So this morning I pulled my bike out of the garage to go to work and after letting it idle foe a minute or two I went to twist the throttle and the throttle cable snapped just as I started to twist. Went back into the garage and got a torx driver and pulled off the cover and it was snapped right inside about 5cm from the lead retainer thing. My question is how common is this and is it due to lack of lubrication? I have been meticulous with maintenance but have not lubed the cables they always seemed to move so smoothly. Guess I learned a lesson there. Ordered throttle and idle cables from Motion Pro no dealership locally had them in stock so there goes my weekend.

 

I've never had on snap but I usually end up running aftermarket cables when I do bars, so cant speak as to reliability of factory ones.

 

I had a Barnett snap a couple years ago, lack of lube and AZ heat I suppose......

 

Saw this thread last week. Made a point to ask my buddy who's been riding a lot longer than me about a lube outfit that fits around the cable and is able to shoot lube thru the line. Says his brother ('84(?) Sturgis) has one, but didn't know what it is exactly. Will get back to me. when he does, I will report forthwith.
BTW, which brand throttle and idle cables does everyone use? Braided stainless of course.
Don't mean to hijack the thread.

 

Probably too dry for too long. Not too expensive and pretty easy to change.

 

I got the Needle type oil tube for oiling the cables from the Dealer.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/g...bmLocale=en_us

Here's a good watch on how to do it, Make sure U watch about the front brake switch. Bunch in here have snapped that switch when working on their bike..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MM_t13v5no



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Sh^tty news for you, but at least you were lucky and yours broke in the comfort of your garage!

It's funny that you post that, 'cause I was just saying a couple of weeks ago about how rare that was after my wife's throttle cable snapped.

Check this chit out:

Were about 60 mi from home, just had a back tire put on my wife's bike, so we were cautious about the slick on the tire to go easy. On the freeway ahead was a twin 53' tanker ahead. Son, wife and I were approaching the tanker and cranked on the goose to pass. I was in the lead and upon returning to the default lane, starterd counting bikes in the rearview to make sure we were in a flock. I could only see my son behind me and we pulled over a little ways ahead at a truck weight scale station. We waited, and the tanker went by and no sight of her. I walked about 300' back on the shoulder around a large radius in the road, and I could see a mono headlight on the shoulder of the passing lane about another 1/4 mile back, so I got back on my bike and had to ride 1 mile ahead to go 6 miles back to another 3 miles ahead to get to her as the divided highway was separated by a rock cliff. That's when I found out it was her throttle cable that was f_cked. Traffic tend to fly at 70-80 mph on that stretch and the passing lane shoulder isn't wide. Pulled apart the switch control, and both throttle and idle were attached. Looked at the carb, and sure enough it snapped a couple of inches above the ball. On the roadside I debated swapping the idle cable in there to get the bike back running, even though the throttle & idle have different sheathing diameters, I knew it would work in a pinch, but I didn't have pliers to collapse the sheathing, and the idle cable is a bi^tch to get off with the air cleaner on. After my son's previous shifter rod falling off and leaving him stranded, we ALWAY carry zip ties on us. Soooo, I looped one on the throttle, and added some to it for length, and my wife rode home at 70-80 mph for about an hour, all the way home with a SUICIDE THROTTLE! We even come up to an RCMP roadblock 20 mins from home, and had to explain it to them what was going on. Real funny thing is that my stock throttle cable fit like a glove with her 14" apes on a carbed Sportster, and is still on there today. I just had to route it on the opposite side of the tree for it to work.

Anyhow, enough of that, good luck with your cable. We were just heading on a sunny long weekend when that happened, and I wanted my wife's bike to run, so I found a real quick solution. We were up the next morning to head on a 700 mile trip that we had already planned, so it didn't stop us.

BTW: the aftermarket company is sending a replacement in the mail, because it was only used for 1 year.

 

Had one on my old dyna almost break. It was starting to to shred and I could feel it in the twist so I was able to spot it before I was out on the road.

 

Can wd40 be used to lube the cables?

 

I believe it could but don't hold me to it. The most important thing is getting the lube to shoot down the tube. That's where the tool that comes with the lubrication comes into play. Makes it 100% easier. otherwise then your just spraying lube everywhere and not positive its actually penetrating the inside of the cable.