[ArizonaJim]

If there are no broken strands visable, your clutch cable doesn't have a problem and should last for a long time to come. Mine has lasted for over 26,600 km and it is still in good condition.

One of the reasons mine has lasted so long is I lubricate it at least 4 times a year.

You, and all of the rest of you on the forum should make a point of telling your service manager you want them to lubricate the cable at each service. It really doesn't take long to do and it will greatly extend the life of the cable.

(Those of you who own an Iron Barrel or a AVL will have a much more difficult time of oiling your cable. The instructions given below do NOT apply to your motorcycles but lubricating your clutch cable is just as important. ) Come to think about it, because of the difficulty of installing and adjusting clutch cables on these models, lubricating the cable is even more important than it is on a UCE powered RE.

For those of you who wish to do this yourself on a UCE powered RE, you will need to have a 18mm or 19mm open end spanner (wrench) or an adjustable wrench capable of being set to that size, a rag and some oil with some method of delivering it into a small opening.
You will not be loosening the two small hexagon cable adjustment nuts that attach the cable to the engine case so this will not effect your clutch adjustment.

Place the wrench onto the clutch release arm, located on top of the left hand engine side cover. The wrench should be laying flat and straddling the lower part of the arm just above the place it enters the housing.

Rotate the wrench counterclockwise slightly. This will relax the tension on the cable allowing you to disconnect it from the sheet metal yoke that is attached to the clutch release arm. The cable at its enlarged end will slip thru a slot in the yoke to remove it.
Once this is done, release the rotational pressure on the wrench and remove it.

Going to the lever on the left handlebar, squeeze it until it hits the handgrip.
Now, pull the upper end of the cable away from the grip housing. This will expose the inner cable.

Rotating the cable forward will allow the inner cable to slip thru a slot in the front of the stationary part of the clutch lever assembly.
If you rotate this so the cable is pointing straight forward you will be able to slip it out of the bottom of the clutch lever.

There is a small rubber boot that needs to be slipped off of the metal outer cable end to expose the hole where the inner cable enters the outer cable.

With the boot out of the way, use whatever method you wish to get the oil down into the cable assembly. I have a special metal and rubber clamp sold for this purpose but others have used small funnels, pressurized cans of oil with a small tube attached or even just their hand to form a dam around the cable end. Whatever it takes to get the oil into the inside of the outer cable shield. Gravity will pull the oil down thru the cable to the bottom. (Slipping the inner cable in and out of the outer cable will help to work the oil into the outer cable.)

Once some sign of oil dripping from the bottom of the clutch cable past the large rubber billows at the bottom is seen, you are finished.

Slide the small rubber boot at the top of the cable back onto the metal end to seal off the joint. Position the inner cable so you can slip it back up into the bottom of the clutch lever while making sure the small piece of plastic at the front of the enlarged cable end is cushioning the cable/hand grip joint and then return the cable so that it slips thru the slot and engages the fixed part of the clutch assembly grip. It should look like it did when you started.

At the lower end of the cable, re-install the wrench on the clutch release lever, again turning it counterclockwise. Install the end of the clutch cable into the sheet metal yoke and release the pressure on the wrench.

You've done it !!!

The whole procedure, except for getting the oil into the cable doesn't take much longer to do than reading these instructions.

You can use just about any kind of oil for this.
I'm not a fan of WD40 but even this would work better than not lubricating the cable at all.

Happy Riding.

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Happy Riding

Thank you Jim. At 15034 on the odo, I think this is the first time the clutch cable was oiled. This time I serviced my Bullet at a third party and the work was good. I told him my concern and he thus checked the cable ends after removing it from the harness, for any visible broken strands. As none was present, I was assured that the cable is good to go. Also this is the time I saw how to oil the cable, making good use of one's palm and let gravity do the rest. Simple steps as below:-

> Remove the cable from both the ends.
> Hold the cable from the top on your palm, make some funnel like contraction and pour some oil onto your palm ( yeah, yeah, its getting dirty )
> Now let the oil come towards the cable casing and go on moving the cable up and down in the casing, easily and smoothly, not exerting much pressure.
> At one time the oil will come down from the below and voila you are done.

Its not much of a time consuming factor, and obviously one can keep some stuff handy for cleaning up, but I definitely liked this approach and thus sharing.

Overall, I am quite happy with his servicing of my Amun-Ra.

[tharian]

Majumdarda,
Another option if you are worried about the cable snapping leaving you stranded is to fit a spare cable alongside the original one.
The ends of it will be at the clutch lever and the other would be at the casing. So in case the original cuts, all you have to do is to connect the ends of the spare one.
I am not sure how easy it is on a UCE to fit the clutch cable, but it can be learnt and will help on trips.

Same can be done for the accelerator as well. It will look like you have a twin carb engine

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by tharian

Majumdarda,
Another option...is to fit a spare cable alongside the original one.
...

Tharian, I have seen that being the practice on many seasoned riders, but the only concern is do I need to have open ends covered with some polythene stuff
for protection from dirt etc, or is it not that important. Though I have not myself changed the cable, but looking at the way its done by my buddies, it seems to be simple, provided one knows the trick.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Tharian, I have seen that being the practice on many seasoned riders, but the only concern is do I need to have open ends covered with some polythene stuff for protection from dirt etc, or is it not that important.

No harm in covering the open ends for a longer life and to prevent from any damage.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Tharian, I have seen that being the practice on many seasoned riders, but the only concern is do I need to have open ends covered with some polythene stuff
for protection from dirt etc, or is it not that important. Though I have not myself changed the cable, but looking at the way its done by my buddies, it seems to be simple, provided one knows the trick.

Just cover the ends with tape used for electric wires and tape both the cables together for a clean look.

[bblost]

Well I did once ride my bike with no clutch cable thru heavy evening traffic for some 15 odd kms. If you are in tune with your bike this is not a huge problem.

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

While getting a few tools to service your Royal Enfield also look for a small bottle of blue thread locking compound.
To use this, back off the nut to expose the bolt threads. Then apply a very small drop of this compound to the threads of the bolt. The compound will stay fluid until the fastener is tightened. Once tightened, the compound will harden making the nut much harder to remove. Do NOT use the RED locking compound.

The compound which you have mentioned is Loctite 242, the blue one. This is a medium strength thread lock compound and would cost about 250INR for a 50ml bottle. This bottle is enough for at least a couple of REs. Pool in a partner and you both would walk away happy. Open the screw and apply a drop on the second thread from the bottom. This ensures the even smearing of the compound over the entire length of the fastener.

[V-16]

I want to change the Exhaust on my RE Electra. While the present oine is pretty good i want something more hollow and thumpy not really in your face loud. Ive been suggested Punjab, so aptly named, which i rejected as it was loud and brash. Ive been recommended Indore and also Goldstar. Is there any place n Bombay where i can find all these and if possible i could hear the firing of there so i may decide there and then. Second query, how much do they cost.

[B O V]

Originally Posted by V-16

I want to change the Exhaust on my RE Electra

Which exhaust are you currently using?

Good call on not using the Punjabi,I personally feel that it sounds quite bad.

The Indore makes a fair bit of noise.I suppose that can be taken care of with a pushing a bit of glasswool in there,to get the desired level of thump.

There's this exhaust called a Wild Boar,that sounds nice and bassy.Although looks can be subjective.

Goldstar too has got an amazing note.Probably my favourite.

Most shops should be willin to let you try 'em on to see if it suits your taste.

Regards

BOV

[bblost]

This is not a query but just an informal update.

My Thunderbird is about 11 and a half years old. I got her in July 03 and it was manufactured in June 03.

At 23k kms I removed the speedo/odo console so I honestly have no idea how much she has run.

Over the past few months I had started riding a little less due to some personal reasons. But then decided that while my car is a LOT of fun, my bike is way more fun. So felt I will get her over to my mechanic and spend quality time in getting her back to shape.

The following things were done.
Carb was opened and cleaned.
My front disc had gone a little sticky. So had the oil topped up and the pads cleaned.
A new headlight (Rs 680) to replace the yellowed and cracked old one.
A new number plate (Rs 75) to replace the old cracked one. The weld had given up and its cheaper to buy new one instead of getting it fixed.

The seat cover is a little worse off and will be fixed shortly.

The bike runs beautifully.

So guys, what I want to say is. The old bikes with no electronics in them can easily last your lifetime. All you need to do is love it with all your heart. Never make her scream when she is still cold.

Happy Riding.

[V-16]

Originally Posted by B O V

Which exhaust are you currently using?


There's this exhaust called a Wild Boar,that sounds nice and bassy.Although looks can be subjective.

Goldstar too has got an amazing note.Probably my favourite.

Most shops should be willin to let you try 'em on to see if it suits your taste.

Regards

BOV

Im using the stock which is quite good.

Where would i get these exhausts, at any RE store or do i get them from one of the specialist RE places in Delhi.?

[B O V]

Originally Posted by bblost

This is not a query but just an informal update..

Whoa,Congrats!May you have many more kilometers

What caught my eye was what you wrote "Never make her scream while she's still cold"

This is exactly what my cousin told me when I got my '83 CI about 4 years ago.

Cheers

Originally Posted by V-16

Im using the stock which is quite good

Then you could try the short bottle as well.Looks the best IMO.Looks similar to the Indore,But shorter.But hella loud.I myself am using a fully baffled short bottle(read stock) on my 83 CI.

The authorised spares shop should have most of the exhausts in stock.As far as the cost is concerned,last time I checked most of them were in between 1500-2500 Rs.Although there are more expensive options available(Red Rooster)

Check out sans classic parts.They are based in Delhi.

Regards

BOV

[dre@ms]

Is there anything on the Thunderbird front that is getting changed/improved for the 2015 version. Per the dealer, the prices are getting changed, and nothing else.

[sumithb]

Hello RE veterans,

The biking bug has hit me again (it's been six years since I owned Pulsar 180). Was debating between Thunderbird 500 Vs Continental GT. The test drive made that clear, it's Continental GT all the way. Enjoyed riding the bike so much that immediately took it out for a longish second test drive!

So here's the question. What would be a good time to book so as to ensure a 2015 manufacture bike? I am planning to wait out January and book in February, will that work?

Cheers!