Triumphrat

headtube

My clutch cable is slowly fraying - breaking apart at the lever strand by strand. As this is my first Triumph, I have not yet replaced this cable.

I thought I'd turn to the experts for recommendations on which cable is best suited to my model... 72 Bonnie. Any tips are appreciated. Thanks.

OzBloke

Headtube,

I had the same problem a few years back, and hated the sensation of riding home without a clutch through traffic when it eventually broke. Best tip is to buy your new cable now and fit it before the old one breaks. Keep a spare as well.

I went with a teflon lined clutch cable, and no problems since. The clutch actions seems smoother and lighter as well. I don't lubricate the teflon cable, except for the barrel at the clutch lever, where I use waterproof grease (like plumbers use). The teflon cables are a bit more expensive, but worth it in IMO.

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Per Ardua Ad Astra
(Through difficulties to the stars)

henryanthony

OzBloke,

I have a few frayed strands myself and the Teflon coating sounds nice. Where can one obtain such a cable? Any particular manufacturers?

Thanks,

Henry

greaser58

any make cable is better than a frayed one,i used to run a 72 t120r,and despite noticing a frayed cable,decided to ride it to work anyway,it snapped 7 miles from home on the return journey.this was the worst ride ever,every junction i hit the kill button ,found neutral and restarted it,when lights went green kicked it into first and gave it a handfull of throttle,which resulted in a stall or a huge wheely,never want to try that again but it got me home.quality wise,like most things you get what you pay for.

OzBloke

I know I got it through the guys at Bristishspares.com. Was a few years ago, so haven't kept the packaging. Cable sheath has VENHILL printed on it.

__________________
Per Ardua Ad Astra
(Through difficulties to the stars)

jimballard

.........and if you do wish to lubricate a Teflon lined cable, use Break Free or Triflon, which are Teflon base lubes. Makes it even smoother.

Just $.02 worth from the "village idiot": Jim

__________________
Jim Ballard

The older I get, the faster I was....until lately!! (Speed IS the fountain of youth)!

henryanthony

greaser, you are certainly correct that almost any new cable is better than one frayed but, I am trying to source a bit higher quality in hopes of better performance. Thanks for the story! Sounds similar to many I could tell.

OzBloke, Venhill has a nice web site. I really like the search. When searching for the clutch cable, it also returned throttle cable results. Very clever them. Based on your recommendation, I will consider them as a potential source. Thanks!

Dear Mr. Village Idiot Sir, thanks for the tip. Always nice to get that extra tip from someone in the know. Much appreciated, Jim!

I checked Barnett and all their cables are lined with some slippery stuff and since I have Barnett throttles and front brake, I might as well complete the set. They have a supplier search and are available from many well known dealers.

Henry

headtube

Info from a Venhill rep...

An "F" following any Venhill cable part number denotes the "Featherlight" version, which has a stainless steel inner wire. Standard (non-F) versions have galvanized steel inner wires. All Venhill cables feature Teflon inner liners. Outers are available in black, or a number of colors at no extra charge.

I don't have the specs for this cable, so I can't immediately give you its length. I'll ask Venhill UK for that, but they are out for the holidays so I won't expect a response until next week.

Lead time would be about two weeks with the holidays and shipping from the UK. The T01-3-103 is $15.98. The Featherlight version is $24.98. (I cover shipping from the UK, so you only pay domestic shipping from us to you.)

This sounds promising! Thanks for the resourse OzBloke.

daveforty

If you have any broken strands, then failure is imminent.

Venhill cables are excellent, they also have a nylon sleeve around the barrel which helps prevent the cable bending when the lever is pulled.

Get two cables, run the second parallel to the first, just tuck the ends away, if you have a cable break while you're on the road it will only take minutes to connect the pre-installed spare.

DAVE M

or stick the spare cables inside the headlamp shell.

Lotys of room for spare throttle cables too! (but you'll need a few tools)