Throttle Cable Splitter

[montmil]

Lacking anything better to do last weekend, I decided to check out the internals of the throttle cable splitter on the '81 R65. Might be dirty. Might not. So...

My attempts to unscrew the cap were halted as it seemed to be overly snug. What am I missing in opening up this black plastic rubic's cube? Should there be a smear of Lubriplate inside? Twist harder or get a bigger hammer?

Monte

[Bob_Roller]

Are the throttle cable adjusters at the carbs, and handlebar backed off and the cables slack ?

[plc]

Hi All,

Monte, is there a chance the PO added some glue? Could they have stripped the thread and then glued it together? Mine came apart really easily, it was refitting it with a new upper cable that caused me all the grief in my first attempt.

I am interested to hear what others say here. I figured that when refitting this splitter you had to put in the lower cables first, then insert the inner piece complete with lower cables, then finally work the upper cable into place through the slot. I foolishly put the upper in first and... well a lot of mods later it was refitted.

Also is there any way to separate the splitter without cutting a cable? I had everything adjusted loose and the inner part never comes down far enough for the lowers to drop out. I must be doing something wrong because I can't see how you replace just a lower cable.

Best to all,
Paul

[montmil]

Are the throttle cable adjusters at the carbs, and handlebar backed off and the cables slack ?

Not yet. I have no real concerns about the splitter. Plus, I have recently manometer-balanced the cables at idle and mid-range revs so not too excited about disturbing the nice balance. Could possibly detach the cables at the twist grip, enrichener lever and butterfly...

Monte

[Bob_Roller]

The trick for getting the cables out of the splitter, is first remove the entire cable assembly from the bike .

With the cables removed, adjust the adjuster at the front end of the splitter all the way in .

Remove the threaded cap from the splitter .

Push the plug of plastic that the cables mount into, towards the front of the splitter, push the single cable from the handlebar up into the splitter, to get the swaged end of the cable free of the plastic plug .

You may have to hold the plug to prevent the cable from pushing the plug, and not have the swaged end come free of the plug itself .

Move the cable end off to the side, and get it completely 'disengaged' from the plug .

Now you can use the two cables that go to the carbs, to pull the plastic plug from the splitter body .

Now you can get the two 'lower' cables out of the plug .

Personally, I wouldn't get too crazy with grease in there, it just makes a mess of things, when you need to get in there again .

If you are unsure of how the cables are routed, mark the wiring harness, and whatever else the cables ride against with masking tape, so it isn't a guess where they went .

[Ed Miller]

Bob saved me a lot of typing.  

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

A dry graphite might be a better lubricant for the inside of this thing.

[Bob_Roller]

There's no real need for any lubricant, as when the cables are properly tensioned, all of the parts are suspended inside the splitter, and not touching anything .

[Mike V]

Monte,

Pretty simple affair, once you get the cap off. The plastic tends to harden and gaul a little bit. My choke splitter came apart pretty easily, more so than the throttle cables. There was some crud inside mine which I cleaned out with a stiff plastic bristle grout brush and some alcohol and contact cleaner. Wiped everything clean and dry with coffee filters. Then I applied the smallest amount of silicone grease, very little. Less than a smear. I had second thoughts of just keeping things dry. After reassembly they were nice and smooth.

Bob's instructions above are spot on. Here's some pictures and photobucket link if it helps.

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq8/gruntyman66/81%20R650%20Restoration/Cables%2008-09/81R65Restoration8-15-09Cables004.jpg

http://s428.photobucket.com/albums/qq8/gruntyman66/81%20R650%20Restoration/Cables%2008-09/?albumview=slideshow

[montmil]

Absolutely outstanding responses, folks. I'm saving this entire thread for future reference.

Gonna leave the splitter alone for now as I really have no questions about its state of tune. Thanks.

Monte

[Ed Miller]

A dry graphite might be a better lubricant for the inside of this thing.

I think that's better than anything else you could use.  I tried a silicone spray one time, and think it did more harm than good.  Any grease type stuff would be worse.

[nhmaf]

I basically use a method similar to Bob's well described one to get mine apart.   There really isn't anything inside of them to rust, but I have found one instance where the crimped/swaged end of a cable was bent and scraping/gouging on the inside of the housing - this created alot of drag.  Lubrication wouldn't really have fixed it.   Than can collect and hold water/moisture in them for quite some time, so one may find rust from cable ends inside.   I'd just clean it out and *maybe* put a very light touch of grease or something to resist oxidation on the swaged cable ends in case water does get in there and leave it at that.

[plc]

Hi All,

Thanks to all, especially Bob, for the explanations. I need a new upper cable and was dreading the job, but it shouldn't freak me out too much now.

And thanks Mike for the photos, they were great.

Thanks again.

Paul