on her.. not really. Them dang deals are squishy! hehe

Good enough to drive around for the rest of fall, see if I get the other 3 cyls back if not I have some fun before tearing her down again.