Throttle Tension Problems???

[Jayke]

Hello guys, I've had my bike not long now and recently I've noticed that the throttle is sticking slightly.

Mods I've done is:

FZ1 Bars
ProGrips
20mm Bar Risers

I didn't notice this right after doing the mods so I'm not sure whether its that, though I used WD40 on the throttle cable assembly (I think thats what it called) and it started happening after I did that, or at least that's when I started noticing it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OQHZ7tAb_4

Above is a video that shows whats happening, when I move it to the throttle cable assembly thing you can see that its not flipping all the way back, but I've not changed anything that I think would affect that?

Any advice would be great!

-- It's recently got REALLY cold in the UK, I guess it could be that but it's kinda dangerous in slow moving traffic, as I have to push the throttle forward to make it stop accelerating.


Thanks alot guys!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Hello guys, I've had my bike not long now and recently I've noticed that the throttle is sticking slightly.

Mods I've done is:

FZ1 Bars
ProGrips
20mm Bar Risers

I didn't notice this right after doing the mods so I'm not sure whether its that, though I used WD40 on the throttle cable assembly (I think thats what it called) and it started happening after I did that, or at least that's when I started noticing it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OQHZ7tAb_4

Above is a video that shows whats happening, when I move it to the throttle cable assembly thing you can see that its not flipping all the way back, but I've not changed anything that I think would affect that?

Thanks alot guys!

You have enough play in the lower(at the throttle bodies, left side)pull/accelerate cable but the upper safety, RETURN cable is likely too tight and is may be binding. (you can't quite see it in your video).

Loosen that cable adjustment up a hair(at the throttle body), so you have a little play in the cable, just like the lower cable in your video. It should spring back fully after that.

After that's resolved, you can fine tune the PULL cable adjuster. I like mine as taught as I can get it WITHOUT ANY BINDING/throttle sticking. It helps to keep the "On/OFF" throttle response to a minimum..

Also, WD 40 is not the best thing to lube your cables with. Either motor oil or preferably cable specific oil. WD 40 tends to dry out..

 

[ozgurakman]

First is first. You should raise the idle. At least it should be 1200.

Answer for your question is, your throttle cable is too much tightened. wd40 is fine for cables I think. It softens my fz6 fazer's clutch cable. but if Scott says it's not suitable, it should be true. :thumbup:

You can adjust the cable's free play and it should be fine.

 

[Jayke]

Thanks for the advice,

I will have another look at it tomorrow, I think I know which you mean, but what is strange is that its been fine for the past 2000 miles I've done on the bike.

I will lube them with motor oil, didn't realist that it was bad for it.

As for my idle, I think last time I check it was like 1350 or so? I could be wrong but that might have been when it was cold.

Will have another bash tomorrow and hopefully I can resolve it, thanks guys!

 

[FinalImpact]

Most penetrating oils are high in SOLVENTS and they desolve and breakdown existing oils risnsing them away. In other cases they disolve solids that have become sticky. So this may have caused your issue if it desolved the oil and rinsed it away.

How many miles on the bike?

I would opt for 10wt engine oil or cable specific lube. Do keep in mind that time, gravity, and vibrations are needed to get the lube into place so dont expect an instant fix!
Give it over night or if you feel its safe to ride, at least 20" of ride time.


The bottom cable here should not be pulled taunt. Adjust until it has some slack.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I will have another look at it tomorrow, I think I know which you mean, but what is strange is that its been fine for the past 2000 miles I've done on the bike.

I will lube them with motor oil, didn't realist that it was bad for it.

As for my idle, I think last time I check it was like 1350 or so? I could be wrong but that might have been when it was cold.

Will have another bash tomorrow and hopefully I can resolve it, thanks guys!

Its not that WD40 is necessarily "Bad" for it, it just doesn't have the lubrication properties to last any lenth of time.

I'm assuming you used a clamp on cable luber with one or two clamping screws? Using the WD40 to flush out the old stuff/crap is fine.

That upper cable may have been (and seems to) be right on the edge of functioning without binding or dragging.

Cleanliness at the throttle, etc is important too. Any, old grease build up tends to hold dirt, etc and hamper any smoothness to the throttle..

As Randy posted, you may have just washed crud build up (accumulated over time) towards one end of the cable.

If using the above mentioned tool, use it some more until the WD40 or what ever comes out the lower end clean..

Plese post your eventual outcome..

 

[Jayke]

The bottom cable is about the same as yours now Final, awful weather here in the UK right now, had snow this morning and then storms! Will find my oil and give them a nice lubing.

As for a clamp on luber, nope lol, just sprayed a load of WD40 everywhere where I thought it needed it.

About 13000 miles on the bike, only had it for the 2000 miles and it has been perfect until (I think) when I did the WD40, just waiting for the storm to bait and I'll run out and oil!

 

[FinalImpact]

From this thread - To lube to Not to Lube the Cables


PASTE:

The cable lube posts pop up on this site from time to time and I always chime in with my controversial opinion Blah

I do not lube my cables... ever. I know most people on here do, but I believe that lube attracts dust/dirt and eventually cables gunk up. I am basing this on mountain biking experience, which obviously is not a direct carry-over to road motorcycles.
But.. I've never lubed cables on any of my bikes. Current one is a 07 FZ1 with OEM cables.. approximately 30k miles. Never been lubed. Smooth as brand new.

Not trying to convert or convince anyone, but just wanna put it out there.. not lubing cables will not necessarily make your motorcycle spontaneously combust.

I want to say the sheath is a teflon liner and the cables have some sort of nylon coating so they should be fine for a long time. ^^ As stated.. .. ..

That said I have never lubed the throttle cables and they seem fine at 21,XXX miles. The Clutch on the other hand is far greater pressure and it gets it every 2 - 3K since I picked it up (it was crunchy then).
- The moral of the story - once they start to stick and you lube them; Get used to repeating it on a semi regular basis.

This tiny Teflon tube slides right down inside the clutch cable and works very well. Rubber + motor oil = Not so well. It kills syringes.. Hence this contraption to keep the oil off the rubber piston cup.

Yes, this is the best use I've found for Mobil 1 synthetic.... :rof::rof:

 

[Jayke]

Quite a cool contraption there[emoji14].

I just had a play, at first I thought it could be been the bar end because I remember some oil was on it. Thinking about it there was a brown oily substance on the old bars when I took off throttle side... Didn't put anything on when putting it back on, was I meant to??

Just gonna lube the cables now while I'm out, tension looks fine, I mean it has been fine other than the last 50 miles I guess.

I know this is probably stupid but is wd40 the same as gt85? That's what I used on my cables. I've always thought it was the same as wd

 

[Jayke]

I've lubed all the cables now and put some oil where it was before, still the same ;(;(;( angry at myself because I'm pretty sure it was the gt85 that did it.

Edit: the radiator pipe doesn't help at all as it's hard to loosen and tighten The nuts as it's right in the way!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Quite a cool contraption there[emoji14].

I just had a play, at first I thought it could be been the bar end because I remember some oil was on it. Thinking about it there was a brown oily substance on the old bars when I took off throttle side... Didn't put anything on when putting it back on, was I meant to??

Just gonna lube the cables now while I'm out, tension looks fine, I mean it has been fine other than the last 50 miles I guess.

I know this is probably stupid but is wd40 the same as gt85? That's what I used on my cables. I've always thought it was the same as wd

Re throttle cable play, I was referring to the video you have posted, you have good amount of play in the lower cable(pull cable), I couldn't quite see the cable play in the return cable above it. That's the one that should be checked for play (should be a little).

A little bit of oil (after cleaning the bars/throttle tube) won't hurt anything.

I use a pressure/clamp around device for all my cables.

As Randy pointed out, the clutch cable likes lubing more often as there's a bit of pull there (and will make the action easier).

If I lube the throttle cables once a year, its a lot. Likely closer to twice that when I feel it not super smooth and slower to return or harder to turn.

I looked up your product, it says its a lubricant, so it may be ok. I personally stick with product specific lubes, etc..

Again, the throttle cables don't take much tension, I believe its in your cable adjustment..

 

[Jayke]

That's my tension on the top one, ive never changed it and it always worked fine before (talking less than a hundred miles). Sometimes I need to push the throttle forward to stop it, sometimes it drops back to idle by itself. I'll carry on tinkering and seeing if I can fix it!

Thanks for the quick replies!!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

That TOP return CABLE is taught!!

If you turn in (clockwise) the large adjuster/nut some with a 10mm wrench (half to one turn maybe??), that should do it.

It should have some play just like the other one...

 

[Jayke]

That TOP return CABLE is taught!!

If you turn in (clockwise) the large adjuster/nut some with a 10mm wrench (half to one turn maybe??), that should do it.

It should have some play just like the other one...

Really? Heh.

I'm out of light for today so will try tomorrow.

Though I did see if I could adjust it, couldnt get my 10mm to fit in the gap between the frame, I can see that being a bit of a ball ache

 

[FinalImpact]

Looking at the cable end, the return does not adjust at the bottom. What I don't recall is if there is an adjuster at the top...

I am curious as to why the SCREWS HOLDING the STOP PLATE have been stripped out. Was this bike once limited for power output?

Mine at idle:

Mine WOT, note - top return has slack now....

OP:

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Randy, your correct. I just looked at mine, I thought there was an adjuster there, there ISN'T.. (brain fart/old age, etc..:spank..

Jayke, please disreguard trying to adjust that top cable, there is no adjustment at the TB bodies.


Another thing to look at is if the had grip on the throttle tube is sticking on the bar end.

Also, with the stock FZ6 bars, there's a hole drilled in it to locate the throttle assembly. You now have FZ1 bars.

Jayke, did you re-drill the bars or grind down the little nub that would have fit in the hole? That alone would cause the throttle assembly to NOT fit correctly on the bars..

And good catch Randy, someone was messing with those screws.

Perhaps an un-wind (one revolution) of the TB return spring??? That would explain the light return of the throttle..

 

[FinalImpact]

We suggest you ship your bike to the USA where we can easily inspect and diagnose it! :rof::rof:

Scott,
A good possible/maybe on the nub being left and no hole... I drilled mine.

FWLIW; ( fw LITTLE iw )
Way back when I replaced the Throttle Bodies on an FZ6 that had the castings broken. No idea how they caved it in and crushed the TB but, both were broken and glued together (kinda).
Anyway, I replaced the TB's and had one cable too snug and it just froze where ever you left it. All I did was add the proper slack at the bottom by the TB end and it was happy. A nice quick snap back. A double-pull cable system will do that with no slack! Although I don't think it applies here.

It was funny to throw a set TB and injectors on bike from a salvage yard and see the bike instantly start and idle as if nothing ever happened to it! I quick sync which it didn't need and we were done!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

We suggest you ship your bike to the USA where we can easily inspect and diagnose it! :rof::rof:

Scott,
A good possible/maybe on the nub being left and no hole... I drilled mine.

FWLIW; ( fw LITTLE iw )
Way back when I replaced the Throttle Bodies on an FZ6 that had the castings broken. No idea how they caved it in and crushed the TB but, both were broken and glued together (kinda).
Anyway, I replaced the TB's and had one cable too snug and it just froze where ever you left it. All I did was add the proper slack at the bottom by the TB end and it was happy. A nice quick snap back. A double-pull cable system will do that with no slack! Although I don't think it applies here.

It was funny to throw a set TB and injectors on bike from a salvage yard and see the bike instantly start and idle as if nothing ever happened to it! I quick sync which it didn't need and we were done!

His video showed the throttle snapping back most of the time with a good amount of play on the lower, PULL / accelerate cable.

Someone definitly (with the torn up screws) was messing around there. If that nub is still there, of course that would cause issues. Like you posted Randy, it desn't take much to screw something up, lower the tank, and pass it off to the next poor slob.. Hopefully there's no issues at the TB's like you experianced..

And we can't tell, via internet, how hard that throttle is to turn. Someone could have done a throttle spring un-wind. Then found the throttle not returning fully and tried to un-do it by removing and boogering up those two machine screws.. My FJR, when I did on un-wind on the TB's, was slow to return. About a year later, the spring was re-wound one rotation. (not hard to do and if need be, will pass along how to do it if needed)

Re-reading the Op's first post, it likely started up right after the mods.


For the Op,

1st, did you re-drill the bar, grind down the nub inside the throttle assemble or do neither when installing the FZ1 bar? The answer is very important.

If neither, it would probably be best to remove the throttle half and grind down the nub. That or drill the bar(a bit trickier getting the exact spot). ***This should be done in ANY CASE***....

Please address that first, then we can go from there..

 

[Jayke]

Thanks for the comparison pictures, as for the screws I've no idea, that looks strange to me aswell now I'm looking at it. There's no paperwork that was given with the bike to say it was restricted, pretty sure its not right now anyway, its FAST lol!

Uhmm I didn't drill anything purely because I couldn't see anything that could be ground down, maybe I should look again... I don't even recall there being a hole in the FZ6 bars lol, I remember before installing them people told me to drill something but I couldn't see anything that would conflict...

When I get up tomorrow I'll check it out, thanks for reminding me about that!

 

[Jayke]

so looking I can't really find anything that would make anything work differently, ill be honest I'm not sure what exactly I'm looking for.

unless you guys mean this "nub" but surely that's impossible to get to, to dremel down!!


I should probably say it's an 06 FZ6 SA. The throttle housing spins freely on the bars with enough force, not hard to move at all.

Edit: I mean it could be the cold weather, I'm not sure. Its in the minuses right now here in the UK... Sorry for being a pain!