How to lube the upper throttle cable & where does it fray/fail?

[eakins]

got 20k on the bike. noticed the throttle is getting stiff & i can hear friction in the cable/housing from the throttle grip down to the junction. on my other bike i diasbled & lubed the cable. can i & how to do i remove cable to lube? what about past the junction box? is that lubed? also where do cables fail? when should i replace the whole thing?

thanks!

[SageRider]

'99 RT cables are not lubed. If you are feeling friction, replace cable immediately.

Most common failure area for old type cables (have metal cap on junction box end of cable housing) was near the junction box end of the cable.

Newer cables eliminate the metal cap from the cable housing.

My theory for the premature cable failures prevalent a few years ago was that slight slack in the cable allowed rubbing against the metal cap resulting in premature cable failure.

 

edit:

Cable change from old to new type happened during the 99 model year. Mine had the old type. 20K is pushing it on the old type cables.

[Ken H.]

Up top end - First you have to remove the switch gear ass'y. Then get slack in the cable. Now the twist grip will rotate and with a little nudge go past the detent that is its normal rotation stop. Now the twist grip will come off the end of the bar. If you have heated grips you also have to disconnect that wire to gain enough length.

 

At the junction box it and all three cables are removed from the bike as an ass'y. Which of course means disconnecting the lower two and the throttle bodies and there goes synchronization. I'd suggest looking at the top end first before going to all that. Of course if the cable turns out to need replacing you have no choice.

 

That's kind of an overview. If you really need a step-by-step post back and we can give you further details.

[Cali Kid]

Bill,

I'm answering this based on the assumption that the 1100 is the same or very similiar to my 1150.

There is little you can do to lube cables. However, as I have suggested, and done myself, some lubrication can be achieved with a dry silicone. The first area to address is at the grip. This is also the most likely area to experience breakage. Remove the cable from the grip end and expose as much cable as possible, even pull on it to more out. Wipe this section clean and spray it with the silicone. Clean the guide that the cable goes through (this gets dirty, cable wear) as it exits the grip. That's the easiest thing you can do, and you will probably feel a bit of difference. I went so far as to remove the cable from both ends and diassembled the cable divider and cleaned it also. I believe the cable housings are lined with teflon and they just wear out. I did notice an improvement after all this cleaning. That was some time ago.

Recently at about 40K I replaced the throttle cable. That made the whole thing feel like new.

Good luck.

[eakins]

'99 RT cables are not lubed. If you are feeling friction, replace cable immediately.

Most common failure area for old type cables (have metal cap on junction box end of cable housing) was near the junction box end of the cable.

Newer cables eliminate the metal cap from the cable housing.

My theory for the premature cable failures prevalent a few years ago was that slight slack in the cable allowed rubbing against the metal cap resulting in premature cable failure.

 

edit:

Cable change from old to new type happened during the 99 model year. Mine had the old type. 20K is pushing it on the old type cables.

have a part # for the new assymbly?

[SageRider]

have a part # for the new assymbly?

At one time, the numbers were posted on this board. Evidently over 2 years ago and the old vs. new numbers are now gone.

I do not know what the new numbers are, but the BMW parts system at the dealers superceded the old numbers sometime in 1999. I doubt if you could obtain the old style cables at this time.

[Green RT]

Cable change from old to new type happened during the 99 model year. Mine had the old type. 20K is pushing it on the old type cables.

 

Can you tell from the vehicle number which you have? Or is there some other way to tell?

[SageRider]

Cable change from old to new type happened during the 99 model year. Mine had the old type. 20K is pushing it on the old type cables.

 

Can you tell from the vehicle number which you have? Or is there some other way to tell?

 

Numbers listed on the cables I currently have as spares ("new" type)

 

Primary throttle cable:

BMW 3273-7659691 4301 (4301 I assume to be a date code and will vary.)

marked at the middle of the cable.

 

"Long" throttle body cable:

BMW 3273-76596777 4001 (4001 assumed to be date code)

marked at junction box end of cable.

 

"Short" throttle body cable

BMW 3273-7659678 3501 (3501 assumed to be date code)

marked at junction box end of cable.

 

Biggest concern is the primary throttle cable.

If your numbers match, great!

If your numbers do not match, since the "old" style numbers are unknown, a tear down to look inside the junction box at the cable ends would be necessary to determine type. If I went that far, I would go ahead and replace the cables anyway.

 

edit:

Since my cables are about 4 years old, it is possible that the "new" type cable itself has been superceded with an even newer version. For this reason, I would not attempt to order cables with the part numbers listed above. I would rely on the BMW parts list to provide for the most up to date part.

[G Floyd]

What a coincidence! I just felt a little catch in my throttle this past weekend, and after a short conference with local guru determined that I'd better replace my cable (for 2001 RT). Said guru warned that I should make sure dealer gets me the "latest" primary throttle cable. The guy at the parts counter at first said "no, there is only one cable for all years", and I requested he he go back and double check. Then he came back and stated that indeed they did have the earlier and later versions.

 

At any rate I purchased one and the part numbers matches what you have just stated.