LC4 Clutch Cable Blues ????

are you tired of breaking your clutch cable?

if so, do i have a fix for you.



before i begin i need to tell a little back story....

everything i'm about to tell you how to do was actually done on my bike when i bought it. i don't know if it was KTM or the dealer that set it up this way, but i know for a fact that i had this on my bike when i bought it.

(so some of you may already have this done and think im stupid, others may not. lets hope im as smart as i think i am)

i had always looked at it and wondered what it was for, and now i guess i know why. when i had this installed on my bike originally i did over 8,000 hard miles without a single cable breaking. after the engine blew, i tore the bike apart, rebuilt the engine, put things back together, this idea got lost in the mix. since that point i am on my 3rd clutch cable.

fast forward to a few weeks ago......i mention to a riding buddy (who has a 640 adventure) that i had busted another clutch cable. he mentioned that he had been sent a picture from some german guy showing a way he said, "made the cable last forever." as soon as i saw the picture, i new what it was immediately.

first, lets address why this happens;

ktm's design bureau certainly dropped the ball on this one. for those of you who are breaking cables, im gonna bet this is your problem. if you look at the clutch perch, the design is flawed. if you put proper tension on the cable, the perch still moves around. this results the cable being forced against the inside of the lever every time you pull the clutch and wearing it out. its only a matter of time till it breaks. if you dont believe me, go out and look......i'll get a new beer while your gone.

here is a pic of the issue....



Ok, now that we know the problem lets solve it. its actually quite simple, cheap, and easy. most likely you already have everything you need. if not, trust me it wont break the bank. for less than a cup of coffee, you to can never have to worry about breaking a cable again. all you need is....



3mm of fuel line (any plastic tubing will work)
1 cable tie

start by running the cable tie through the tubing.....



next loop it around the clutch cable.....



next tie it off around the bars. you will need to do some adjustments to get the cable tie just the way you want, but when you are finished it should look like this.....



now try and wiggle the cable. doesn't move does it ???? hard to believe that something soooooooo simple can save you a lot of heart ache. anyone who has been caught on the side of the road with a busted cable knows the feeling. those of you with adventure models i pity, its a process to even get to the cable to replace.
since i put this back on my bike, the cable adjustment is better and the clutch pull feels better and more controlled.

so, i hope this isn't a waste of everyone's time and old news (or 205 as they like to say).

in parting i have to give a shout out to my riding buddy who sent me the pic, thanks W (no not that one...) and to the anonymous german guy who sent the pic.

laramie

thanks for sharing this one. such a simple thing to fix a bad design flaw. it's one of those things thats always annoyed the hell out of me. gonna go fix her up right now.

Thanks for the cool write up.....again. Another beer for you.

Also, I already did this when I first bought the bike. I'm kinda weird like that, where when I get something, I tend to go over every visual mechanical part, try to understand whats going on, and determine if the manufactures R&R was thinking long term. Its amazing how some things seem like they slipped by with little to no thought or assembly was done on a Friday. AND cable's shouldn't rub against anything. Its amazing how fast something will wear through one and visa versa.
I haven't lubed the cable though but I've never lubed one either so maybe I need too?

My 2000 Duke II came stock with the cable attached to the bars like in your picture. Still a good post for those who may have removed or possibly never had this simple little fix.

i figured some people might have this already. maybe im not as smart as i thought....... .....but like you say it's still good to know.

laramie

I am on it this weekend.

Thanks Laramie!

This has got to be one of the best "penny mods" ever. Thanks for the post.Saw this last night at 11:00 and went out and installed it If your ever in UCLA(ugliest corner of lower alabama) you got a couple landsharks comin'your way.

Thanks
Jim

I don't get it. I have 11K miles on my '03 and have never broken a clutch cable...

And in the thousands my '97 has seen, I have yet to lose a slave cylinder. I don't see what all the fuss is about.

~45000km with current clutch cable

And previous is worn but still usable.
But i still have spare cable on bike...

Comedians...

ya, your all a bunch of jokers.

Sweet! I'm going to do this tomorrow when I get home! When I got the bike, it had a worn out cable and a new one in place, but didn't have this mod! I still need to get a new replacemnt and remove the old worn one.

An old time reliability engineer in the aerospace business was giving us kids (at the time) a lesson on how to build in "reliability by design".

The one thing he professed that stuck in my head was to "Think negative, and think small".

The same guy in-fact was a protoge' of an engineer for the company at the time who's name was "Murphy". Yes... THAT Murphy.

...and the rest, as they say, is history.

I'm going out and doing this right now ! THANKS !

My '02 Adventure has about 40K on the same cable, no mods at all, no issues.

I always carry a spare???
Knock on wood.
bill

this not only makes a difference in the life of the cable but i also think it smooths out the cable pull and makes the clutch a little smother when trying to operate. kill 2 bird with one stone.....

laramie

Bill

Mr. Murphy doesn't pick on people who are prepared.

Anyone know of an upgraded clutch cable for these bikes? Looking to replace the cable on my Duke II.

Otherwise, I hear Magura has a hydraulic conversion....

motion pro makes one but i have heard conflicting reports on whether or not it is better than stock. if you do this fix, you shouldn't need to worry about it much anymore. as for the hydraulic clutch, ive heard mixed results about adding one of them as well. i frankly like the simplistic nature of the cable. if your worried, buy 2 and string them in at the same time but only hook one up. that way if you do have a failure all you have to do is swap over and keep riding. i know several people who have done this, especially on the adventure models which take forever to access.

laramie

What's a cable? Isn't that what keeps weeds out from between the brake lever & engine cases?

Cheers,

MrHix
'12 KTM 690 Enduro R