Nope. Bikes never been dropped (knock on wood) and the grip has been lubed.

 

Thats a cluster of a problem. It has to be something that is touching or kinked when it gets colder. Beside replacing them, you can find some really cheap for stock ones on EB, you have me stumped.

 

UPDATE:

Still having issues

Replaced both cables. Lubed and adjusted both. While carb was out had cables off checked throttle linkage. All seems good there

Moved the throttle housing 1/8 to see if grip was binding

Removed the screw throttle lock completely

Still no snap back

 

Anybody? I'm running out of ideas and I don't want to take it to a shop

 

it is pretty easy to take the throttle apart, did you pull the throttle off the bar to check for dirt/junk/old gunky lube..
the fact that it is temperature sensitive gives you a clue

 

is the grip binding inside the throttle housing ? maybe loosen the screws a bit and see if that helps - also check if there are any wear marks on the inside of the housing / grip
where they both meet - also check the bar where the grip slides on make sure its not gunked up or dirty

just a thought!

do the cables get tight / bind
when the bars are turned to one side or other (lock to lock) , or even when straight ?

 

Follow the service manual for adjusting the cables, if you don`t get it right, you will have a throttle that does not snap back to idle.

 

Just some suggestions.

If you lubed the cables you must have had the grip and switch assemblies off. The little shoe that sits on the star wheel is easy to have misplaced.

If the star wheel gets turned out to far that little shoe will slip off the pin it sits on and cause issues.

The return cable being too tight causes this. It may be no so much that it is cold but binds more after sitting over night. Try loosening the adjuster on the idle cable.

If the bars have been changed are the cables routed so they do not bind at full turn of the bars. I like mine outside the forks rather than between the fork and the neck.

 

I know this is an old thread. But I've solved the issue in case others are having the same problem

The culprit was my grips.

I had on the original plastic grips from 1998. I guess they were slightly deformed and got worse with the weather.

I replaced them with some new aftermarket grips and BAM. Perfect snap back. Even in 30 degree weather.

So after all that headache and replacing parts. I got her fixed.

 

If there was an accumulation of lube on the cables, the cold will turn the lube nearly solid, stiffening the cable response.

Don't use a wet lube on the cables. Clean them with brake cleaner and leave them alone as long as they are in good shape.