throttle cable
 

i deffinatly need to replace my throttle cable, theres no doubt about that. so 1, how easy or difficult is the replacement to do myself? is it complicated or pretty straight forward. also cant seem to find any threads on here pertaining to steps on replacing it. so 2, if anyone knows of a thread or has done it themselves let me know. and also is it just parts #1 and #2 that i need to buy from the link below? thanks


1998 Honda Parts, 1998 Honda OEM Parts - BikeBandit.com

Not too hard to do yourself at all, but you do have to take the airbox off to get to the hardware on the carb side.

Lift/remove fuel tank, then remove airbox. I find it much easier to loosen the carb boots as well so that you can twist the carbs and have access to the parts you need. Everything else is pretty self explanatory. Couple of screws and nuts to take off on the carb side and couple of screws and nuts on the throttle side. Adjust as necessary!

I've been able to clean gummy cables out with wd-40 and an air compressor in the past, then add some more cable lube. But if you think yours are shot then they don't look that expensive really.

just had the cables lubed but they need to be replaced. sounds pretty straight forward. does the gas tank need to be empty to lift it up like that?

Nope. Unless your petcock is broken, but then that's something you need to fix anyway. I'm in the habit of removing it to give myself more room, but it certainly doesn't have to be.

As has been said, it should be surprisingly easy, once the airbox is removed. I would highly recommend while you're in there, you replace the 2 OEM Phillips screws that hold the throttle cable stay (#1 on the carb assy fiche) in place with 2 Allen bolts of the same size.

I would lift the tank and remove the airbox, remove the cable stay at the front, right side of the carb assembly so you can easily remove each cable, then loosen the right clip-on and open the throttle housing, so you can easily remove the throttle tube. Replace the cables, clean and re-grease the clip-on, then reinstall everything. When removing the throttle cables from the carb, I always unbolt the cable stay and leave the throttle cables attached to it, then simply remove the cable from the cam - this lessens the amount of adjusting you have to do upon reassembly. Replacing those 2 screws with Allen bolts allows you to do this, without loosening the carbs each time.

Oh, and I wouldn't let WD-40 anywhere near the new cables! I once used it as a cable lube and found it "ate" 'em! I prefer to use a product called "Bike Aid" (usually sold in bicycle repair shops) or a silicone spray lube.

Cheers!

Yeah I probably shouldn't have posted that as "advice", but if you blow it out with a compressor and are trying to re-use shot cables, I can't say I haven't done it.

cool guys. thanks for the advice!! ill let you know how it turns out or if i end up with any questions

You can just buy the "pull" cable. The "push" cable is for government safety reasons, and not needed.

This will lighten the throttle action by a LOT, and you'll love the new feel.


James

I just did the "remove the push cable" mod. Once you do that, you may decide you dont need the new cable. Thats what happened to me.

My 2 cents is to not loosed the carb boots. It is totally uneeded and can only create new problems. Also, dont drop those screws down into the carb slides.

I just did this last night and totally agree... that push cable isn't just unnecessary, it was creating some friction in my setup and once removed I have full snap back lock to lock again! This conversation yesterday reminded me of it again because I kept forgetting to give it a shot.

I also realized that you may be right and don't need to loosen the carb boots. I was thinking that when I remove the carbs those two little annoying screws that hold the cable attachment plate have to come off, and they're easier once the boots are loostened. But if you're taking the whole cable off anyway, it isn't needed...

when doing the cables (especially since you're in there anyway) I always do a carb sync as well

Edit: Also I use my chain wax on my cables. I much prefer it to the lubes. Every once in a while you have to use some chain clean in there too because it can get built up in there.