New clutch cable

My clutch cable broke last week and i just recieved my new one from motion pro. Do i need to lube my new one and if so what do i use

Spray lube available at Lowes, etc., inexpensive, excellent on drive chains, etc.



Good Fortune!

There are special cable lubing kits made for the clutch and throttle cables such as the one Patton shows above. I have never used them, but I would bet they work very well.

I have always followed the manual's recommendation on lubing the cables, and I have never had a cable break on my KZ650 in more than 36 years. The clutch and throttle cables can be lubed using motor oil. Just make a little Saran Wrap funnel or bag and attach it with twist ties to the upper end. Put a couple teaspoons of oil in it and hang it overnight. The oil will run through, so put something at the other end to catch the excess. Be sure to wrap some Saran Wrap around the center adjuster of the clutch cable so the oil doesn't exit there. Ed

Does the cable have any lube on it already? The one I got from Z1Enterprises was coated w some sort of white grease, so I just lubed the ends w a high temp wheel bearing grease. Inspect the clutch lever end before installing - it could have a burr or something that could cause binding - sand it down if necessary. Mine was fine, but it was mentioned in some old topics.

Ed? You still running the original clutch cable? If so that is darn right incredible. I've been through at least 15 on my KZ650s. Other than that a few speedo cables, a few tach cables. Never a problem with throttle cables. I lube mine with regular 10w40 oil, and grease the pivot point up by the lever, but still over time the cable will always fray and break right at the lever. I really wonder if oiling them does any good at all. I do it just to say I did. Around here we are dry as dry can be though, so I suspect wet may get in the cable in other areas of the world and in that case the lube would most likely keep the cable from rusting ect.

Thanks guys. Im pretty sure my cable is the original one. I will open it and see if it is pre lubed if not i will hang it over night

RonKZ650 wrote: Ed? You still running the original clutch cable? If so that is darn right incredible. I've been through at least 15 on my KZ650s. Other than that a few speedo cables, a few tach cables. Never a problem with throttle cables. I lube mine with regular 10w40 oil, and grease the pivot point up by the lever, but still over time the cable will always fray and break right at the lever. I really wonder if oiling them does any good at all. I do it just to say I did. Around here we are dry as dry can be though, so I suspect wet may get in the cable in other areas of the world and in that case the lube would most likely keep the cable from rusting ect.

I have never had any of the cables fray or break on the KZ650, but I swapped all the original cables for NOS ones a few years ago because the outer casings and fittings on the originals were getting rather old looking (I'm anal, I know). The original cables hadn't broken or frayed; in fact, they're hanging in my basement as spares just in case. Of course, by bike only had 44,000 miles on it when I replaced them, so compared to the miles you put on your bikes my cables were still pretty new. I use 10w40 on the clutch and throttle cables also; it seems to work well. I use moly grease on the tach and speedo cables. Ed