Throttle cable broke at the handgrip...

[Miguel!]

...After 21 years ago 118K miles. I was 20 miles from home.I removed the grip to see if I could effect a roadside repair but it wasn't possible. I have AAA and they have three motorcycle-only tow trucks which worked out great. The tow truck was a pickup truck with an hydraulic extendable bed that cantilevers to the ground. I decided to have my local independent oilhead mechanic do the work for me (I have lots of other things to do with my time). I'm hopeful he can find the parts soon and get back on the road soon. This is prime riding season on the central coast of California. 

 

Miguel

[Red]

Well now I know how long a cable lasts. 

I changed the cables on my 96 RT at about 94K.  ONLY because I was used to riding 60's early 70's Brit bikes and I don't think I ever got more than 8K on a cable. 

[King Herald]

I changed out the complete set of throttle cables at around 50,000 miles, not long after I got the bike. The short one to the right throttle body had started to break mid length and was sticking a bit. I could see no wear or visible damage on any other the other sections.

 

I also changed out the clutch cable, as it was feeling a little heavy and had a touch of roughness to its action. The new cable felt exactly the same even with the ends correctly greased etc. I've now added another 40,000 miles so I reckon I may do a complete cable swap again at 100,000 total miles. 

[RK Ryder]

My ‘98 R1100 is currently sitting at a dealer’s shop. The things that I wanted inspected (and replaced if necessary) are the throttle and clutch cable. Years ago I took it in for something simple and was told the throttle cable was down to a few strands of wire. Figured it was time for cables to be inspected while other work was being done. It’s been a tens of thousands of kilometres since the last throttle cable replacement and I don’t wish to be stranded. 
 

In the meantime, I have my K100 for rides.

[dirtrider]

18 hours ago, Miguel! said:

...After 21 years ago 118K miles. I was 20 miles from home.I removed the grip to see if I could effect a roadside repair but it wasn't possible. I have AAA and they have three motorcycle-only tow trucks which worked out great. The tow truck was a pickup truck with an hydraulic extendable bed that cantilevers to the ground. I decided to have my local independent oilhead mechanic do the work for me (I have lots of other things to do with my time). I'm hopeful he can find the parts soon and get back on the road soon. This is prime riding season on the central coast of California. 

 

Miguel

 

Morning  Miguel!

 

If it ever happens again you can ride that motorcycle using the choke lever as a throttle, not easy but you can move along at enough speed to ride back roads & less travelled roads if necessary.  (I have ridden more than one BMW back to my shop that way)

 

You can even slide the choke cable rubber boot down the cable a ways then put a few turns on the cable adjuster to get a little more speed using the choke as a throttle.  

[Miguel!]

Thank you for that tip DR. That's a great idea. I wish I thought of that. I actually was on relatively slow roads and could have done that. As seen in my picture above, there wasn't much shoulder on the road where the bike stopped. .OTOH, the only thing sacrificed was the 90 minutes I was by the side of the road  waiting for a tow and part of that was trying/hoping I'd find a roadside repair. In the end, I just chocked it up fate but I will remember that trick in the future.

 

Thanks for all the other comments as well.

Cheers. Miguel