Hi all. Another question for the hive mind. I intend making my own control cables from scratch. Can anyone tell me what diameter Bowden cable I need for Mag, throttle and choke. I imagine the valve lifter is a heavier cable?
Cheers. Mike.
If you ferret around the industrial areas near small airports you will probably come across a cable maker as most small aorcraft stil use bowden cables.
It is a bit more trickier than most would think
For something that needs to be very flexiable platted inners are by far the best
For something like a brake then inners with a a straiter lay are best as cables tend to unwind as you stretch them.
This is why a lot of sailing boats use platted ropes .
I am sure there was a military specification for Bowden wire but it comes in a massive variety of types now days
FIf you intend to do a lot of riding . it i a good idea to use a free floating drum on the handlebar ends
To do this you get a standard drum and drill in out to accept a pear or ball end inside the drum
A lot of universal cables come like this with a ball on the end plus a selection of drums with slots to go over the cable.
These will not only last a lot longer but provide better braking as well.
The gearbox end of the cluth lever was originally machined as a smooth cup so the ball end could rotate when you pull the clutch cable in.
Most are mutilated by now and some polishing goes a long way to smoother clutch operation.
M non standard cables have been on my bike for over 30 years and apart from heat shrink patches over the warn through covers are as good as the day I first made them
