'96 sprint - recurring throttle cable breakage

[deven07]

Hiyas,

The throttle cable on my '96 Sprint just broke at the carb end again! I bought the bike this spring with 3400 miles on it and it broke at 4600, and I know the guy I bought it from had it replaced once already. Easy removal for the most part, just lots of pieces in the way. Now I just need the new one.

Does anyone know if this is a common problem? I'd rather not have to do this every 1k-2k miles if there is some way to avoid it.

Also, does anyone have a good source for parts online? Closest dealer to me is 100 miles away, so I might as well shop further away online for a good price if I can.

Thanks!

[KitNYC]

I know the PO replaced my throttle cable just before I bought the bike, but that was nearly 20,000 miles ago so I'm thinking it's not a common thing.

All the online dealers I know of charge list price, though Bike Bandit gives something like 5% off to AMA members.

Cheers,
-Kit

[deven07]

Hiya Kit,

Thanks for your reply. I was looking at the cable, which looks like it just slipped out of the stop, and I decided to play blacksmith...I turned the cable around so the good stop was at the carb, then with some lead fishing weights, a block of wood, 1/4 drill bit and some heat I made a lead stop at the grip end...4 tries later, I think I have one that wont fail! I had to scuff up the cable, get some bent strands for surface area for the lead to grip on, whittled it down to a nice ball end...the previous three slipped back out again after various amounts of stress...this one with the frayed end in the lead seems to be holding, plus I covered the whole **** thing with super glue! I dont know why I just dont spend the $50 on a new one, I guess thats the do-it-yourselfer in me.

If this doesn't hold, next try will be JB weld...which together with a few appropriately placed drill holes and toothpicks currently holds my front break lever together in no less than three places

Dev

[Buckwheat]

I could agree with trying to save $ repairing a throttle cable, but a front brake lever...with toothpics. Uh, ok, I get it. You're joking.

[Disney]

No, it's not a common problem. I had a 95 Sprint that I put 130,000km's on and currently have a '98 Sprint Exec. I also know about 5 other owners. None have ever had a problem... and combined, we must have racked up over a million kilometres between us.

On the other hand, when I owned a couple of Ducati 860's for the best part of of couple of decades, I ALWAYS carried a clutch cable in the tool kit, and for touring, throttle cables as well. (a 'don't leave home without it' inclusion)

It was not uncommon to go through one or even two Duke clutch cables in the course of a year (both bikes were daily riders) and throttle cables about every three to five years.

The initial stages of my Triumph ownership experience were a little spooky.. I had always allocated a couple of hours on a weekend to cleaning and maintainence with all my earlier bikes. The paint and build quality on these things is so good, it's usually just a case of 'spray & wipe' and they come up like new. You rarely have to put a spanner to them.

[John21]

Hi, I thought I would add in my "2-cents" or maybe toothpicks. I have the following bikes with mileage.

1998 Adventurer........20,000
1996 Sprint...............58,000
1998 Exec.................45,000

All of these bikes used the same throttle cable. I have had the carbs off a few times and I have looked at the way the throttle is run thru the system. I do this to se if there is any wear so I won't get stranded.

I don't see any issues with the way the cable is routed or connected to the carbs. However, that does not mean that there still could not be some type of isue.

One thought is "how hard do you open the throttle"? Some guys hammer the throttle. At both ends is a tiny piece of pot metal that can get weakened pretty easy. On my bikes, I go pretty fast at times, but I always open the throttle slowly.

The second issue is "how is the cable run"? Does it run thru the bike like it came from the factory? There is a possibility that someone installed it incorrectly and you could be copying the installation.

Last would be the twisting effect of the inner cable. When I have removed and installed my cable (removing for cleaning) I have to remove the carbs to get easy acces to it. It might be that the cable is being twisted more than what is allowed.

Just some thoughts I had.........

[Risingstar]

I have a 96 Adventurer with around 12,000 miles on it. I haven't had it very long and I know nothing about bikes. I have never worked on them. I've been having problems with it dying on me when I slow down. Also, it will rev up or dye down when I first start it, and I haven't touched the amount of choke, it just does it on it's own. Well, today, I started moving the cables around while it was idleing and it revs up and dyes down when I move the cables. Then I got on it and moved the handlebars around, it dies when I turn the handlebars to the right. I assume it's getting pinched somewhere, but I couldn't see where as I was on the bike when I turned the handlebars. I will show my new findings to my boyfriend. Hopefully we can see where it's getting pinched, if in fact that is what it is. I'm starting to get scared to drive the bike with it dying on me. Once was when I slowed down to split lanes. If it's getting pinched, do I just run the cable around a different way, or do I need to buy a new cable because this one could be damaged because of the pinching? Does anyone know a good person/place to have it worked on and gone through in the Los Angeles, CA area? Thanks

[deven07]

Originally Posted by Buckwheat

I could agree with trying to save $ repairing a throttle cable, but a front brake lever...with toothpics. Uh, ok, I get it. You're joking.

Hiya Buckwheat...I should take a pic of my break lever. It works like a champ! Yeah it looks a lil odd...

[tripletom]

On the Mikuni's the throttle cable is the same as the pull cable on the Kawasaki EX500s...easier to find pattern parts for them...

[menelfloss]

I don't know but it is possible that I am using the original throttle cable on my 96 sprint. I do know that I have put about 18000 miles on it.
I think looking at where it breaks and checking the routing and connecting at that area is a good idea.

Good luck,
Mike