Two Clutch Cables and a Microphone

rondothemidget · Post by **rondothemidget** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 6:43 pm

As compared to other scooters or motorcycles you've ridden, how has your Stella clutch cable held up? My second clutch cable just snapped; the first at 1,000 miles and my second at 4,000 on my 4T Stella.

Are they relatively scarce? How long did you have to wait to get one? Is it covered under the warranty? And if not, what is involved in replacing it by yourself?

Maximus53 · Post by **Maximus53** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 6:55 pm

I too have been curious as to what is involved with replacing the clutch cable. I haven't had my Stella 4T long enough to work about it *knock on wood*, but it sounds like something that will definately present itself in the future. Any one up to a good ole' how to posting?

Howardr · Post by **Howardr** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 12:18 am

Huh! 12,000 miles on my 2T Stella and haven't broken one at all. i did replace it about 500 miles ago, but that was only because we were doing something else and thought it would be a good idea because of the mileage.

Howard

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 12:56 am

The cable is a very common part and should be easy to get.

On Stella 4T #1: No cable issues at all other then needing adjustments.

On #2: Same. Will probably need adjustment at around 2K or so. Shifting not as crisp as day one.

I hope to figure this out and do it myself.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 4:36 am

No problems with mine at about 4000 miles. I did have it adjusted twice however so it has stretched.

Tam Tam · Post by **Tam Tam** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 7:32 am

"There's a destination a little up the road..."

snownomi · Post by **snownomi** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 3:55 pm

I broke mine around 2000 miles. It was not covered warranty but real cheap and I have a great mechanic.

Lokky · Post by **Lokky** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 3:40 pm

8900 miles on mine and still rocking the original cable.

jimmbomb · Post by **jimmbomb** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:39 pm

Mine on the 2010 is starting to fray...I have 1500 miles on it.
The adjuster just foward is broken though where the threads meet the nut.
Probally causing fraying that I can't see.
I got a spare n the glove box and have changed a few before on other bikes..
Its a little tough to try to explain in words the process ...

rondothemidget · Post by **rondothemidget** » Wed May 02, 2012 9:38 pm

It wasn't covered under warranty and I ended up paying just over $50 for parts and labor. An extra cost was that I was without the scooter for about two weeks.

I just ordered a clutch cable and a fourth hand tool so I don't have to keep paying $50 and won't go long stretches without my scooter. I've never installed a clutch cable before so I had the mechanic show me how. It seems pretty straightforward.

rondothemidget · Post by **rondothemidget** » Thu May 31, 2012 11:39 pm

It's been a frustrating ordeal but I hope my clutch problems are behind me. I just got a new clutch lever, cable, adjuster, and cable screw nipple. The cable is lubed and everything is adjusted... for now.

This is where I hope you guys can help me. After this new cable breaks in and stretches a little, how do you adjust the clutch? Do you twist the adjuster? If so, which way do you twist it? Does twisting it in let the clutch in or out? Or do you pull the cable with something like a fourth-hand tool and re-tighten the nipple?

Lokky · Post by **Lokky** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 12:09 am

rondothemidget wrote:It's been a frustrating ordeal but I hope my clutch problems are behind me. I just got a new clutch lever, cable, adjuster, and cable screw nipple. The cable is lubed and everything is adjusted... for now.

This is where I hope you guys can help me. After this new cable breaks in and stretches a little, how do you adjust the clutch? Do you twist the adjuster? If so, which way do you twist it? Does twisting it in let the clutch in or out? Or do you pull the cable with something like a fourth-hand tool and re-tighten the nipple?

the adjuster should be installed in the 'out' position iirc and then it is brought in to tighten the cable.

That said the adjuster keeps failing on my cables so I just used a fourth hand tool to adjust the cable by loosening and re-tightening at the nipple.

rondothemidget · Post by **rondothemidget** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:13 pm

Lokky wrote: the adjuster should be installed in the 'out' position iirc and then it is brought in to tighten the cable.

That said the adjuster keeps failing on my cables so I just used a fourth hand tool to adjust the cable by loosening and re-tightening at the nipple.

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for.

neotrotsky · Post by **neotrotsky** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 5:05 am

rondothemidget wrote:It wasn't covered under warranty and I ended up paying just over $50 for parts and labor. An extra cost was that I was without the scooter for about two weeks.

I just ordered a clutch cable and a fourth hand tool so I don't have to keep paying $50 and won't go long stretches without my scooter. I've never installed a clutch cable before so I had the mechanic show me how. It seems pretty straightforward.

It's super simple. The first one is a bit odd if you've never done it before, but I went through about 5 in my 20,000 miles on my '05 Stella. Soon you'll have it down to minutes. Doesn't always happen, but it will always happen at the worst times. Just keep a spare in the glovebox and you'll be good.

Post by **ericalm** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 5:14 am

If anyone wanted to do some tutorials on clutch cable installation and clutch and gear cable adjustments, I'm sure many would appreciate it!

Maximus53 · Post by **Maximus53** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 11:16 pm

rondothemidget wrote:As compared to other scooters or motorcycles you've ridden, how has your Stella clutch cable held up? My second clutch cable just snapped; the first at 1,000 miles and my second at 4,000 on my 4T Stella.

Are they relatively scarce? How long did you have to wait to get one? Is it covered under the warranty? And if not, what is involved in replacing it by yourself?

Hit 1000 miles this weekend.... clutch cable snapped this afternoon....

Maximus53 · Post by **Maximus53** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 12:49 am

neotrotsky wrote: It's super simple. The first one is a bit odd if you've never done it before, but I went through about 5 in my 20,000 miles on my '05 Stella. Soon you'll have it down to minutes. Doesn't always happen, but it will always happen at the worst times. Just keep a spare in the glovebox and you'll be good.

Is there a trick to feeding the new cable back through the grey sleeve? Connecting it at each end looks simple enough, but seems like it would be difficult pushing the inner cable through the outer sleeve.

Maximus53 · Post by **Maximus53** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 1:46 am

I did some searching and found this walk through: http://vespamaintenance.com/body/clcable/index.html

In some of the searching i did some people said to use bearing grease on the cable while others said that is bad and to use oil instead...

Any first hand experience out there?

Thanks!

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 1:50 am

Maximus53 wrote:
neotrotsky wrote: It's super simple. The first one is a bit odd if you've never done it before, but I went through about 5 in my 20,000 miles on my '05 Stella. Soon you'll have it down to minutes. Doesn't always happen, but it will always happen at the worst times. Just keep a spare in the glovebox and you'll be good.
Is there a trick to feeding the new cable back through the grey sleeve? Connecting it at each end looks simple enough, but seems like it would be difficult pushing the inner cable through the outer sleeve.

No trick really.....sometimes it is easier to remove if you cut the frayed end of the cable with a side cutter and then withdraw it from the housing with the fresh cut end being the trailing end.
The replacement gets fed into the housing from the top down, ball end reinstalled onto the lever and then fed through the clutch arm under the engine.
The cable lock and set bolt are installed and the course adjustment is made, then the fine adjustment is made at the collar and locknut, also under the engine.

I recommend you lay under the machine while someone pulls the clutch lever in so you can see what is taking place.

To those who have had had a failure......is the ball end tearing off or is the cable actually breaking somewhere in the conduit?

Rob

Maximus53 · Post by **Maximus53** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:01 pm

While waiting for the Scooter shop to be open tomorrow to buy a new cable, I took the old one out and pulled off the adjustment screw and lock nut. I have a question now. In the picture below, should the adjustment "bolt?" be connected to the adjustment screw? Thanks again for all the help!

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:13 am

Maximus53 wrote:While waiting for the Scooter shop to be open tomorrow to buy a new cable, I took the old one out and pulled off the adjustment screw and lock nut. I have a question now. In the picture below, should the adjustment "bolt?" be connected to the adjustment screw? Thanks again for all the help!

Yes, the threaded area originally was part of the barrel.
In all the years I've serviced bikes I've never seen the barrel broken in two like that......might have gone over some road debris that hit it and snapped it.

Rob

Maximus53 · Post by **Maximus53** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:20 am

Robbie wrote:
Maximus53 wrote:While waiting for the Scooter shop to be open tomorrow to buy a new cable, I took the old one out and pulled off the adjustment screw and lock nut. I have a question now. In the picture below, should the adjustment "bolt?" be connected to the adjustment screw? Thanks again for all the help!
Yes, the threaded area originally was part of the barrel.
In all the years I've serviced bikes I've never seen the barrel broken in two like that......might have gone over some road debris that hit it and snapped it.

Rob

Thanks for the quick response! I think the cause was me not understanding how the barrel and screw worked together and being a bit "assertive" to tighten the clutch cable

. End result broken cable and barrel... Amazing how much damage one can do

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:27 am

Ah yes......one time error.....never forget learning situation.

Try a bit less arm on the next go around LOL.

With any amount of luck, Scooterworks will have it on the shelf or quick gratification.

BTW....are you in Chicago proper or one of the burbs????? bein nosey since I'm in Desplaines.

Rob

Maximus53 · Post by **Maximus53** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:36 am

Robbie wrote:Ah yes......one time error.....never forget learning situation.

Try a bit less arm on the next go around LOL.

With any amount of luck, Scooterworks will have it on the shelf or quick gratification.

BTW....are you in Chicago proper or one of the burbs????? bein nosey since I'm in Desplaines.

Rob

Rogers Park and I work in Niles. I scoot through Des Plaines alot.... everytime I go on a ride out west I end up on golf road coming home... havent quite figured out how that happens yet

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:19 am

I may have finally broken one.. But something was a bit odd. Light turned green and I shifted to first, then second, went for third and shifter went too far. Suddenly, I'm stuck in gear (second or third) and the shifter has all the slack in the world, moving freely without shifting.
Bike still in gear when the tow-truck comes to get it, and it won't roll unless I pull in the clutch. But wait I can pull in the clutch..

What the heck is that? Is there a shifter cable?

I instantly thought of my bragging about my clutch cable and my "destination somewhere up the road", lol. Hope it's something that simple..

Maximus53 · Post by **Maximus53** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:48 am

Tom wrote:I may have finally broken one.. But something was a bit odd. Light turned green and I shifted to first, then second, went for third and shifter went too far. Suddenly, I'm stuck in gear (second or third) and the shifter has all the slack in the world, moving freely without shifting.
Bike still in gear when the tow-truck comes to get it, and it won't roll unless I pull in the clutch. But wait I can pull in the clutch..

What the heck is that? Is there a shifter cable?

I instantly thought of my bragging about my clutch cable and my "destination somewhere up the road", lol. Hope it's something that simple..

There definitely is a shifter cable. Unfortunately I dont yet know how to fix that one. I think it involves opening the headset, but I could be wrong. Good luck and if you choose to fix it your self send some pics I would love to know how to do this fix too!

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 2:19 am

Tom,

At the lower rear of the engine you can see two cables entering the casting.
These are the shift cables.
There is a cover plate that is removed to look at the ramps that the cables are attached to.....remove the cover.
If a shift cable snapped, you would twist the handle but not see any motion at the shift box at the rear.
You may be lucky and find a cable slipped out of the holder back there.
This can happen if the cables have not been kept in correct adjustment.

No point in going further till you have looked inside.

Good luck,
Rob

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:49 am

Well, she's in the shop already. I guess I should have inquired first.

neotrotsky · Post by **neotrotsky** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 6:21 am

Maximus53 wrote:
neotrotsky wrote: It's super simple. The first one is a bit odd if you've never done it before, but I went through about 5 in my 20,000 miles on my '05 Stella. Soon you'll have it down to minutes. Doesn't always happen, but it will always happen at the worst times. Just keep a spare in the glovebox and you'll be good.
Is there a trick to feeding the new cable back through the grey sleeve? Connecting it at each end looks simple enough, but seems like it would be difficult pushing the inner cable through the outer sleeve.

As was said before, they slide right in. For cables that last the longest (5k-8k miles) I've used a little bit of white lithium grease and coated the cable at the top while feeding it in. Not *too* much, just a tiny bit along the whole way. This gives a nice bit of movement. Now, this is good for the NON coated cables (like the old school LML steel cables). There are some with a teflon coating that you do NOT want to lube at all! Just feed them in and you are good.

As for replacing the whole inner/outer sheath, the easiest way I've found is to remove the busted inner cable. Then, take a length of 16-gauge wire or piano wire roughly twice the length+ 5 inches or so. Next, remove the new cable from the new outer sheath, and set it aside somewhere clean (not on the ground!). Then, thread the wire through BOTH outer sleeves. At the end of it, either tie a good sized knot or use some shrink tube and a small knot to secure the whole bit. Then, pull out the whole thing from the non-knotted end. This will pull out the old sleeve and the new one will be dragged in right behind it! This takes less than a minute and you have a trouble free way of replacing both! Put the new cable in and you're golden.

Spiffy · Post by **Spiffy** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 11:10 pm

Robbie wrote:
Maximus53 wrote:
neotrotsky wrote:To those who have had had a failure......is the ball end tearing off or is the cable actually breaking somewhere in the conduit?
mine broke at the ball (lever) end... I think it was around 4500 miles... the dealer replaced it under warranty because there was another part that was supposed to hold the ball end but it was missing... likely it fell out when the ball broke off... also, I've been in for so many warranty repairs they're starting to feel guilty and giving me freebee repairs...

talindsay · Post by **talindsay** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 3:13 am

The cables are designed to have the weakest point at the top barrel / ball where it connects to the lever. That's because if it's going to break, you want it to break there - you don't lose any pieces. If it breaks at the bottom you'll have to do a hell of a hack job to make it work again roadside. The cable itself is much too strong to break in the middle unless it rusts through (that happened to me once) but the nice thing is, if it rusts through everything will be so stiff that you won't lose any pieces. The cable's tension with the outer casing will keep everything in place.

I think it's criminal for any shop to send a Stella or vintage Vespa away without (1) selling the owner a spare cable set; and (2) showing them how to change the main cables roadside. People who do a lot of rural or exurban riding can get a lot of miles out of a cable, but city folks are more likely than not to have replaced a few cables before they reach 10k miles. The good news is, Piaggio designed all of them to be quick and easy to fix, and they all have manufactured weak points to make sure they break in the right place when they go. My motorcycle's clutch cable hasn't even stretched in 21,000 miles, but on the other hand, if it broke roadside I'd be calling a truck to tow it. The Stella is a quick curbside job.

My shop at least sells a tightly-bundled set of all the major cables (clutch, shifter, brake, speedo, I'm probably forgetting some) for not too much cash, and we make sure to have a couple along on all our long trips.

SockyTX · Post by **SockyTX** » Tue Nov 20, 2012 6:26 pm

Ok so mine broke today while running to the store at lunch time. I was half way to the store and snap. It definitely broke at the lever. I was about 4 blocks from my office. I coasted to the curb called my local shop and they are gonna try to make it over to my office with a replacement cable today.

I was able to get her back to the office. I kick started her (requires no clutch), sat down and peddled with my feet for about 2 yards then twisted her into 1st gear than 2nd both clutchless. I figured mechanically it was like power shifting my 68 Beetle.

Is this bad for the Stella? If I need to, is it ok to drive her home approx 5 miles using this technique?

Thanks,

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Tue Nov 20, 2012 6:54 pm

SockyTX wrote:Ok so mine broke today while running to the store at lunch time. I was half way to the store and snap. It definitely broke at the lever. I was about 4 blocks from my office. I coasted to the curb called my local shop and they are gonna try to make it over to my office with a replacement cable today.

I was able to get her back to the office. I kick started her (requires no clutch), sat down and peddled with my feet for about 2 yards then twisted her into 1st gear than 2nd both clutchless. I figured mechanically it was like power shifting my 68 Beetle.

Is this bad for the Stella? If I need to, is it ok to drive her home approx 5 miles using this technique?

Thanks,

It's not the best thing for it but hey...you gotta do what you gotta do to get home! As long as your clutchless shifts are fairly smooth you woun't do much damage...just a little extra wear on the cruciform which is a sacrificial part anyway.

When changing a non teflon inner I usually use lithium graese...unless I'm on the side of the road...then I just coat it with 2T oil which I always have with me.

az_slynch · Post by **az_slynch** » Tue Nov 20, 2012 11:04 pm

I made sure to de-burr the clutch lever's socket that the upper cable end goes into. Lubricated the whole cable and the socket with TriFlow "Dry" Teflon lubricant. Works great in this application. Keep an ear out for a "creaking" sound when operating the clutch lever; if you hear it, lubricate the clutch lever's pivot and the cable end/socket. Even easier that replacing a cable.

SockyTX · Post by **SockyTX** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 12:43 am

Another win for Genuine & Moxie Scooters:
I called my roadside assistance they came to my office and hauled off my Stella to my local shop, Moxie Scooters in Colleyville,TX. Moxie had her ready for me before closing today, hitched a ride with a guy from the office and scooped her up.

Rode her home12 miles on this gorgeous 70degree night.

Total cost today, zilch, zero, nada!

Oh yeah, btw for those that care to know she had 2700 miles on her when the cable snapped. Got her in July.

magnato1 · Post by **magnato1** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 2:44 am

SockyTX · Post by **SockyTX** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 2:20 am

So I don't think I posted when my second cable broke. I was downtown in Austin and ended up duck walking/coasting Stella 9 blocks to AF1 where they replaced it. That was at just over 4K miles. They replaced my 2nd LML cable with a Piaggio cable. This one lasted about 4K miles.
1st cable LML = 2K miles & 5 months
2nd cable LML = 2K miles & 4 months
3rd cable Piaggio = 4K miles 7months

I ride Stella just about every day. Well everyday its not raining. Which in the drought ridden N Texas times feels like everyday. Someone at a classic 2 stroke rally a few weeks ago told me that 6months is about the average life for a clutch cable if you ride daily.

Seems to be accurate according to my cable experience/history.

Also this most recent time I was out joy riding and it snapped, I was about 2 miles from the house. I felt the lever go limp and I knew what was up. I ended up power shifting my way home. Luckily I wasn't too far and I knew the area well. I was able to take a route that was 4.2 miles back that was made up of only right turns versus the most direct route. Having had more experience, miles and time on the Stella since my first snapped cable I confidently found my way home. Now to replace it and move on for my next snapped cable. As often as I ride I guess I simply need to realize its part of operating my Stella.

jimmbomb · Post by **jimmbomb** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:36 pm

Lots of tracking here in the cable break issues...
Good job reporting your experiences.
I would like to know exactly where your clutch cables are are snapping at..
ie: barrel end at the lever? Inside the inner somewhere? At the pinch bolt in the rear?
Thanks. . All mine have let go at the pinch clamp near the rear lever@ the motor

SockyTX · Post by **SockyTX** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 6:10 pm

First failure was at the lever, the welding for the little ball at the end came loose. 2nd & 3rd cable failed at the clamp in the rear.

Called in my roadside warranty coverage and they picked her up an hour ago. My home shop Moxie Scooters said they'd have her ready by the end of the day for pick up.

This time the tow company was actually a motorcycle rescue company with an appropriate 2wheel set up & straps compared to the 2ton roll back that came out last year.

Stilts · Post by **Stilts** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 7:41 pm

As a data point, coming up on 4.3k miles and 7 months as a daily rider (minus the month I was out of commission with a broken thumb) on original LML cable. Will check the cable tonight to see how it's fraying and probably just swap it out soon just as a precaution.

Of course, now that I said that, the damn thing is going to snap on the way home tonight.

misterbrackets · Post by **misterbrackets** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 8:42 pm

jimmbomb wrote:All mine have let go at the pinch clamp near the rear lever@ the motor

Same here. One cable so far, so no pattern established yet. That was 6 months ago, so I'm expecting the next to go soon

Stilts · Post by **Stilts** » Thu Nov 07, 2013 3:59 am

Stilts wrote:As a data point, coming up on 4.3k miles and 7 months as a daily rider (minus the month I was out of commission with a broken thumb) on original LML cable. Will check the cable tonight to see how it's fraying and probably just swap it out soon just as a precaution.

Of course, now that I said that, the damn thing is going to snap on the way home tonight.

Remember when I said I might swap my clutch cable with over 4300 miles on it out as a precaution?

Yeah, I didn't do that. It snapped as I was parking tonight at my in-laws. Odometer read 4476.4. Unfortunately, no real good lighting there. Only took me 20 minutes or so in the dark.

Wife was not amused at holding dinner for me and doubly not amused when I came in the house with black hands.

jimmbomb · Post by **jimmbomb** » Thu Nov 07, 2013 12:23 pm

Stilts wrote:
Stilts wrote:As a data point, coming up on 4.3k miles and 7 months as a daily rider (minus the month I was out of commission with a broken thumb) on original LML cable. Will check the cable tonight to see how it's fraying and probably just swap it out soon just as a precaution.

Of course, now that I said that, the damn thing is going to snap on the way home tonight.
Remember when I said I might swap my clutch cable with over 4300 miles on it out as a precaution?

Yeah, I didn't do that. It snapped as I was parking tonight at my in-laws. Odometer read 4476.4. Unfortunately, no real good lighting there. Only took me 20 minutes or so in the dark.

Wife was not amused at holding dinner for me and doubly not amused when I came in the house with black hands.

Stilts....... where did it break at??? Thanks.

Stilts · Post by **Stilts** » Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:24 pm

jimmbomb wrote:
Stilts wrote:
Stilts wrote:As a data point, coming up on 4.3k miles and 7 months as a daily rider (minus the month I was out of commission with a broken thumb) on original LML cable. Will check the cable tonight to see how it's fraying and probably just swap it out soon just as a precaution.

Of course, now that I said that, the damn thing is going to snap on the way home tonight.
Remember when I said I might swap my clutch cable with over 4300 miles on it out as a precaution?

Yeah, I didn't do that. It snapped as I was parking tonight at my in-laws. Odometer read 4476.4. Unfortunately, no real good lighting there. Only took me 20 minutes or so in the dark.

Wife was not amused at holding dinner for me and doubly not amused when I came in the house with black hands.

Stilts....... where did it break at??? Thanks.

Right at the pinch bolt which was left danlging by one thread of the cable.

rondothemidget · Post by **rondothemidget** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 3:21 pm

I hope I'm not jinxing myself...
After having three clutch cables snap in my first 4,000 miles, I've got 6,000+ miles on my current one. The connectors at both ends look good - no signs of fraying. My guess is that the current cable has survived either because it was thoroughly lubed before installing or because it knows I have spare.

fisher1 · Post by **fisher1** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 6:43 pm

There's no guarantee of prevented clutch cable snaps but doing these things will reduce the probability;

1) Make sure the cable's barrel-end can rotate in the cylinder machined in the clutch lever. If it doesn't file the burrs off the barrel-end & cylinder until it can.

2) Replace the cable and lower clamp as a set. The new clamp will include a tiny new bushing that needs to be between the cable where it passes thru the clamp and the tightening bolt - it crushes to prevent the bolt from cutting cable strands when it's tightened.

3) Lubricate the cable and it's barrel before you insert it into the sleeve & clutch lever.

4) If the cable does not have a rubber cable boot at it's lower end, go to a bicycle shop and get one. Slide the cable thru it before you put it thru the lower lever & the clamp. Use a thread to tie it forward against the boss that the end of the lower cable sleeve fits into ...... it will prevent road grit from sticking to your greasy cable and being pulled up into the sleeve. Here's what they look like ....... just the rubber part;

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=bi ... T&_sacat=0

.

saturnphive · Post by **saturnphive** » Tue Nov 12, 2013 12:21 am

I bought a 2007 2t with 10k miles on it and broke the clutch cable the very next day. I fixed it with what turned out to be a gear cable (much smaller nut on the handlebar end, and smaller gauge) then went to scooterville and bought two new cables. Installed the first and broke it after going around the block, then installed the next and broke it after five miles. Faulty cables it turns out. So I put in the gear cable again , went back to the shop and bought a new new one and installed it. That lasted about 500 miles and broke about two weeks ago. SO I got three new, new, new cables, much higher quality looking. Put one in and doing well so far. I am now an expert at cable replacement, but even the first time it only took about 20 minutes or so to fix. And the new cable is like, four bucks. So save yourself the hassle, weeks of down time and ten fold expense of having the shop do it and learn to do this simple bit of maintenance yourself.

jimmbomb · Post by **jimmbomb** » Tue Nov 12, 2013 11:35 am

saturnphive wrote:I bought a 2007 2t with 10k miles on it and broke the clutch cable the very next day. I fixed it with what turned out to be a gear cable (much smaller nut on the handlebar end, and smaller gauge) then went to scooterville and bought two new cables. Installed the first and broke it after going around the block, then installed the next and broke it after five miles. Faulty cables it turns out. So I put in the gear cable again , went back to the shop and bought a new new one and installed it. That lasted about 500 miles and broke about two weeks ago. SO I got three new, new, new cables, much higher quality looking. Put one in and doing well so far. I am now an expert at cable replacement, but even the first time it only took about 20 minutes or so to fix. And the new cable is like, four bucks. So save yourself the hassle, weeks of down time and ten fold expense of having the shop do it and learn to do this simple bit of maintenance yourself.

Hey Saturn 5....can you tell us where all your cables broke at???? Lever end, pinch bolt or inside somewhere?
Thanks

saturnphive · Post by **saturnphive** » Tue Nov 12, 2013 3:04 pm

Hey, they always break right by the lever. The wire shears off at the base of the capture bolt (or whatever that thing is called - the metal cylinder that holds it in the hand lever)

The two faulty ones I bought after my first breakage had a lead plug on the wire, that the capture bolt deal slid onto. The capture bolt also seemed really small. The lead plug just sheared right off in literally minutes. The interim "new new" one had the cable directly attached to the metal cylinder and looked the most like original equipment. The latest set have a brass plug that slides into the cylinder and look by far the sturdiest of the lot. I bought three for obvious reasons.

But seriously, if I'd had to go to the shop every time it happened I wouldn't have gotten to ride the damn thing all year. I'd also from experience recommend you buy several at a time, as the shops do tend to run out of them and then you have to wait. The sh1tty cables were the result of scooterville being out of stock of original equipment and ordering what they could find.

fisher1 · Post by **fisher1** » Tue Nov 12, 2013 6:32 pm

The two faulty ones I bought after my first breakage had a lead plug on the wire, that the capture bolt deal slid onto. The capture bolt also seemed really small. The lead plug just sheared right off in literally minutes. The interim "new new" one had the cable directly attached to the metal cylinder and looked the most like original equipment. The latest set have a brass plug that slides into the cylinder and look by far the sturdiest of the lot. I bought three for obvious reasons.

So, the first few cables you used were not Stella/PX clutch cables - rather for something else, and that's why they broke so quickly ?

Modern Buddy

Two Clutch Cables and a Microphone

Two Clutch Cables and a Microphone

Where it's at!!!

Re: Two Clutch Cables and a Microphone

Easy diy

Re: Easy diy