Poor cable routing by Kawasaki

178 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by WestChannel27, 8 d ago

dinnerpianist

Discussion Starter · 9 d ago

I have mentioned I cut the brace tubing to the fairing stay to have better access to the headlight and then rigged a MacGiver solution after I found the brace was super critical. I wasn't completely satisfied with my solution so I took it to a fellow who is an expert on motorcycles close by. He said my choice of the new brace mount position on the head stock bumpers was much better than the original one high up on the steering tube and that he would use the same place to tig weld an ear if that is what I wanted. His aesthetics standards are far higher but he was pretty pleased at how I managed to salvage a bad decision. The brace from the steering stem was poorly positioned and caused abrasion on the clutch cable. Those of you who have kept the bike stock have no idea of the botched routing of cables five since their placement is concealed. I'd check to see if the cables haven't been compromised by a poor decision of Kawasaki.

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yorkie

· #2 · 9 d ago

interesting observation, however those of us who had had these bikes quite awhile are fully aware of the critical nature of cable routing it has to be exact or it will foul somewhere.
over something instead of under it or under something instead of over it and yes it will foul the the front fairing stay.
however I would suggest it's not the bar at fault but the cables, my gen 1 has no such issues that you describe, does it touch the bar on full lock yes it does, abrasion no way you don't ride the bike on full lock. the only time your likely to use full lock is maneuvering at low speed rest of the time it's no where near that bar.
the first time I fitted the clutch cable on the rebuild I was convinced the cable was too short but after working out the correct route it fit perfectly.
ok so that is only my 2 cents worth would be interested in what others think about it.

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dinnerpianist

Discussion Starter · #3 · 9 d ago

yorkie said:
interesting observation, however those of us who had had these bikes quite awhile are fully aware of the critical nature of cable routing it has to be exact or it will foul somewhere.
over something instead of under it or under something instead of over it and yes it will foul the the front fairing stay.
however I would suggest it's not the bar at fault but the cables, my gen 1 has no such issues that you describe, does it touch the bar on full lock yes it does, abrasion no way you don't ride the bike on full lock. the only time your likely to use full lock is maneuvering at low speed rest of the time it's no where near that bar.
the first time I fitted the clutch cable on the rebuild I was convinced the cable was too short but after working out the correct route it fit perfectly.
ok so that is only my 2 cents worth would be interested in what others think about it.

Cable routing is an art. Sounds as if serious riders already know that. The fellow who examined my MacGiver said he would spend many hours on rebuilds- mainly MotoGuzzis. His small collection is so notable that the Devon Auto Show-a concourse event asked if he would bring a few to the show. Oh, the travel lock design should have adjustable bumpers not just metal to metal. An opinion of course.

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WestChannel27

· #4 · 8 d ago

rerouting the clutch cable after removing it is always a headache. I mess it up every time I’m not sure how but I always think I got the wrong cable.
Cable & wiring routing is very much an art, even more beautiful when you can strip down the plastics , tank and Seat and it doesn’t look like a fkn rats nest either.
I always have the big ups for those crazy Honda guys with the tucked engine bays and such. I love being able to looks at the machine without it looking like a messy spaghetti plate

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