Lubing the throttle twist assembly.....

[YEN_POWELL]

Got round to lubing my cables yesterday and decided to follow Yen's advice - sure enough it runs far better without the insert, although it's possible to feel the cable running over the bar and casting. Worth it though, so thanks for that Yen (plus for the fact I don't have to go through the hassle of getting the casings together with the cable inners running properly.

On the downside I discovered water in the choke cables/on the plungers and the start of corrosion - they still don't seem to run properly (though I never use them, just connecting the lever can activate them leading to one being stuck if it's so inclined). I'll be disconnecting the cable next - also Yen's advice.

Stig

I'm starting to believe that the choke lever should have a little glass box around it and a small toffee hammer attached on a chain. Underneath should be a note in about 5 languages.

'Warning, in extreme cold, use hammer to break glass and activate choke lever. Honda accepts no liability if doing so ruins the rest of your ride when the bike reaches running temperature.'

[Lord Stig]

Or better still, have a frame-mounted control where the water can't get in and there is no splitter. At least if we ever get a successor to the AT it will almost certainly have FI, meaning there won't be a traditional choke. On the other hand there will plenty of other problems associated with that for sure....

Stig

[piguglyshandydrinker]

Cheers guys, I'd already eliminated the bar-end - it makes no difference on or off..

Will have to get to grips with (geddit, eh geddit?...) the old grip and use it to fill the gap then might try the junking the nylon insert trick - anyone else done that?....

Ahh the joys......

My throttle cable did about 90,000 miles without the nylon insert after I got sick of never getting the throttle set just right so it shot back when released, unless I left the screws holding the casing slightly loose. I was initially worried that the cable would rub itself through and used to check it regularly but it was fine. It did a total of 130,000 miles (that includes the 40,000 with the insert in) and was still in full working order when I sold some of the bike last year. In fact it outlasted about 4 speedo cables and three clutch cables.

Aaaahh, I'm not the only one that has trouble installing the plastic thinggy and setting the casing screws.

And I thought it was just me!!!

Phil

[Lord Stig]

Well now you know you don't need it. In hindsight I should probably have wrapped some tape around the bar before reassembly so that the cable can't be felt when opening up, but other than that I'm very happy. That white plastic thing is an absolute bvgger - after 13 years with these bikes I still haven't got the knack of getting it all back together easily. If it wasn't so tricky I probably would lube the cables more often. The other thing I used to notice was that adjusting the cable or sometimes just tightening the casing was enough to stop the assembly snapping back. What a design, eh??

[samih]

This maybe a bit late but I noticed that the throttle cable housing binds if you tighten the bolts evenly. You should first do the upper one and leave all the gap at the bottom. I'm sure that's intentional so that no rain can get in while condensation can drip out.

I greased the throttle mechanism last summer and noticed it at the time. The mechanism is still really smooth with nylon insert and all.

I have Daytona grips, and I completely cut the end cap out from throttle side to create clearance for the bar weight. Cut line followed the "all season grip" or whatever sticker. I can confirm that heating element does not cover the end area.