Clutch cable rubbing

Mine is definitely rubbing. Only 1k miles so glad I caught it. Will be heading to hardware store to pick up loom and cable clamp. Thanks everyone for the heads up and suggestions to resolve the issue.

With the electrical loom over the top, is there still enough flexibility and room there to squeeze the air filter cover in and out ?

I've changed mine at 15000km. It was looking ok at the 10k mark but it had a hard workout after that. I wasn't happy with the dust migrating around the edges so now, after recommendations, I've put a heap of waterproof tacky grease around the mating surfaces. I spend the odd minute or two every now & then working out how to fit a foam filter into that airbox.

I would get a new clamp, Abby. Mine has a nice big loop in it and is ok for now, but I can see where the cable is starting to wear away the coating of the clamp. Once that is gone the cable will start copping it. I was in the dealership last night picking up some bits and he had a Terra on the floor he was still assembling. I had a look at it and the clamp/guide was the same as yours, straight and it had started to scrape the cable sheath. So I don't know if it came from the factory like this and mine got bent on assembly and this one was missed. I mentioned it to the owner and he's aware of the issue now

I put on the rubber lined p-clamp ($1.15 for a pair at Lowe's, in the specialty section, aisle 1). I turned the handlebar all the way to the left and tightened the clamp. The clutch cable is snugged up and doesn't slide behind the radiator, which is good. But, when turning hard to the right the does bend forward, up toward the back of the headlight. I'm not thrilled with this solution because a hard right turn causes quite a bend, but I'm going with it for now. I'm wondering if the electrical loom fix might be better. For sure, either is better than the stock situation.

While I like the idea of the electrical loom fix, i think that the loom will still rub against the radiator and will need to be replaced every so often. if the loom is fixed so it doesn't move, then the cable will rub inside it, and while it may not wear out as quickly as it does against the stock clamp, i still imagine it will be a wear item that needs to have an eye kept on it.

just my thoughts.

--Chris

That what I was thinking and why I'm sticking with the fixed point method for the time being. I took a long rocky road today making me stay slow and do a lot of turning. I didn't have any problems and haven't noticed any new wear yet.

I think if you made the loom to radiator connection rigid and let the cable slide freely within the loom....you would be okay

Probably. It would be nice if anyone that has done the loom method to post in another 1000 miles and let us know how it looks.

I have 4200 miles on my bike as well as 2'' Rox risers, but I tilted the risers forward heavily to make sure there was ample slack in all the cables so the rise on the bars is significantly less that 2''.

Inspected the clutch cable after I saw this thread and up top my cable is slightly worn, no more than than the pictures in this thread. BUT down low where the cable runs on the underside of the radiator is a different story. Down there the insulation has worn completely through and the metal sheath is fully exposed.

I heavily encourage you all to inspect the full length of the clutch cable. I will be pulling mine off the bike this week and posting pictures of it as soon as I can.

I have a 650GS clutch cable on order and will be figuring out a different way to route the cable myself and perhaps even armoring it with heavy duty shrink tubing in wear spots. In my opinion it is definitely a warranty issue, but i decided not to go that route because its only $40, I don't have truck or trailer to haul it with(I refuse to ride it the 45 mins of highway to the dealer like this, I'm paranoid) and I do have aftermarket risers installed after all

On the upside I have been ripping my little KLR250 around all weekend, hahaha that thing is so much fun It is going to be tough on me to sell that thing this month

While installing my Altrider crash bars today, I decided to have a look at the clutch cable and sure enough, the plastic cover was worn thru to the sheath. It was being pinched between the frame and the radiator. I disengaged the cable from the clutch and pulled it up to the top of the bike, repaired the rubbed spot and rerouted the cable to run behind the frame. Their was plenty of room even for my buddy Next, and he has 2" rox-risers.

Th

Thanks...good to know I thought 2 inch rise was tight. But running cable inside of frame makes that a better solution.

Thanks for the heads up about this issue. I pick my bike up in 9 days and this will be the first thing I address.

When I got home from work today I rerouted my clutch cable behind the frame. Much more relaxed, but there are a couple of spots where it will rub against the radiator hose when the bars are on full right lock. Does anyone foresee that being a problem when the hose gets hot ?

I would imagine you're not doing clockwise donuts all day long and the cable would be touching only for moments at a time, so probably okay as far as heat goes. Check it in a 1000 miles and let us know!

Can one of you guys that re-routed the cable post some pictures of where you ran it?

Yea was exactly what happened to mine. I don't really follow where you routed it tho. Behind the frame? Doesn't that route it really close to the exhaust pipe? Is that ok to do?

I fiddly around for a while and only came up with comig striagth off the clutch and routing it to go past the radiator fan and I really don't like it as it requires the cable to be ziptied to that large hose forward of the clutch, and the cable is really exposed. I'm going to have to play around with it more

If I did this right, you should see a rough video of the route I used for the clutch cable.