Clutch Cable

[Bob_Roller]

Since I got my '82 silver LS, the clutch has been a bit stiff compared to the other R65's .
Yesterday I got enthused and was going to see what the issue was .
Found it very quick when I got the cable disconnected at the transmission .
The usual frayed cable at the handlebar end, only four strands still intact .
I thought no problem, I'll take the cable off of the '84 LS parts bike .
That cable is about 3 inches, 75 mm shorter than the cable the '82 has .
I know there is a difference in length from the standard R65 and LS version, but not between different model years of the LS .
I checked parts catalog and only found one length for R65's LS included, 1495 mm length .
I found a few different lengths of clutch cables for other airhead bikes made at the same time .
Anyone know if BMW kept the cables the same at the handlebar and transmission ends between different displacement bikes ??
Didn't measure the length of the cable I need, ran out of time .
It was a bit warm in the garage as well, 94 F, 34 C summer is not too far off !!!

[dogshome]

Since the frames are all the same and the clutch adjustment is the same, it has to be the bars. Mine has RT type which are higher than standard,so the cable is longer. There can't be many more options than bars can there? I suppose the original was actually the right length and the clutch has not been adjusted properly?

[Bob_Roller]

Just got home from work, the ' Friday' of  my work week .
Measured the cables, the cable that came off the '82 LS is 1495 mm long (only cable listed for all R65's ), the one off the '84 LS is 1370 mm long .
I need to remove the fairings and take a good look at the cable routing, I followed the bad cable routing, which obviously is  not correct for the shorter cable .

[jp9094]

Had the same problem with my'83 LS when the cable frayed and snapped. As I do not have the original bars on mine the original replacement cable was a bit of a stretch ;-). It also snapped. Got a slightly longer cable AND repositioned the handlebars and it has been smooth sailing for the past 3 years!

FWIW

[SoloLobo]

I am running a /5 euro bar clutch cable on my LS.

Anton has a nice page showing the cable lengths and BMW part numbers

http://largiader.com/articles/cables/

[Bob_Roller]

Figured out what the issue is with the cable from the '84 LS .
That bike has low bars, the '82 has high bars .
I need to go and order the 1495 mm cable tomorrow .
I was under the impression, that all LS's had low bars .

[Bob_Roller]

Update on the clutch cable .
After a 6 week delay in getting my parts order from the local BMW dealer, finally got the cable installed 4 days ago .
Never thought of comparing the old cable and the new one before installation, should have !!
The only cable listed for the R65, including the LS version bike, appears to be about 3-4 inches, 75-100 mm longer than the cable that I removed, which I measured at 1495 mm .
I tried different routing and still didn't work well, but I finally got it routed without any sharp bends or chaffing on other items .
I have no idea how you would get this to work on a bike with low bars, like the later LS version bikes .
I checked the part number on the plastic bag the cable came in and it is the same number from the parts catalog which is supposed to be 1495 mm in length .
I also found another source for cables, clutch, throttle, choke,  Euro Motoelectric .

https://www.euromotoelectrics.com/category-s/2366.htm

http://largiader.com/articles/cables/

Before you order a clutch cable, I would go to the link above and measure your cable according to the chart .
I went to the Euro Motoelectric site and looked at the cables for the R65 and got different lengths and different BMW part numbers than is listed in the BMW parts catalog .

[georgesgiralt]

Bob,
I had a final drive boot leakage a couple of years ago. I bought a new boot and new clips to hold it in place because the old one were rusted.
I was astonished being unable to put them in place. Whatever fight I did.
I had the idea to check the markings between the old and the new. Same.
But the new were really lesser in diameter. A lot. I put the old rusted in place and it took me 5 minutes. So I bet BMW does not check the parts as they used to some time ago....
A friend of mine having lost the original put plastic tie wrap on the boot in order to have the bike on the road.... 

[Bob_Roller]

I went back and checked my records of parts that I have purchased, found a receipt for the clutch cable I put on my '81 R65 back in 03/97 .
Same part number as the one I just got from BMW .

[jp9094]

FYI : Just checked, PN 32732324959 was correct length clutch cable for my '83 r 65 LS with the higher handlebars. Hope this helps.

Best to all,

[Bob_Roller]

Thanks for the part number, I'm putting it in my records for purchased parts .
I measured the failed cable from my '82 LS with high bars the way the link showed and got a measurement that is no where close to what I've seen in the parts catalog .
I put that part number in the RealOEM search and it comes up as only effective for European model R65's .
The clutch cable part number ending in 959 is 1386 mm long, 109 mm or just a bit over 4 inches shorter than the part listed for all R65's .


https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/partxref?q=32722324959&series=248