[Willbrunei]

Ooooh that was fun! Snapped the cutch cable at the handle, in traffic. Managed to get it home with clutchless changes and some trials like slow riding at traffic lights!!

Anyway - I do have a spare cable. But changing was not easy. The tape it to the old cable and pull it through trick did not work. So tank off. Then I couldn’t release the end nipple in the gearbox so gearbox cover off. That seemed to have been stuck on so the gasket is buggered.

Even with the cover off it was a swine to get the nipple out of the actuator. There was no room to push it forward to lift it out of the slot due to a bent tang. I opened up the tang a bit to get it out.

But.... my new cable is different! It has a dumbbell shaped nipple rather than just a single cylinder. It seems to fit but is it ok? Just checking before I bolt it all back up again.
The pics show the old cable, the new cable and the part number of the new cable. Opinions gratefully received as always

Cheers
Will
5 speed box btw - pics attached of cable ends.

Thanks

[Bilgemaster]

Sorry to hear of your cable "poppage." It is a mild pain in the ass to replace the clutch cable in Iron Bellies, as I'd described here with a step-by-step guide for replacement for 5-speeds here: https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php/topic,25968.msg299030.html#msg299030. The good news for you is that you apparently have the later and improved "articulated" or "hinged" cable end holder in your gearbox instead of the simple forked one in my '05. I am led to understand that those wiggly ones are gentler on the cable and less prone to stress and snap them, but I guess the downside is that they're a lot finnickier to prise the old cable out of, huh?

So, I've felt your pain, as Bill Clinton used to regularly assure us unfortunate underlings rather unconvincingly. My chief bit of advice at this juncture would be NOT to use that spare Royal Enfield OEM cable you have on hand. They are excrement. I mean, there's good reason new bikes came with spare cables. What other brand of new bike feels obliged to come with a full set of spare cables? Instead, take a little time and spend a few more Rupees and insist on the MUCH sturdier Barnett brand heavy duty one. Our Forum hosts Hitchcocks can fix you up with a variety of them to suit your bike as shown here: https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/s.nl?ext=F&sc=1&category=&search=Barnett%20clutch. I know it's hard to walk away from a cable that's already right there on hand, but you'd do well to do so, especially if you're having to wait on a fresh gearbox cover gasket anyhow. In fact, replacing all the other OEM cables with Barnett ones too wouldn't be the worst idea anyone's ever had. Upon their arrival in the Sultanate, I'd also recommend hanging the cable(s) by one end and just drip-feeding them with a nice light machine oil, like 3-in-1 brand, until they commence dripping out the lower end. This will make them smooth as silk and ward off the corrosion to which those cable innards must be particularly prone down there in pretty much the rainiest spot on earth.

On a related note, every rider, whatever the ride, should have an appropriate assortment of suitable adjustable screw-on cable barrel ends in their tool pouch just to get home when they inevitably go "Pop!" Here's a spot on eBay to get you well started on the search for the appropriate ones: https://www.ebay.com/i/122238831080?var=422590744757.

"Let me take you home, Big Boy."

[AzCal Retred]

Wise in the arcanery of the Bullet Bilgemaster is... 
Pay the money for the Barnetts! Way better feel, satisfyingly robust build. All of my factory cables were kak. A bit 'o grease in the hand lever end cable nipple pivots is always a good thing. Great pix illustrating the issue, too.  - ACR -

[Paul W]

In the 1970s I treated myself to a hydraulic cable oiler. It’s the metal cylinder type. The cable goes in one end and is clamped by a rubber bung compressed between two washers and a screw ring. Oil goes in the other end and the lid is screwed on and a tyre pump is used to pressurise the cylinder. This forces oil through the cable. The advantage of this type is that thick oil can be forced into the cable. I generally use 20w/50 from my plunger oil can.

I’ve never had a cable break since. Going against the advice of some, I always oil nylon lined cables, which are supposed not to need it. The theory is that oil might swell the nylon. Problem is, nylon absorbs water and swells much more and the humidity causes rust on the inner. Once it goes rusty, the nylon lining gets quickly ground away and the cable definitely needs oil or it will fray very rapidly and jam.

The real secret to reliable cables is, of course, regular maintenance. Mine get oiled a couple of times a year, or more often if it looks like the ends are dry. I bought a large spray can of cable and gear lubricant from a kit car show three or four years ago; a squirt of that is good because once the solvent has evaporated it’s quick viscous and stays in place. Rear chain lube also does the same job.

[AzCal Retred]

In the Dark Ages another Strategem-'o-cheepness was to take a child's balloon (or just buy one... ), fill it with the preferred lubricant mix and rubber-band it over the upper cable, nipple inside. Gravity would do it's insidious work overnight. The more affluent of us would trek on down to our local DKW-Husqvarna-Hodaka dirt bike emporium and procure a $4 "Clamp-on Cable Oiler", remarkably like this jewel from Wally World 50 years on. WD40 & spray chain lube were always better than nothing, and way faster than the balloon method for impatient teens. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Universal-Cable-Lube-Tool-Dual-Oiler-Luber-Lubricator-for-ATV-Motorcycle-Bike/49673812
Universal Cable Lube Tool / Dual Oiler Luber Lubricator for ATV Motorcycle Bike
Average Rating:(5.0) stars out of 5 stars       Cost = $11.95

[Bilgemaster]

How the geezing Bilgemaster might appear whilst
dispensing syntactically-challenged brain droppings

One good habit I've gotten into whenever I check the oil, which is before most every cold start, is that instead of just wiping off the dipstick I'll dab that hanging droplet or two onto the clutch or front brake cable's inner cable near the levers to sort of soak on down the cable. Just pull in the lever, add a little dab, release the lever, and the oil scoots down into the outer. Sure, motor oil may not be the ideal sole  lubricant for cables due to its "waxy" additives, but a bit now and seems to keep them happy enough.

[cyrusb]

Its interesting that your clutch cable broke at the lever. When this forum began there was a rash of everyones clutch cables snapping at the tranny lug. After my second one I realized the hard solder was wicking up the cable making it inflexible . Someone at the factory was overdoing it with the solder. Local independent bike shop made me up a new one (the right way) with the dumbbell end. That was in 07, and its still there, and apparently someone new is making cables in Chennai .

[Adrian II]

My old Electra-X used to break its clutch cables regularly, it got to the stage where I could do a roadside cable swap without removing 5 speed gearbox end cover, just unscrew the inspection plug with the 18mm (⅜"W) hex head and use a pair of long-nose pliers to unhook the remains of the old inner cable and to jiggle the new inner end into its slot.

A.

[Paul W]

When I first fitted the 5 speed gearbox to my bike I noticed that the clutch cable nipple at the gearbox end was clamped very firmly in the release arm. The arm is the older, one piece type. This meant that every time the clutch was pulled in then released, the end of the cable was forced to flex one way then the other.

I used a needle file on inside of the cable slot on the release arm to open it out very slightly and to round off the inside edges. This allows a slight movement between the nipple and the arm, so the cable doesn’t have to flex so much.

The later type of release arm has a separate end which pivots, meaning that the cable doesn’t have to flex, it just moves straight. I’ve since bought a later type arm and a new cable. In good time I’ll replace the release arm.

[nonfiction]

Funny note on the clutch cables. I just emailed Barnett's here in the US, to see if they could supply a US local with a RE cable like what they're selling Hitchcocks, sparing a transatlantic round-trip.

They wrote back and said, huh, that's a mystery--we're not selling them to Hitchcocks.

They (Barnett's) don't offer RE cables off the rack, but offered to make a custom one, which I do not yet need but one day will quite badly. I will probably order one from Hitchcocks, next time I make an order large enough that the shipping will not kill the price, or else give Barnett's my business on this one.

(Note that I haven't the slightest desire to impugn Hitchcocks' integrity--I've seen nothing but great service and an eye for quality from them. Even if the Barnett's I'm thinking of didn't make the cables they're selling as linked above in this thread, I'm sure they're of great quality!)

[Bilgemaster]

I got my Barnett's clutch cable from our former Forum hosts Classic Motorworks a while back, before they handed off the importing and a goodly share of their legacy model parts to the then newly-formed RE America, which, I am led to understand, in turn sold off most of those older model parts to Hitchcock's. So, Hitchcock's may still be selling cables that were once on the shelves at Classic Motorworks in Ft. Worth, TX.

[Stanley]

I fitted my Bullet with Hitchcock English HD cables and am impressed by the quality and robust materials. They make the stock cables look puny.

[Adrian II]

A hydraulic clutch conversion would be nice for the 5 speed box, but H's only offer them for the 4 speed. Needs a slave cylinder with an M8 threaded end, such things do exist.

A.

[cyrusb]

A hydraulic clutch conversion would be nice for the 5 speed box, but H's only offer them for the 4 speed. Needs a slave cylinder with an M8 threaded end, such things do exist.

A.

That sounds like the answer to the question nobody asked.  I guess when in business one has to make money.

[AzCal Retred]

I'm tempted to say it'd just be for bragging rights, but point of fact the hydraulic clutch on the old beater 1985 550 Nighthawk in my garage still functions flawlessly and it's painfully stock. Not too many Enfields running around with a 35 year old Original Equipment clutch cable, are there?
I agree it's not "the look", but the riders in India don't seem to be too inhibited when modifying their machines. I'd reasonably trade 5 minutes of bleeding out 25 cents worth of Dot 3 every five years or so against probably 3-5 nice Barnett cable change outs at $15-$20 a pop. Something to consider...?