replacing cable/wiring casing?

[ccvsgod]

Hey oh knowledgeable dudes:

I'm restoring a 69 CL450. The throttle cable casing is shot (the old grey brittle kind), the cables themselves are fine and they're the kind that split off to each carb, hard for me to find a replacement for in town. Where they're unsightly is right off the throttle control, and they've been taped up. Same deal with the wires coming out of my left control. Basically wondering if there's such a thing as a replacement cable casing I can get at Canadian Tire and slip over the crappy parts for those 2 feet. Help me, before I buy 15 packs of heat shrink wire cover and do it an inch at a time! Or if you know anywhere in T.O. I can get a proper replacement one, do tell.

 

[Garage_guy_chris]

no one makes reproduction throttle cables for our 450's i bought a cb350 or cb360 reproduction cable thats damn close its about 3-4 inches shorter donno if it will work yet haven't tried it yet, I got it from Sirius consolidated out of kitchener http://www.siriusconinc.com

beyond that princess auto sells shrink wrap in 10' or 15' continuous length, that was my plan to spruce up any cables i need to recycle.

 

[gord]

Barnnet sells a Japanese cable kit for the do it yourself types,the kit come with enough ends of various sizes to keep you going for years( I have one I bought 10 yrs ago and am still using) As for the sheathing the local marine supply can fix you up as they use a lot of cable for the various controls cheers

 

[hillsy]

Go to a bicycle shop and buy a generic brake cable. They come with about 5' of sheathing and are only a couple of dollars.

You will have to de / re-solder the cable ends to make it fit though. Although if you use the bicycle cable as well as the sheathing you'll already have one end done

 

[Rocan]

Go to a bicycle shop and buy a generic brake cable. They come with about 5' of sheathing and are only a couple of dollars.

You will have to de / re-solder the cable ends to make it fit though. Although if you use the bicycle cable as well as the sheathing you'll already have one end done

dont use bicycle cable... ive broken it ON my bicycle. wouldnt trust it for anything on my motorcycle. i know one user here used it for their clutch and it snapped.

dont only replace cable housing either; if the housing is shot, the cables need replacing as well. you can get custom cables made at a lot of shops; ask around.

 

[ccvsgod]

Thanks all. I saw the ones at Princess Auto but couldn't make it out of the city to get there. Marina supply did indeed have the stuff too. I ended up going to Home Depot and got 10 feet of 1/4" casing - it was a plumbing rather than electrical part but was $4 and did the trick. Guess we'll see how it looks in 41 years.

Hopefully these pics work:

Thanks all. I saw the ones at Princess Auto but couldn't make it out of the city to get there. Marina supply did indeed have the stuff too. I ended up going to Home Depot and got 10 feet of 1/4" casing - it was a plumbing rather than electrical part but was $4 and did the trick. Guess we'll see how it looks in 41 years.

Hopefully these pics work. If not, I just put them up here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29067760@N06/

As you can see, my throttle cable is still pretty fugly, that's next up. The bars it came with were these huge ape hangers, so I have a bunch of slack. Is the shorter 350 cable you found the kind that splits off to each carb? I'd try the casing if it fit but I definitely wouldn't trust a bicycle cable, it can't be relative in strength or tension. I snap enough throttle cables as it is.

Quick Horror Story: I've cleaned the carbs really well but haven't adjusted them properly yet. I took it out yesterday (maiden voyage) after all this and had to reach down with my right hand to open the choke on the left side while riding. It took off like a fucking rocket, seriously so ballsy (moreso than my 650F) and I love it, but it went a little bananas and revved SO high that aside from the crazy noise it was seriously off the tachometer, there was smoke covering my house and neighbors' on both sides, neighbors and landlords yelling at me through the smoke (did I mention it has little shortys with no baffling?), and I tried to kill it with one hand on the clutch (for mortal fear it would kick into a gear and shoot straight through my neighbor's car). I went to kill the choke and it was already closed. I pulled the KEY out and it didn't stop! Ended up pulling the spark plugs, that's all that could stop it. What the shit was THAT? So, she's got some bugs to work out but hopefully that at least blew the dust out of it (it hadn't run in over 20 years). If I get evicted, it was worth it.

 

[hillsy]

dont use bicycle cable... ive broken it ON my bicycle. wouldnt trust it for anything on my motorcycle. i know one user here used it for their clutch and it snapped.

Bicycle brake cable is fine for throttle cables (think about it - how much pressure is used on a bicycle brake compared to a motorcycle throttle?). On the other hand, it is too light gauge for clutch cables or motorcycle brake cables.

The biggest problem is getting the ends effectively soldered onto the cable. That's where most of the "breakages" occur.

BTW - I've used them for years on bikes - currently on my XT500 I've had bicycle brake cable throttle cables for the past 18 months. Ride it every day, no dramas

 

[killerdwarf]

fully agree with you on the throttle cable hillsy.

 

[killerdwarf]

I watched my dad make heavy duty brake cables for my bicycle when I was a kid. He used motorcycle cables. He made a little mold for the ends made from wood, clamped the cable in place, and poured molten lead into the mold./ When the lead was hard he filed it into proper shape. I never broke a cable again!