Boxerworks.com

Good morning.
Some cables have a teflon coating. I think those are not supposed to be lubricated. Can I lube my new OEM R50/5 throttle cables before I install them?
Thanks from frozen Ohio.

As a general rule, I don't lube any OEM cables or other cables for that matter...only as a last resort near the end of their lives. If lube fixes the problem, then that usually means you need a new cable.

Kurt in S.A.

Ok, I now can answer my own question. Both Clymer and Haynes say to lubricate. Must be some other application where control cables have a coating.

Just ran across some postings on the Airheads list...similar discussion. The gist was that OEM cables are lined with some kind of nylon, maybe not Teflon. Use of lubricants might cause the material to swell, but if not will do nothing more to attract and hold dirt and grime, maybe cable action worse. There are some lubrications specific for cables that might use a liquid to distribute a graphite material, leaving the graphite when it dries up.

Kurt in S.A.

I personally wouldn't lubricate new cables, especially throttle cables. My concern is that a petroleum based lubricant will eventually oxidize and the lubricant thicken and become sticky. Later I might try to lubricate a sticky cable, trying to free it up. When I did that I would disconnect both ends, with the low end placed where I could see it. Then I would create a funnel at the top end with some masking tape. I'd fill the funnel with oil and then go away and do something else. When I cam back I'd call it done if the oil had gone all the way through leaving a puddle on the ground or in the can of sawdust I put there to catch it.

While I have the oil out I like to lubricate the cylindrical cable barrels that swivel in the clutch and brake levers (on the /6 and /7 bikes wikth under the tank master cylinders.)

I don't know if synthetic oil would be more or less susceptible to oxidation than "regular" oil.

The hardest time I have with cables is replacing them when they become tattered but still seem to work OK.

OEM cables have been lined for some time, meaning that lubing is not necessary. I don't remember when they started doing this but Richard at Benchmark Works recently told me that if the cable has the white stock numbers imprinted on it, you can be certain it is lined. I still have several cans of cable lube sitting around but I haven't used them for a long time.

Back in the day our cables weren't lined and needed to be lubricated from time to time. We used the graphite lube. Now I have forgotten the name.

You can't trust the Clymer and Haynes on this because they were written back when you did need to lube the cables. They aren't very good at updating that kind of stuff.

Ken in Oklahoma wrote:While I have the oil out I like to lubricate the cylindrical cable barrels that swivel in the clutch and brake levers (on the /6 and /7 bikes wikth under the tank master cylinders.)

Oil, Ken? I always used plain old axle grease.

justoneoftheguys wrote:

Ken in Oklahoma wrote:While I have the oil out I like to lubricate the cylindrical cable barrels that swivel in the clutch and brake levers (on the /6 and /7 bikes wikth under the tank master cylinders.)

Oil, Ken? I always used plain old axle grease.

I was using "oil" in the broad generic sense for slippery stuff. But you're right. I would prefer to use grease too, perhaps with moly in it. Or maybe use a dab of Honda spline lube.


Ken, sitting corrected in Oklahoma