clutch cable length

[sporacer]

I recently purchased a 94 Magna. The clutch cable was kinked, rubber outer cable was cut, and the metal internal sheath was rusted where it routed past the plastic side cover. It did not go through the triple fork as shown for routing in the shop manual. It soon failed at the kink. Metal sheath collapsed at the rusty point.  I ordered a new cable from Honda. I figured the cable on the bike when I purchased it was the wrong one. The new cable was the same length. It will only route like the old one. It already has a kink at the same point and the friction point of the clutch varies with steering angle.  Not good for low speed tight handling. I have stock risers and handle bars and no reasonable adjustment of handlebar or lever mount seems to solve the problem. I searched the web for pictures and it seems many clutch cables are routed as I described instead of as the shop manual shows. Anybody have any solutions or insight into this issue? Thanks

[sporacer]

Update. I found a link for stock handlebar measurements on this forum. It turns out my handlebars are not stock if the link is correct. My info about them being stock was info from the previous owner. A friend of mine, who used to own a Magna, sat on the bike a few days ago, and immediatly said, "wow, these handlebars are huge". I just ordered some I found on ebay that were very close to the stock size. I suspect this will solve my problem.

[silveradocowboy]

The new cable was the same length. It will only route like the old one.

When you mentioned the above is what made me fairly certain the handlebars had been changed. If the new bars don't resolve the problem chime back in, then again let us know if it does fix it.

[sporacer]

The new handlebars helped, but I still could not route the cable in front of the fork tubes. The friction point variation was a lot better. It will be a while before I post on this again. On the test ride Saturday a dog attacked the bike. The bike needs a lot of new parts, including handlebars. I need a while for my bruised ribs, broken big toe, and other injuries to heal. The dog was injured but still alive the last I heard. Seems one root cause was the dog owner removed and then didn't put the collar for the invisible fence back on the dog.

[lragan]

Oh, man, sorry for the injuries -- to you mostly, but to the bike as well.

My son has a Great Pyrenees dog who chases my bike when I go by.  I have always used the technique taught in the MSF course, of slowing down until the dog is almost on you, then accelerating quickly, and the dog will pass harmlessly behind you.  Well, the other morning Moose (his appropriate name!) was waiting by the cattle guard, and as I sped up, he lunged at the bike.  Caught him with the engine guard, and he went rolling.  I wobbled a bit, but maintained control.  Moose got up and walked away, but he has not chased the bike since.  I was just lucky, I guess, in that he weighs in at ~150 pounds.

[Jerry G Turner]

Sorry to hear that I hope the dog owner is picking up the cost of repairs.

[sporacer]

Ok, here are the details. The accident site was .5 miles from my home, on the road I live on. I go by it often. The dog was a border collie. It always jumps around, barks, and snarls as I come by, but had never passed the invisible fence line. I thought I was being careful by slowing to 20-25 MPH. I looked for the dog as I was aproaching. The dog just exploded out of the driveway from behing some large shrubs that were less than 10 feet from the pavement. I felt like he wanted the front tire. This was not one of those dog chases motorcycle by running along side or maybe in front of the bike and the danger is they accidently get into you. This dog attacked the bike. The angle of collision was near 90 degrees. I had time for about maybe .5 seconds of hard brake before collision. I think the dog missed the tire because of my braking and got in front of it as I hit the dog. I released the brakes when I saw a colllion was going to happen. There was a thump. I don't know if I went over the dog or knocked it away. I do know the bike was not balanced after the collision. A handfful of throttle got the balance back, but I was headed towards the shoulder. The swerve to stay in the road almost worked, but the wet sod on the shoulder from the heavy rain earlierr had almost no traction. Both tires were sliding based on the tracks they left. The two tire tracks showed a V from the road edge to the culvert the bike hit. I watched the bike slide into the culvert and flip up into the air. I had low sided not to long after leaving the pavement and was sliding on my butt watching. As I got near the culvert, I stuck my right foot into the other side of the ditch to try and knock me away from the culvert and the deeper part of the ditch, and maybe slow me down some. That move didn't work very well. It flipped me on my face and I hit the culvert with my right side. Luckly the bike landed on the driveway above the culvert, and didn't fall back on me. I got to meet a lot of nice peole that evening. My neighbor whose yard I was lying in offered to get my bike to his garage, until I could pick it up. Some other nice people tied me to a plastic board and carried me to the ER is this neat truck, that needed softer springs. Some othe nice people looked me over real well at the ER. I'll do another post with the results.

[sporacer]

Four hours after the incident the doc came over with the results of the examinations, ultrasounds, X-rays, and etcetera. He said the good news was I only had one broken bone and that if I had to break one, my right big toe was not a bad choice. The bad news was that all the bruised ribs and contusions on my right side were going to cause me some discomfort for a while. He prescribed some good drugs, which work almost as well as the IV morphine in the ER. I was able to get to my desk job Monday afternoon. It doesn't hurt if you don't move. Sunday, typing constituted moving. Today, typing is not moving.

My friend went over Sunday and brought the bike to my garage. The neighbor said the dog was injured but alive. The dogs owner had taken the invisible fence collar off the dog Saturday morning.

The bike needs a a new rear fender and everything attached to it, like lights, inner panels, tag mountings, reflectors. The rear tire is flat, and has a big slit in the sidewall, so I need a rear tire and maybe a rear wheel. The new front handlebar has the right side bent over towards the left side. All the mirrors and levers will have to be replaced. I haven't done a close inspection yet. I have only seen if from the rear.

The animal police came by Monday morning and said they were issuing citations to the dog owner for not being in control of the dog(leash law), and having a vicious or dangerous animal. Who knows what will happen?, but animal control said the dog owner was liable for my injuries and damage to the bike.

[lragan]

What a bummer.  I don't have anything in my stock of Magna parts that might be of help, except for a rear tire.  It is old, but little used.  I am removing it soon to put on a car tire.  You might want to think about whether you are comfortable on a tire that is ~6-8 yrs old, but its yours if you want it.

I also have a T-bar handle bar that is quite short.  Your cables would fit and route any way you want them to, but you will have to  ride your Magna in the sport-bike (i.e. fetal) position.  It could use a re-chrome job, but it, too is yours if you want it.