What do you lube throttle cables with?

[Reginald]

In days gone by I would put a few drops of oil in my throttle cables to keep them lubed, never lost one on the road. I'm not so sure with the ST1300 cables. I've seen where graphite has been used. Just want to see what folks are doing before I make a mess.

I've read the forums but it wasn't clear to me. IF I was reading the threads right some folks used graphite and some oil. What's the preference and why?

 

[Blrfl]

Most (modern) throttle cables are lined with Teflon and don't need to be lubed at all. Mine are a decade old and still operate as smoothly as the day I rode the bike home.

--Mark

 

[Reginald]

Most (modern) throttle cables are lined with Teflon and don't need to be lubed at all. Mine are a decade old and still as smooth as the day I rode the bike home.

Wow, I'm done then. Easiest maintenance item I've made.

 

[Papa]

FYI, for my dual sport, I bought a little device that clamps on the end of the cable that seals off the cable sheath. It has a port for those extender tubes you get with most lubricants so you just poke the extender tube in the port and spray until it comes out the other end of the cable. You can get them in cycle shops and maybe auto parts stores these days. Or, here ya go, http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Lubrica...id=1398520971&sr=8-2&keywords=cable+lube+tool

 

[st1300r]

Wow, I'm done then. Easiest maintenance item I've made.

+1 if they're ptfe lines nothing you're gonna squirt in there is gonna be slipperier.
If they are binding I'd check the throttle plate end or tension adjustment, or the cable wire is frayed and lube isn't gonna fix it.

 

[Firstpeke]

If I do use anything to put down the cables it is ACF50, but I don't tend to do anything these days for the previously mentioned reasons and of course if something does start to get "sticky" lubing it generally doesn't fix it....

I have only had one throttle cable go in all the years I have been riding and that was around 1981 on a CX500......

The only other cables that have gone were speedo ones..... and I have had three of those go, one of which was a non-Honda replacement that lasted a few weeks on my ST1100.