To lube cables or not....

[adamyorkie]

Doing my 12k service at the moment and following my Haynes manual stating that I need to lubricate my cables. I have a tool to do it but I have read that new cables are made of nylon and shouldn't be lube'd as it damages them? Anyone done this?

 

[Fawlty]

If the cables are OEM, they should be lubed.

 

[FinalImpact]

OEM FSM says to lube them. IIRC it states 30wt engine oil.

[MENTION=25725]Fawlty[/MENTION] - Nice Avatar but it violates the sites policy and should be traded out for something thats Approved by Yamaha.... Crazy they shame free advertising! Go figure....

 

[Fawlty]

OEM FSM says to lube them. IIRC it states 30wt engine oil.

[MENTION=25725]Fawlty[/MENTION] - Nice Avatar but it violates the sites policy and should be traded out for something thats Approved by Yamaha.... Crazy they shame free advertising! Go figure....

Apologies and sorted.

 

[Erci]

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.

 

[MattR302]

When I got my DR350, the throttle cables were sticking, so I bought one of those lube tools and that made them smooth again.

I haven't lubed my FZ6 cables yet in the 8k miles or so I've owned it (23k now) and haven't noticed any issues. Then I got my CBR and noticed that the clutch lever is way easier to squeeze than my FZ6. So it's on my list of things to do in the near future on my FZ6.

 

[FinalImpact]

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.

 

[iSteve]

I now have over 25k and never lubed the throttle cables and still smooth. I don't lube the clutch cable but instead replaced it at 15k and will do it again at 30k.