Choke cable

[kongjie]

Gradually engaging the choke has gotten harder and harder so I decided to lube the cable.

I removed it from the carb end and removed the three screws on the handlebar left switch. But after doing that I could not easily figure out how the whole thing comes apart, and with the high beam /turn signal wires and what not I was fearful of not being able to put it back together.

So I lubed only the carb end. I first removed the starter plunger and spring and put some teflon lube down the cable, and moved the switch up top back and forth to draw in the lube. It felt like it moved pretty good.

Holding down that spring and reengaging the cable into the plunger was a bitch with only two hands but I got it in. However, when I was reinstalling the screws on the handlebar assembly, I ran into trouble.

One of the screws holds in a spring with a plastic piece on the end. When it came out, I didn't realize the piece was sloped on one end and has a protruding line on one side and thus has a particular orientation.

I tried a couple of positions and ended up inserting the protruding line side in the three o'clock position relative to the front of the bike.

Two problems. First, the lubrication didn't really improve things much. The choke is still hard to engage. Second, while things seemed okay on the first day riding, today the choke is clearly stuck in an engaged or at least partially engaged position.

Any suggestions regarding the orientation of that plastic piece? I'm assuming that is my issue--the choke isn't returning properly.

UPDATE: Took it apart again yesterday. Shining a flashlight into the screw/spring hole showed that the notch is indeed in the three o'clock position, so I had it right--it's more or less idiot proof.

Removed the starter plunger again, played with the cable a bit, and reattached. Seems better now. Not sure if it was a cable kink or the spring was askew. Still curious how you detach the cable from the handlebar, if anyone knows.