Idle Cable Won't Roll Throttle Off After Grip Replacement
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Road Warrior
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 132
From: Baltimore, MD
As mentioned previous. With both cables in the slack position start with the throttle cable. You want it tight enough to where the grip does not turn very much before starting to move the throttle wheel. If you go too tight it will move the throttle wheel off the idle stop. I like mine on the idle stop with a very small amount of play. Check full throttle makes the wheel go to the other stop. There should be two stops. No throttle (idle) and full throttle. Tighten your jamb nut on the throttle cable at this point. Once you get to this point with the idle cable completely slack, what does the throttle do when you twist to full throttle and then let go? It should snap back due to the spring loaded throttle wheel. If it does not, then you have to find out if the grip is binding on the bar or in the switch housing..if it DOES snap back like it is supposed to then go slowly with the idle cable getting a little tighter at a time until it starts to bind, then reverse it until it again snaps back and then it is adjusted properly. Make sure that your cable ends are fully seated in the seats at the throttle body end.
The idea is that the throttle cable (pull cable) will open the throttle up when you twist the grip and the spring tension on the throttle wheel will close it upon letting go of the grip. The idle cable (sometimes called the push cable) is there so in the event of something happening and the throttle binds in the open position, you can manually roll the grip back to idle and that cable will close the throttle to avoid a stuck throttle/accident situation..
The idea is that the throttle cable (pull cable) will open the throttle up when you twist the grip and the spring tension on the throttle wheel will close it upon letting go of the grip. The idle cable (sometimes called the push cable) is there so in the event of something happening and the throttle binds in the open position, you can manually roll the grip back to idle and that cable will close the throttle to avoid a stuck throttle/accident situation..
Anyway, based on this ^^^ fact, I'm thinking the grip. I don't think it's the assembly of the switch housing. The first time I assembled it, I'm pretty sure I had the friction shoe a little off center, causing it to sit higher than normal and bind everything (including the throttle). Once I corrected that, that's when the throttle cable started working well. So something must be binding in the grip. (Note: I did make sure I backed the grip off a little, so it's not binding on the end of the bar. And the bars are new, so they are super clean and smooth. As are the grips... I thought). Guess I'm going to have to take it apart again once more. I did try putting on the old grip to see if it worked (and it did) but I stopped that experiment after initial assembly of the switch housing, without adjusting the cables. The old grip did roll on and snap back properly, although since not adjusted, it had slack in it and the throttle didn't open all the way. But that does give more credence to the ideal that something is binding in the grip. They are Kuryakyn ISO grips, by the way.
Last edited by scooper321; Apr 9, 2014 at 06:46 PM.
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 118
Likes: 0
Did you change the routing of the cables at all?I got longer cables for my bars and routed them the same as factory. I had pretty much the same issue you are describing and after a bunch of messing with it,I changed the routing of the cables slightly and the problem was fixed.
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 132
From: Baltimore, MD
Did you change the routing of the cables at all?I got longer cables for my bars and routed them the same as factory. I had pretty much the same issue you are describing and after a bunch of messing with it,I changed the routing of the cables slightly and the problem was fixed.
Tourer
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 274
Likes: 3
From: Portage, IN
Could be binding somewhere. How difficult was it to get the throttle end barrels into the throttle grip? If the throttle does not snap nicely back shut with the idle cable slack and the throttle cable adjusted correctly then something is binding. Could be where the grip sits into the housing. Could be the actual grip on the bar. Sometimes if the grip isn't sitting just perfect in the housing it can bind. Sometimes just getting it lined up perfect can be a pain in the ***. When I did my bars just here recently (03 classic) I was under the impression that stock cables would work. I put WO 515 on (10") I struggled and struggled to get my cables attached on both ends...finally bought 4" longer and they worked like a charm..you want both cables to not have slop in them but not tension either. When one of the cables has tension it can bind and if both are under tension it can really bind up. You don't want them fighting each other you want them working together. When one extends the other retracts and then vice versa.
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 202
Likes: 0
Make sure that you did not accidentally tighten the daisy wheel that pushes against the friction shoe. Try loosening the two screws on the housing covers (a smidge) and see if that makes a difference. If that works, that means that something is not aligned properly inside. My gut tells me that the internal wiring loom is pressing against the throttle sleeve in some fashion. It is easy to have happen. Ask me how I know.....
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 671
Likes: 168
From: Ontario, Canada
Just because the bike was just serviced, don't assume the cables have been lubed. Mine did the same thing after I put on the extended signal switches. The cables were bone dry. Got some cable lube and all is well now.
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 132
From: Baltimore, MD
Could be binding somewhere. How difficult was it to get the throttle end barrels into the throttle grip? If the throttle does not snap nicely back shut with the idle cable slack and the throttle cable adjusted correctly then something is binding. Could be where the grip sits into the housing. Could be the actual grip on the bar. Sometimes if the grip isn't sitting just perfect in the housing it can bind. Sometimes just getting it lined up perfect can be a pain in the ***. When I did my bars just here recently (03 classic) I was under the impression that stock cables would work. I put WO 515 on (10") I struggled and struggled to get my cables attached on both ends...finally bought 4" longer and they worked like a charm..you want both cables to not have slop in them but not tension either. When one of the cables has tension it can bind and if both are under tension it can really bind up. You don't want them fighting each other you want them working together. When one extends the other retracts and then vice versa.
Tourer
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 274
Likes: 3
From: Portage, IN
So many people have done them without changing cables but mine absolutely would not go. Even tho my switch housing was in place and my cable housings reached I COULD NOT get the little ends (barrels) into their place in the throttle sleeve. Got them very close but no way. My brake line would not reach either so I replaced it too..clutch cable was ok...bizarre
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Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 132
From: Baltimore, MD
So I thought I'd bring a little closure to this thread. Maybe. I took the right grip and housing apart this AM. Put the old grip back on and tightened everything up. Adjusted throttle. Tightening the idle only bound everything up. So it was a positive test. That is, the old grip worked EXACTLY the same as the new one. Rule out the new grip as a trouble source. Then I pulled the bars back a little, looking for any improvement. When I pulled them back absurdly far (down low like the original beach bars) there was some improvement. Houston, we have the answer! Its' the cable length. The stock cable doesn't like the height of the Mini Apes (10"). Unfortunately, since I live in a town house and have no garage, replacing throttle and idle cables is beyond my patience level or environment. I'm just not tackling lifting a gas tank out front here. (sigh #1). But at least I now know the answer! So I dropped the bike at a nearby reputable indie shop to get at least a new idle cable installed. My budget doesn't allow me to do what I'd like to do right now and switch all the cables to stainless (sigh #2). So I'll just get the one replaced in black. And it leaves me a project for some winter down the road...
Once I get the bike back from the shop, I'll provide the final closure on this issue. Thanks again for all the help debugging this. It was quite the learning experience!
Once I get the bike back from the shop, I'll provide the final closure on this issue. Thanks again for all the help debugging this. It was quite the learning experience!
