I was searching through the forums trying to find previous posts on throttle/idle cables and looking for advice on places to buy, and I saw a common theme - a lot of people have had their throttle cables snap.

I had this happen to me on my Super Glide years ago, but I thought it was a fluke. I was in the middle of the forest at my friends camp for a weekend, and after letting my bike warm up for a few minutes, I jumped on to head home. Hit the throttle... and nothing happened. Luckily he knew enough to route my idle cable as my throttle cable to get me home.

So, My search peaked my interest... how many of you have had your cables snap on you? Has anyone had an aftermarket snap, or is this just the result of a weak OEM product?

 

Never had new or aftermarket snap, have owned several bikes.

 

I stopped on the side of the road to help a fellow Harley rider out. His throttle cable had snapped. It was an old bike and he had everything under control. I never had any problems myself. I keep all of my cables lubed pretty well.

 

In over 50 years and around 500,000 miles of riding, I've never had it happen (knock wood).

Good luck,

John

 

My throttle cable broke at 30000 miles.

 

I've never had a throttle cable break either.

Good thinking with swapping in the idle cable.

 

The throttle cable on my Deuce broke after 9000 miles...

 

My bud's '92 softail cable broke last year...don't know how many miles on it, but it was original and he drives the wheels off it.

It was really obvious it was going to break, if only he had looked.

The inner cable actually 'sawed' thru the outter chrome tube at the 90 bend up near the grip......it cut a full 2" long groove before it jammed, and then broke when he forced it.

He borrowed a small vise grip and somehow used it to operate the throttle to drive to my shop.

 

I have had three Harleys, all with over 20K miles, and have never had a throttle cable break.

 

Lube and inspect cables should be part of yearly maintenance so that stuff doesn't let you down on the road. If you think a broken throttle is bad you should try a broken clutch cable at a stop light