Hi, I'm a newbie here, and to riding . . . I had a mishap with my choke cable (the plastic thing that attaches to the bracket broke) and think I need to replace it. Is this an easy thing to do? I have little mechanical experience, but looking at it, I think I can do it. Any suggestions?
No suggestions, but welcome to the forum. Someone here will give you some info I'm sure.
Curtis
thanks curtis
Yes, welcome. Must have been a busy day, usually a new poster gets overwhelming amount of welcomes! :smile:
What year Magna is it? I am having trouble picturing where it broke.
If it is a 3rd gen they have a nasty habit of breaking at the speedo the little plastic ring that holds it to the speedo gesr. Oh and Welcome to our little club and hope to see you out there at a MOOTMag!!!
it's a '95 vf750. I'm sorry if I don't use the correct lingo when describing the part that broke, like I said, I'm new at this. The cable is intact and somewhat operable. It's the knob that I pull out to "choke" it. The plastic knob I guess, that tightens around the bracket, is what broke. So the cable is just kinda hanging there, unattached. Any help would be appreciated. I think I'm going to try to get the part today. Any ideas about where to get it besides the dealer in San Antonio?
I like the guys at 35N Honda in New Braunfels -- they have a good parts department. If you ride out there, they can have a look and order what you need -- means you will have to make a second trip, but I don't know anyone in Central Texas who maintains much inventory for our bikes.
I ride a '96 VF750. If you decide to come to New Braunfels, let me know the time. If I can swing it, I will ride down from Austin and meet you in person.
If you don't like the freeway, you can come out 281 to 46. There are some nice back roads in the area if you have time to play.
Ohhhhhhhhh heheheh sorry Yeah Choke not Clutch LOL.. You will probably have to buy a new cable or used if you can find one you probably will have to remove the carbs to get to the cable end!!!
sounds like the beginnings of another *wrench session*
hhmmm so it's not a beginners type of project?
Pulling the carbs for the first time can be a little daunting but after that easy.
We can arrange a wrench session at my place when you have the part in hand. I am not experienced at everything, but I have a good set of tools, and have made the round trip with the carbs when I rejetted them. Ken, from Hutto, needs to sync the carbs on his CB900, and we have been trying to find a suitable Saturday. Suitable meaning not so cold and windy that we are all shivering too hard to work!!
I hear ya (about the cold) mighty nice of you to offer. I just might have to take you up on it. I'm about to go down to Joe Harrison Honda here in town and see what they have/say. If it sounds easy enough, a buddy of mine might come and try to help . . .
Well, let us know how it goes either way. Pictures are always nice too!
Quote from: jpeleven2002 on January 16, 2009, 11:49:55 AM
I hear ya (about the cold) mighty nice of you to offer. I just might have to take you up on it. I'm about to go down to Joe Harrison Honda here in town and see what they have/say. If it sounds easy enough, a buddy of mine might come and try to help . . .
Of course, your friend is welcome, too.
Quote from: roboto65 on January 16, 2009, 08:06:35 AM
....they have a nasty habit of breaking at the speedo the little plastic ring that holds it to the....
Quote from: roboto65 on January 16, 2009, 09:27:16 AM
Ohhhhhhhhh heheheh sorry Yeah Choke not Clutch LOL..
I never heard of a clutch cable breaking at the speedo either. :shock: Allen are you off your meds again??? ROTF!! :mrgreen: :wink:
Curtis
JPeleven2002,
It is good to find another magna in SA :mrgreen:. I'm on the NW side, Culebra at Grisson. Mine is an 83 so the choke is different, but if you just want another set of hands, come on over. Besides the dealers here, we have ABEs down by the coliseum. They are interesting people to deal with and evidently their history is more interesting, but they do have a large collection of used parts and bikes they can pull parts from. If you can't find what you need on EBay, you could give them a try.
Rick Frankenberger
Are you sure it is broke? Mine came loose once and I just had to tighten the nut behind the choke lever that keeps it snug on the bracket. If you can take a picture of the problem before spending money on parts it may help. Good Luck and welcome to MOOT.
Hi Rick and David, thanks for your replys. Rick, I'm NC, outside the loop at Blanco. Thanks for the heads up about ABES. If you have any mechanical skills, it might be useful to have to around, whether you pick up a wrench or not. David, the knob broke at the threads, so I can't tighten it to the bracket. I tried to add a pic, but couldn't figure out how to. I might even try to superglue the knob (haha) until I have a chance to replace it.
(http://i43.tinypic.com/2rgie7a.jpg)
to post a pic first upload to an online photo hosting site. I use http://tinypic.com and there is photobucket too.
Once you upload it there it will give you a link for a message board. copy and paste in here.
ok, thanks I was able to load a pic. (see above) Not sure if it does anyone any good or if anyone really cares . . ., but this is what I'm dealing with. And I think I won't try to super glue it . . . with my luck, it'll glue the whole thing down and I won't be able to choke it. (right now, I CAN choke it, I just have to use both hands to get it done)
My choke cable broke in the same way. Replacement was the only fix.
I think it was around $25 at the dealer. It was a one man job, less than an hour.
ok, I don't want to beat a dead horse with this choke cable thing, but which way would be easier? To take off the carbs, or the fuel tank? I've seen both those answers in replies here. Basically, I want to know the easiest way to do it. Thank you all for responding
It is not at all clear to me what has to be removed to get to the business end of the "choke" cable, but to get the carbs out, you have to remove the tank first.
Removing the tank if quite simple. First you have to remove the seat. There is a 12 mm bolt at the back fender, and on a stock seat, two bolts, one on each side just behind the rider position. Lift up and back to remove the seat and set it aside. It is not necessary to remove the backrest.
1) Turn the fuel petcock to the "off" position (straight down on my 3rd gen.) This is the most important step.
2) Using a pair of pliers if necessary, loosen the bent wire hose clamp and work it off the petcock further up the hose.
3) Remove the hose.
4) Using the proper allen wrench, remove the bolt at the back of the tank.
5) Gently lift the tank, reach under it and remove the breather tube from the bottom of the tank.
6) Pull up and back to disengage the tank from the front rubber grommets and lift it off.
I usually put a shop towel on the carport floor so I can set the tank on its "nose". This is because my petcock doesn't turn off as cleanly as it should, and if just set the tank on the floor in its mounted position, it will leak gasoline.
Replacement is the reverse of this procedure. Looks complex when I describe it, but the whole procedure takes about 2 or 3 minutes.
Good luck.
I would pull the tank first to see if I could get to the cable while carbs still on bike, if not, yank the carbs and make sure you go after the slow speed jets and pilot jet adjustment while your there.
My son Devin is at UT, if you can get a hold of him, he knows the carbs well enough, as does Lawrence among others.
I had the exact same thing happen. You can easily replace the choke cable after removing the tank. You can get to the front choke connection pretty easily from the top then. You DO NOT need to remove the carbs, unless you want to of course.
Rod...
See, John, you get the BEST advice on THIS forum!!
Thanks guys! With Iragan's step by step about the gas tank, and Rod's assurance, I think I just might try this myself! I'll let you know how it goes Thanks again
I did not have to remove the carbs when I did my choke cable last year. It was way easier than I thought it would be. Removing the seat, then the tank is something every Magna owner should know. Gotta get to that air filter sometime.
ok, guys, I finally got around to replacing the choke cable on the bike. Took the gas tank off easily enough, but it was still a tight fit to get to it. There's a little steel clamp that secures the cable, and this is what I had trouble with. Getting the tank off didn't really give me easy access, but it gave me a little more room to work. I ended up bending the clamp just a little to free the cable. It has a star-type screw head on it, and the space was minimal, as far as getting a tool on it. My buddy pulled the choke knob to get (the business end) closer to me from the right side of the bike and I was able to jimmy it free and put the new one on. It was a simple job and I'm sure someone who's worked on bikes before would probably roll their eyes about me making a big deal of it, but . . . it was my first time attempting something like that and I feel pretty proud of it! Thanks again for all your insight!
Quote from: jpeleven2002 on February 13, 2009, 02:43:06 PM
I feel pretty proud of it! Thanks again for all your insight!
Great Job!!! Now on to shimming the Carbs!!!