Whats the best way to shorten cables?

m511y

m511y

Less is more
I need to shorten my clutch and throttle cable. Whats the best way? I have new motion pro cables so I don't want to have to go get ones that are shorter. Just want to shorten the ones I already have.

Thanks in advance.
 
There's no easy way - the only way is to do it properly by soldering on new barrels, and to do that, you really should be using a soldering pot and know what you're doing. You don't want these cables breaking.
 
Two alternatives: rerouting or just buying shorter ones.

I'm assuming you've put new, lower bars on your bike. You can usually reroute your cables by, for example, rotating the throttle cable mount forward, sending the excess into a loop in front of the bars before it comes back around and under the tank.

Also, for some bikes, cables, including shorter ones, are relatively cheap ($20). Sometimes a shorter cable for a different bike will work too.
 
this guy has a pretty good how to. I've been doing a lot video watching and reading on this. A solder pot is pretty cheap or you can do a home made copper one. I would do a few test runs on an old cable and get the process down first.

http://youtu.be/axGTa0SvXjE
 
D4N63R said:
You're basically just mimicking the factory process for making cables.
Click to expand...

You mean sending an order to the manufacturer for a crate full of the right length? ;)
 
From my experience, soldering your own cables is a straight forward "temporary" fix... I've done plenty of them and they generally last a couple months using standard solder. If you want them to last, they need to be done with SilFos (silver solder)
 
VonYinzer said:
You mean sending an order to the manufacturer for a crate full of the right length? ;)
Click to expand...

exactly!

Walms said:
From my experience, soldering your own cables is a straight forward "temporary" fix... I've done plenty of them and they generally last a couple months using standard solder. If you want them to last, they need to be done with SilFos (silver solder)
Click to expand...

Have you been using solid wire solder? I know you dont want to use rosin core.. If silver solder is the best this will be the second time my RC hobby has come in handy hahaha
 
I used one of these, tightened the screw as much as I could and then hacked the head off. Might not be the most reliable but it never let me down.
 

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It's acid core you don't want to use.
Solder just doesn't have the mechanical strength.
 
Nathan81230 said:
I used one of these, tightened the screw as much as I could and then hacked the head off. Might not be the most reliable but it never let me down.
Click to expand...

how long have you been using it for? If its never let you down it must be reliable ;) hahaha
 
I used them all last season, about 3000 miles and never had a problem. They fit nice and snug on the carbs and the throttle assembly (cm400). I got them at True Value for a dollar and change. Crank it down and test it before you put it on the bike.
 
My Tomaselli Super Practic B throttle has a similar brass barrel / set screw setup. For that I just chopped the end of the throttle cable off, shortened the housing, slipped a housing trim cover on and slid the barrel on to the point I needed, set the screw and cut the excess off.

My throttle has been holding for years. I also have a spare cable.

But, a clutch is a much different beast than a throttle. Very little resistance on a throttle relative to a clutch. Not sure I'd use a set screw on a clutch, but would in a pinch I suppose. A while back someone had found inexpensive cable repair kits on Amazon that came with various barrels etc. Motion Pro also sells them.

At the end of the day I'd find factory made cables the right length at least for the clutch. Some throttles use tiny little barrels on the ends so one with a set screw might not work.
 
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