Hey guys, got a problem, wondering if you could help.  I was driving on the highway today on my way to school.  As soon as I started to shift, my clutch cable fell out of the handle squeeze.  In astonishment I immediately got on the shoulder.  While driving, I had to shift, without a clutch; I had to shift down and up, making it :'(grind...It is at school now.  The little round piece that connects to the cable is gone and is ripped from the cable.  Just a little single strain of cable is protruding.

To make a long story short, I need a new clutch cable.  Can I do it myself??, I am not highly mechanical, but I have changed oil and stuff.  Should I tow it and have someone work on it.  Right now it is sitting at school.  Not sure what to do, the cable is broke.  Any suggestions?  I have the day off tomorrow and want to get it fixed. Could there be transmission damage from driving without a clutch?? I did not accelerate over 30mph and drove about 15 miles.  I had to stop a couple of times and start out without a clutch, bobbing and jerking. It was horrible!!!

Any input and help is much appreciated

I miss my savage!!!

Thanks
Jonny :'(

P.S. The cable seem to be sticking alot before it broke, I though WD40 would help, but got harder to shift today on the way to work.  Those were the events leading up to the heart wrenching episode!

You can do it yourself.  Cables are available at places like CrotchRocket.com and RonAyers.com.  Just use the parts fiche.

a machine shop at work or nearby may be able to help.  bring them what you got left.  they may be able to make a new one quickly with the old parts.  to simply repair it is unlikely, though, is my guess.

use cable lube in the future.

Paladin. wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:

Spoken like someone that has pulled a few wires  Yep.  Good suggestion providing the cable isn't clamped too tightly under the tank somewhere.

Definitely, try that first.  If it doesn't work, you'll have to pull the seat and tank.

In my very broke early marrage days I had to repair a clutch cable as I couldn't wait until the replacement could come in.  If the nib is still inside your handle (retained by frayed broken wires) you could try to do the following if you are really desperate.

Take the handle off, get the nib out.  Drill out the broken off wire.  Back drill the "far side" of the nib slightly larger about half way through.  Clean and trim the broken off steel cable end.  Stop and look at the amount of steel cable protruding from the jacket -- is it the appropriate amount or is it too short now?

If too short, pull the steel cap off the outer cable jacket and trim some off the length of the outer jacket (yeah, you gotta pull the inner cable out of the way to do this).  Put the steel cap back on the outer cable and stick your inner back through.  

Thread your little nylon semi circle bearing thngy on there now (since our modern bikes have them as friction reducers) but make sure it is way up the cable away from the nib soldering heat or you will melt it)

Clean your inner cable real good with carb cleaner.  Stick it through the nib then fray up the very end a little bit with a pair of pliers.  Pull it back "inside" the relief area you drilled in the nib, then solder it in place with 95-5 solder.  Make sure the solder wicks up the cable a tad, but try not to go very far up past the nib or this stiffness can cause you a problem.  Grind off the remaining protruding frayed wires to match the contour of the nib (reshape your solder blob) then regrease the end and reinstall the cable.

My bootleg repair lasted as long as the original cable (my silver solder job was solid) but I was a little bit shorter on total free cable steering head play.  

It was really too much trouble to do this, but I couldn't be down for 2 weeks waiting for a cable as my wife drove the car and I rode my bike back when we were first married.

Another alternative is to take the removed cable to a bike shop and buy a slightly longer cable from another bike.  They can match you up one off the nib size and the steel outer jacket cap size.

Good luck.

Oldfeller

(Modern nonsense -- is the current nib made of steel or is it made from zinc?  If it is made from zinc you may need to make yourself a nib out of a piece of solderable material to get this repair to work right)

Savage_Greg wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:
A bit more than a few -- closer to a hundred miles than none .....
It's always worth a try.  Anywho, wrote up a how to on tieing a string to a cable so it will not come off no matter how hard you pull -- http://dslretorts.com/wire/