Clutch cable lubrication?

[El Pirata]

I have found no mention anywhere of clutch cable lubing, is it maintenance free?

[Badbob]

Your right I can't find it either. The service manual does say to grease the lever.

I oil mine same as the throttle cables.

I oil my brake cable as well.

I also put a little lithium grease under my throttle grip. Thats not in the manual either. Makes it turn lots smoother.

[jnortonsr]

How do you lube them with out taking them off, and how do you take off the throttle or choke cable without taking off the right and left side side electrics

[Badbob]

I don't know an effective way to lube a cable without taking it off.

[jnortonsr]

How do you take them off?

[Water Warrior 2]

Back when I had a dirt bike I used a simple method to lube the clutch cable. Just pull the clutch in and drip a little automatic transmission fluid on the exposed cable. Work the clutch lever a bit and repeat. It can get a bit messy but after sitting over night the cable seems to get lubed from one end to the other. I used a dedicated oil can with a smaller tip after my first episode with a larger tip.
Haven't looked at the 250 cable yet but I do know if it has a teflon inner sheath rather then metal DO NOT LUBRICATE with oil. The teflon should be left alone, it is pretty tough and basically lube free. Teflon does not like oil but if it has already been oiled or lubed in some manner you might as well continue to avoid eventual binding. Hope this helps.

[Badbob]

The stock GZ250 cables do not have Teflon liners.

You have to remove the switch housing to get to the throttle cable ends. Be very careful to get the plastic pin back into the hole in the handle bars when replacing the housing and note where the screws go as they are different sizes. If you put the long screw in the short hole you can damage the housing. You do not need to completely remove the cable. Just remove the top end.

I put a drop of oil on the cable and let it run down the cable until it comes out the other end.

[Badbob]

Haven't looked at the 250 cable yet but I do know if it has a teflon inner sheath rather then metal DO NOT LUBRICATE with oil. The Teflon should be left alone, it is pretty tough and basically lube free. Teflon does not like oil but if it has already been oiled or lubed in some manner you might as well continue to avoid eventual binding. Hope this helps.

Do you have an authoritative referance for this?

Oil being generally used as a generic term for liquid lubricants, I would like to know specifically what it is that makes Teflon swell. Just in case I run across a Teflon cable one day.

[Water Warrior 2]

Badbob, don't know if the Teflon would swell, might be that lubricating will eventually cause some deteriorating which means binding and friction in the long run. As for the info source, it comes from a fellow Vstromer who is rarely wrong if ever and who generally researches these kind of questions before answering a post. I will be going with his statement about the teflon. My own opinion would be that once a teflon sheathed cable starts to drag or bind there is serious wear between cable and sheath. Possibly cable strands breaking down. A throttle cable that fails to return to an idle position could make for an exciting time. Time to replace for safety above all.

[Bill]

I don't know about lubricating the cable but the GZ250 was having a little binding/sticking problem with the clutch and brake levers. It turned out not to be a lack of lubrication of the cable but a need for a small amount of grease (not too much) near the pivot pin. Removed the pin and lubed at the inside of the lever where it contacts the handlebar clamp and it cured the problem.

Cheers!

[Water Warrior 2]

Bill, just reading your reply reminded me of a moment in life years ago with my first bike. A friend asked if he could take my bike for a spin around the block. He was gone for a good 15 minutes and came back looking quite happy with the adventure as it turned out to be. When I asked how he liked it, he really stunned me with his reply. He said " Everything works ". After checking over his bike I vowed never to ask for a test ride. Very little worked as intended or not at all, the front brakes were in the not at all category. Brakes aside, a little TLC would have made his riding more fun and relaxing. And he just did not have front brake shoes at all. Scary.

[Bill]

Water Warrior - That is scary but on the plus side you were able to learn the easy way. I make it a point of NEVER (this is one of the times when I will use that word) letting anyone ride my bike. Too much liability and I could lose the bike due to any number of reasons. I will also only ride a bike from a dealer and not a private individual for the reasons you note. The one exception is if I am testing it for possible purchase. First I start with checking that all the parts are secure and then check the brakes before going out on the road.

Cheers!

[Badbob]

I don't know about lubricating the cable but the GZ250 was having a little binding/sticking problem with the clutch and brake levers. It turned out not to be a lack of lubrication of the cable but a need for a small amount of grease (not too much) near the pivot pin. Removed the pin and lubed at the inside of the lever where it contacts the handlebar clamp and it cured the problem.

That will do it. I like to put a little lithium grease on any thing that moves when ever ai take it a part. A little grease on the handle bar under my throttle grip made a huge difference in throttle control.

[Badbob]

Badbob, don't know if the Teflon would swell, might be that lubricating will eventually cause some deteriorating which means binding and friction in the long run. As for the info source, it comes from a fellow Vstromer who is rarely wrong if ever and who generally researches these kind of questions before answering a post. I will be going with his statement about the teflon. My own opinion would be that once a teflon sheathed cable starts to drag or bind there is serious wear between cable and sheath. Possibly cable strands breaking down. A throttle cable that fails to return to an idle position could make for an exciting time. Time to replace for safety above all.

I'm not trying to start an argument here, but every single mention of this I have ever found was a "somebody told me" kind of story. If its so I would certainly like to see some hard evidence. Teflon being a very nonreactive substance. That being the case I will remain a skeptic.

I would think that cables that had Teflon sheaths would also need to be made of some sort of highly corrosion resistant metal (stainless steel) other wise the cable would corrode, bind and break in very short time. We lube cables not just to make the work smoothly but to repel moisture and reduce corrosion.

[Water Warrior 2]

BadBob, skeptics are good. You bring up a good point about the stainless material for cables. Stainless does not flex as well as normal materials so it would probably break sooner with use. Looks like I opened up a real can of worms here. Time to dig a little deeper into the teflon thing.

[Dupo]

http://www.murphskits.com/cablelube.htm

[Water Warrior 2]

BadBob, got a reply to an e-mail about the teflon lube question. This might shed some light on not lubing teflon. "The solvents used as carriers in a cable lube can attack and soften the teflon lining. There is no mention of lubing cables in the Suzuki service manual or any manual for any bike with teflon lined cables I've ever seen. Only the cable ends should be greased." That is what I got from my quiry. So I would guess that greasing levers is good on all bikes and lubing or not lubing metal sheathed cables is up to the individual. I would go with the lubing myself. And the teflon can just wear out at it's own pace. BadBob, glad you are a skeptic. I had not considered any solvents as carriers and their effect on teflon.