Katana Owners Club U.K.

The clutch action has got a little stiff recently. Rather than buy a new cable (I was recently quoted £38 for a genuine suzuki one!), is it possible to oil the old one? Can this be done in situ, or does the cable have to be removed from the bike?
What kind of oil should I use? What's the best way to do it?
In the past I've had some people tell me you can't oil them, best to put on a new one.
Thanks in advance for any info.

Cables on my 1100 and 550 have both just been oiled and are both now smooth as.
Disconnect cable at both ends, slide conical rubber shroud up to end of cable outer to make a funnel and secure with a bit of twisted wire round the narrow end to make sure it don't leak. Make sure it's upright then fill it with WD40. Have some kitchen roll or rag under bottom end of cable to catch spillage. Now you can either leave it to find its own way through or prompt it by continuously pulling/pushing cable up and down.
I used 2 or 3 'funnels' to flush it through then when you think it's clean enough run some 3 in 1 oil or similar through it (kitchen roll/rag again) too thick oil won't run through the cable.
Re-connect cable job done.
Some schools of thought say stuff like WD40 swells the inside of cables and makes it worse but it's never happened to me.
If the cable is severely kinked or has strands broken then change it as oiling won't help.

Ok yes they can be oiled in situ but in all honesty not so successfully because you end up with a low point where the crud will collect.

If you have a cable oiler from a motorcycle outlet it will except WD40 , but SILKOPEN GRAPHITE spray is better recommended.

The cheaper and better method is to make a funnel to fit the top of cable seal it around the edges and fill with a light oil like 3in 1 and let gravity run it's course over a few days.

The reason they say the can't be oiled is that as with most lubricate products now the additives make the nylon coat of the inner can swell and cause the metal cable to get stuck.

Aftermarket cables are available cheaper are a touch longer work but don't last as long as they break at the nipple, but in normal usage would last quite a while . Genuine are best though.

ACF50 is also a good 'oil' for cables as it finds its own way down the cable. However it's quite expensive.

I use one of these.

yep, my hydraulic cable oiler is one of the best tools ive ever bought. the beauty of them is that you can force enough oil through to flush out dirt and rust and so extend their life. oiling will free them up but whatever seized it will still be in there wearing away at the cable.

I thought the thing in KeKats picture was a do it yourself enema kit

those hydraulic oilers are fine if you don't have the bent tube bit at the end of the cable... they do a great job on normal cables but throw in the curved steel tube thing and it's a messy thing imo

pookie wrote:I thought the thing in KeKats picture was a do it yourself enema kit

I can imagine porky reading this and hatching a plan for next years wusseykat.
H may well be recieving marmite via the channel tunnel

Emmm well i suppose i did not mention what i used it for in the post.