Choke cable binding is now loose

[wolfemanjack]

Read a few threads on this subject, some say the first half of choke lever travel is easy the second half of travel is real tough and designed to be that that way.  Also some say the factory never lubed the lever mechanism.... Well... sorry no pictures, think it is simple enought for you guys.

While waiting for parts and wondering whats up with that nasty choke lever / cable and having the carb bank off for cleaning,  I decided to see if the carb bank being off made the cable and lever run any smoother. Quick answer, not really. It still had that nasty bind about half way down, not as much but still evident, actually I could hear a grinding sound when working it up and down. Checked the cable for kinks and sheave damage and found none so I attempt to "loosen things up" . I removed the cover for the lever housing for a look see and sure nuff, no lube in there at all. The plastic barrel rides on the bar and seams almost ok with smooth plastic bore twists on smooth handlebar but the sides ride on the not so smooth cast case housings and rubs on the other 3 sides.

What did i do? Got out my trusty silicone multi purpose grease and slathered it up real well including the groove the cable rides in, including the handle bar surface, inner sides and edges, of plastic lever and the metal housing grooves, basically everything.

Also while apart I also wanted to lube the cable, Some say the cable being core sheathed does not requiring lube but I think otherwise. Took the cable out of the lever and had at it. There is a real good silicone wax lube bicycle guys use on cables that can be even used on chains called white lighting clean ride, also another proven product I used in the past is Boeshield, designed by Boeing aerospace, it is awesome stuff. dries hard and awesome slippery and would have used that if I had any left. I thought about buying some but is 17.00 a can and I had a can of Loctite brand silicone spray that worked great.

I propped up the cable vertical, made a custom funnel from wax paper and sprayed the stuff into the cable hole while working the cable back and forth. I also put my shop glasses on and sprayed it real good with compressed air till I could see it coming out the other side.   

Results from assembly? The Jury not entirely in, carb banks going on today or tomorrow for final test, but WOW!. the cable and lever are a smooth as silk very even action and no binding or grinding. can't believe how great the feel is. I will reassemble and use the silicone spray on the cab bank sliders as well.  Do not use grease on the slider bars, it will collects dust and dirt and bind even worse than it does un lubed (wish I had the boeshield for that!) I also lubed the cross over cable the same way.

I'll let you guys know how it works out when reassembled, going to do the same with the throttle cable today too. It is easy to do once everything is disconnected.
 
Wolfman

[F6BANGER]

another good write up.

[WamegoRob]

going to do the same with the throttle cable today too. It is easy to do once everything is disconnected.

Thanks, good stuff.  And please follow-up after the throttle cable; I've noticed mine started to not decelerate very well when I let off the throttle to shift so I'm debating whether to lube the cable or check slow jets first.

[hubcapsc]

going to do the same with the throttle cable today too. It is easy to do once everything is disconnected.

Thanks, good stuff.  And please follow-up after the throttle cable; I've noticed mine started to not decelerate very well when I let off the throttle to shift so I'm debating whether to lube the cable or check slow jets first.

Lubing the throttle cable works GREAT... I had a hard time at first, but found a "trick"
in the archives: loosen your riser clamps and slide the bars to the left... then there's plenty
of slack in the cable to get it free. The handlebars will want to swoop down and dent your
tank the instant the last riser bolt is loose, so  you have to protect for that.

Here's some other good bicycle lube, works good...



-Mike

[Ricky-D]

The throttle cables seem to need lubrication right there at the handlebars at the place where the chrome metal tubes bend at an angle.

That being the place, you just need to loosen the assembly and raise the top cover a bit and spray a little lube right there where the inner cables disappear into the housing.

No need to go into a complete take down, it's not needed just to ease up the throttle cables.

***

[hubcapsc]

The throttle cables seem to need lubrication right there at the handlebars at the place where the chrome metal tubes bend at an angle.

That being the place, you just need to loosen the assembly and raise the top cover a bit and spray a little lube right there where the inner cables disappear into the housing.

No need to go into a complete take down, it's not needed just to ease up the throttle cables.

***

Any way you can get lube to go in at the top of the cable and come out at the bottom (down
at the carbs). I just wrote down what worked for me... I tried what I think Ricky-D is describing
first, but couldn't get lube to come out at the bottom, and it didn't make my throttle return
any better. Works great now, though...

-Mike

[sugerbear]

i used brake cleaner first until all the gunk came out, then used silicone spray. both cans used the little tube to direct the spray.
just took the cover off the throttle, stuck the tube where the cable comes out.
use a rag under the other end.

[BonS]

Somewhere on this forum I've read that if you lube the choke cable then it will move freely - too freely. The choke won't stay on without holding it in place. The final thinking was that the cable and linkage was intended to be dry to provide some friction to keep the choke in the position that you put it. The discussion was then how to dry out the cable to get rid of the lube. So, Wolfmanjack, let us know how it goes.

[Jess from VA]

What I have read, is a guy just deletes the cable and handlebar switch, and instals a little homemade lever at the right spot down on the linkage.  Said it worked perfectly and easy to reach.  But I've never seen a good description or picture of it.  Both my OE chokes have always worked fine (once I was told to push it ALL the way down... like everyone else).

[BonS]

Jess, that would be John Schmidt. It looks like a great mod so I kept track of it:

Here's what I did when I installed my HD bars and controls, thereby losing the choke at the bar. Shown in the disengaged postition, works better than OEM. The first pic is "work in progress" and the second is the completed job.

Here's basically what I did, don't really have anymore pics.

After removing the OEM choke cable, I scrounged up some SS to make my "stuff" from. Notice the horzontal piece the lever is attached to, you'll see it's cut in a couple places top and bottom to clear things such as the carb cover on top. Note the two small phillips head bolts at the end...they're bolted to the choke slider at that point. You do have to drill holes in the slider but those bolts are tiny due to space available under that linkage cover. The lever bracket is simply an "L" shaped piece of SS bolted to the long bolt/rod that holds the carbs together. On the front end of that rod, I backed off the nut slightly and tapped the rod toward the rear. That gave me enough slack at the rear to bolt the "L" bracket in place. I drilled that bracket to mount the lever with the black knob on it. If you use a short swivel bolt with a nylock nut, you can snug up that nut just enough so it will hold whatever position you place the choke in. Works great, less apt to snap a cable like the OEM mess they designed, and you can reach it while sitting on the bike. I also think it looks kinda cool....but I'm prejudiced. 

Hope this helps. If needed, I can try to get some close-ups of the bracket but it's really a rather simple setup.

[Jess from VA]

That's it. 

[wolfemanjack]

Got the carb bank back on and choke action works real well,  . Also stays put where you put it as return spring is not strong enough to return the lever.   But I have not started it yet, maybe vibration will make it return can't say till I get it running again.

But even if it returns to off from vibration, I'm not sorry I lubed it. It was real tight before and pretty much sure it was in the grip clamshells. BTW, throttle cables are real smooth now too. Were not bad before, just better now.

I will re-post once I test it started. Not supposed to leave choke on for long after start anyway. if carbs are clean maybe 1-2 minutes max unless its below freezing.  If pilots are clogged it keeps stalling once you switch the choke off. Just thoroughly cleaned my carbs so that wont be an issue. I can hold the lever down if need be. Don't think I will need to.

[BonS]

Vibration? What vibration! You'll likely be just fine if its not springing back now. If you have 38 slow-jets you hardly need choke much at all after starting; 35's need a bit more fussing with while cold.