Here’s an odd one;
So I headed out for The Big Trip for the weekend on Saturday – out beyond Martlesham Heath, inland from Orford. It’s about 60 miles each way for me. I’d arranged to meet a pal on his Indian Scout (old, proper one) at a pub in Otley (Suffolk) en route. At one of the villages just prior I’d felt that slight ‘ting’ on the clutch lever that can be indicative of a failing cable. In Otley itself I suddenly had a huge amount of play appear at the lever, though I managed to adjust it out and at least get to the pub. He was already there albeit on his Shovel (failed generator chain on the Indian).
I’d got a cable inner kit though no complete spare, but on initial inspection all looked OK. I popped the inspection cap on the g/box expecting to see the adjuster loose, or worse, but all was good there. Back up at the lever end we found the issue. The cable outer must be made up of two separate windings, one inside the other. The metal end cap had let go such that the inner winding had started being dragged out through the adjuster. Luckily within my kit I found a nipple I could slip over the inner that would then form a stop for the escaping inner outer (if you see what I mean). Backed off at the g/box end and we were good for the weekend. Still not sure how this has led to the slack being introduced, and I've never seen a failure like this before.
There’s probably a moral to the tale, but I’m not sure what it is. Anyway, recommended is the Wemoto supplied; Emergency Clutch and Throttle Cable Repair Kit - Slinky Glide.
Apart from that and the rocker box starting to dump oil on top of the motor and the speedo cable breaking on the way home it all went well.
