Motion Pro clutch cables junk or good?

Last fall, after a long out of town ride, my Motion Pro cable crapped out. Luckily I was only blocks away from home. What was wierd is that the lead block on the tail end of the cable (going into the case) stripped right off. I lube my cables and believe in preventative maintenance. Is this a fluke or are M.P. cables on the low end of the quality scale? I have M.P.cables on throttle and clutch. Well actually I put an old factory clutch cable back in temporarily. The M.P. clutch cable that died on me was only 2 seasons old, sound normal?

Oh....in addition. Last summer my clutch was near shot and slipping badly. I installed a new clutch pack, then a few months later the cable failed. I don't know if this was an influencing factor. The clutch works perfectly now otherwise.

Post edited by: old650, at: 2007/12/27 22:11

My opinion is all aftermarket cables fall into the "aftermarket trash" catagory. I'm sorry if it sounds crude and overly simplified but in my nearly 40 yrs of riding I have yet to see an aftermarket cable that I cannot match up one on one on a factory cable and see anywhere from a "slight" to a "slightly more than major" quality difference between them. Maybe a Kawasaki cable costs 4 times a Motion Pro cable so in this case you make up your mind whether it is better to spring for Kawasaki or spring 4 times for Motion Pro in about the same time period. Someone on another newsgroup I frequent said it pretty good when he said most people would rather buy a $10 item 10 times than a $40 item once. It's the "Wal-Mart" mentality.

I have broke after market and oem cables,in fact I just broke one yesterday,i keep a spare at all times.
I think the big reason they fail is the routing, I think they are too close to the header and pick up heat causing the cables to bind up and the weakest part will give first

I've had great luck with Motion Pro cables. I have a set of lowered bars for my quarter fairing and it puts the clutch cable in a weird angle so I am mindful of watching adjustment to keep the upper sleeve in the cable housing to protect the cable off of the sharp corner.

But then again I'm a poor boy

Interesting observations. I agree with the "Walmart mentality" as I fall into that thinking myself. I believe that it's the idea that I have a 31 year old motorcycle that is worth, on the open market, 1/4 of the parts cost that I have put into it. On the other hand this bike has been far more reliable than it should be for its age and has given me wonderful memmories and many good times. I also like it quite a bit.

Yes,I have also felt uncomfortable about this cable snugging up close to the header.

Luckily the two times my clutch cable let go was in town. As I have had two failures, bringing a spare along on an out of town trip sounds like a better idea all the time.

I am springing for a Dyna electronic ignition set up right away and was pondering which cable to buy. I'll have to price the factory cable to the M.P. and see if I still feel walmartish. :laugh: Thanks for the feed back guys.

I have found a glob of wheel bearing grease on the lead barrell at the lever mounting and another glob on the splines of the release mechanism as well as frequent lubrication of the inner cable improve cable life. But I always use the OEM cables, the aftermarket ones don't seem to last even when properly lubed. I have had mixed results using aftermarket throttle cables as well, but there is less pressure on the throttle cables, particularly the return cable.

Where routing is a problem, note Z1E's suggestions for alternate shorter or longer cables.

clutch cable


And this clip should help keep cable off header pipe.

clip to frame

A little practice enables shifting just fine without the clutch cable. To get rolling from a dead stop is a little tricky but can be done either by offside pushing and jumping onboard, or pushing forward while in the saddle, or using the electric starter to propel forward in first gear while cranking.

Lubing the clutch mech also helps. Using a KZ 750 clutch acturator with ball bearing makes a lighter pull as it has ball bearings in it.

I have had the same problem with my motion pro cable breaking after just one season of riding. I don't know if it was because I ride it hard and maybe the clutch disengaging pulled harder than normal or what. But what I can say from my experience if you think those cables are junk they make worse. The replacement that I ordered for my 79 ltd 1000 specifically was an inch too short and it was routed correctly so when I would go around a corner the clutch would disengage. What a disconcerting feeling! Oh shit can't even come close to the feeling I felt. Took the bike to the bike shop I ordered it from so they could check my work cause they didn't believe I routed it right only to agree and order me the motion pro cable which was considerably much more money at which they covered the cost for me. At least the motion pro used metal ends instead of the plastic garbage on the cable I had. I have put quite a bit of mileage on this cable this season so far and it seems to be holding up just fine. They have to be making a butte load of money by having them made overseas and paying a fraction to have them done with people who make in one week what we make in an hour. How could they care about quality control? My friends clutch cable went when he was on one wheel imagine that.
So I guess in short they are not great but certainly not the worst I have seen.

I have had the same problem with my motion pro cable breaking after just one season of riding. I don't know if it was because I ride it hard and maybe the clutch disengaging pulled harder than normal or what. But what I can say from my experience if you think those cables are junk they make worse. The replacement that I ordered for my 79 ltd 1000 specifically was an inch too short and it was routed correctly so when I would go around a corner the clutch would disengage. What a disconcerting feeling! Oh shit can't even come close to the feeling I felt. Took the bike to the bike shop I ordered it from so they could check my work cause they didn't believe I routed it right only to agree and order me the motion pro cable which was considerably much more money at which they covered the cost for me. At least the motion pro used metal ends instead of the plastic garbage on the cable I had. I have put quite a bit of mileage on this cable this season so far and it seems to be holding up just fine. They have to be making a butte load of money by having them made overseas and paying a fraction to have them done with people who make in one week what we make in an hour. How could they care about quality control? My friends clutch cable went when he was on one wheel imagine that.
So I guess in short they are not great but certainly not the worst I have seen.

36.25 for a new OEM cable for a 79 D2 as opposed to 13 for a Motion Pro Cable I had a Motion Pro cable on my bike last season and it broke. In all honesty i didn't oil the cable and Motion Pro suggest that you oil it after every ride. In the future i'm only using OEM cables but i will keep a M.P. in the Bag just in case its needed