Push and Pull Cables

Couple questions for the KZ gurus.

1. This may be a difficult question to answer, but  about how much force should I expect to need to pull the throttle forward. I'll be honest, I have not ridden a bike in a long time and my KZ900 project has been a slow 5 years with house projects taking priority. I installed the push/pull cables yesterday, and it seems like it take a decent amount of force to lift those four carbs fully open.

2. How much slack should be on the push cable when the throttle is fully closed? I'm not following the clymer manual that well. I am using a stock cable, but it seems too long.
3. Does the push cable simply allow me to pull the carbs closed rather than relying on the return spring?
4. How quickly should my throttle snap back? 

Thanks

Are the cables new? are they running smooth? can you open the carbs at the wheel control pully with your thumb? Tension on the cables should be a touch slack, not super tight.

Your not getting much mechanical advantage with the twist grip so with the cables off, lift the throttle cable pulley and feel for smooth full flange operation. If you feel any sticking or it feels sluggish you will need to clean the carbs. To install the cables follow the included

 

 

The cables were lubed with the motionpro cable lube. The cables move with ease before I hook them to the carbs. The carb itself is squeeky clean, and I can lift it up with my thumb. It looks like I installed it correctly, except I have too much slack on the push cable according to what you guys have told me. 

One other thing and im sure its not the issue is that the hand throttle assembly is moving freely and is not upside down, the cables ends should be on the top side, excuse me if that is day one thing to say but.. it happens.

Throttle tension is directly controlled by the return spring. The stronger the spring the harder it is to open the throttle. 
Do you have the correct return spring fitted? 
I've seen many carbs with the incorrect spring fitted where someone has broken or lost the correct one and just replaced it with whatever was to hand.
Also ensure twist grip is well greased on the bars and inside the chamber in the switch gear. 

Sorry just read what I included. Here is the adjustment page 16.



 

The cable ends are on the top side. I did not grease the inside of the housing, so I will give that a check. I also don't know if it's the correct spring. I'd be surprised if it isn't, but it's worth a check. 

There should not be any more force required than only one single cable.    The pull-push is only a 'safety' feature (cars with carbs never had one).    

The theory is if the spring return breaks, then you have a 'safe' mean to close the throttle.   It should work just fine with only the pull cable as you know it.

......it is up to you to figure what the odds of the return spring breaking are.   I guess they figured the legal liability was higher on a motorcycle than a car. 

Make sure there"s clearance between the end of the bar and the inside if the grip.

To adjust, loosen both cables, adjust the pull cable so you have slight freeplay, then tighten the push cable just until the throttle feel gets a little slower and back it off a turn or two.
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Lets be clear here... both cables are designed to "pull".  "pushing" is not the modus intended. Set the "free play" between open/close cables at about 3mm (1/8in).

H.

The push/pull concept seems simple enough and should not be hard to get to work, but trust me, if you have stock bars it is relatively easy, if you have low bars, no amount of adjustment will ever result in smooth operation. Running low bars for 200,000+ miles, one of the best things I ever did was get rid of the stupid push cable and just use the one pull cable.