Best clutch cable

[81cr450]

I have less than 5 rides on this clutch cable, cheapest motion pro, & it's giving me the lobster claw hand  ,  so I throw on  a new, cheapest ebay cable, & viola beautiful action again. For less than 5 rides it'll be golden. I'm sure my cheapness on the cable is a large part of the problem, so what is the best. Does anyone make a custom cable thats the s**t? Personally I feel like the factory cable is too short & being longer would offer better routing that would put less kinkage in it

 

[Foxx4Beaver]

I had the same problem with a Motion Pro clutch cable...it did'nt matter how much I lubed it.I even pressure cleaned it with carb clearner through the pressure luber,and then lubed it more...and it still sucked!! .So,I went back to the OEM....I have no problem with it's length...as long as you keep it routed UNDER the front number plate bolt,not over it,and it makes all the difference in the world...and when a good routed,nicely lubed up OEM cable is in place,not much can beat it.
I had also bought a cheap throttle cable off e-bay before...and the nipple that hooks into the carb slide was not "right"...it worked,but I was never confident with it...so again,a new OEM went on,and it's great. 

[2-Stroke Tom]

I've had the best luck with the oem cable. When I used to be an avid racer, I found oem cables to last the longest and give the best performance. I recommend the clutch cable reroute modification and a high quality perch with bearing (e.g., ASV, Works Connsection, etc.). Look at your stock cable routing and how the bend of the fixed metal sleeve is fairly tight when it has to go between your frame and pipe. If you straighten out that jacket carefully (I used a vice with soft aluminum jaw inserts), and route it around the outside the frame, it provides a big improvement. Just make sure to use high quality zip ties that can take heat to fix the cable against the frame/radiator mount just barely snug. If you over tighten the zip tie, you will feel it in the clutch pull. My ex Team Green race bike came with the cable routed this way and I duplicated the same thing when I replaced the cable. Here is how mine looks:

[sandblaster]

Now, if I saw a bike for sale with everything so nice and clean, I would be all over that 
Of course the last thing I need is another bike....

[cbmoor]

I know its not a cable, and they are a lot more expensive but I Installed a Magura hydraulic clutch set up.

Not only did I found the pull lighter but also with this set up its a constant pull it is always the same and it self adjust itself. I also did not need to worry about the route of the cable and kink it, just make sure it does not touch anything that gets hot so it melts the hydraulic hose.

No more worry about cleaning the inner cable and as the pull was lighter cant wait to get home and try it with the new billet clutch arm.

[81cr450]

Now, if I saw a bike for sale with everything so nice and clean, I would be all over that 
Of course the last thing I need is another bike....

Wrong thread Blaster, I agree though thats a great deal on a good bike. I certainly wouldnt turn up my nose at it at all. I'm just leaning more towards an actual factory bike. Like look at Tom's bike here, I just noticed the weather pack connectors, & the way the factory routed the clutch cable. For me its being able to see the little tricks Kawasaki used.

On to the cable though I got the 89-90 cable this go cause it did seem like it was really turned to tight in that tube & I do have it routed under the number plate as over is just doesnt work. Looks like I really need to get the oem cable then. Thanks for the input guys

The magura would definitly be nice One buy instead of cable every couple of months makes it sound like a deal

[sandblaster]

I know its not a cable, and they are a lot more expensive but I Installed a Magura hydraulic clutch set up.

Not only did I found the pull lighter but also with this set up its a constant pull it is always the same and it self adjust itself. I also did not need to worry about the route of the cable and kink it, just make sure it does not touch anything that gets hot so it melts the hydraulic hose.

No more worry about cleaning the inner cable and as the pull was lighter cant wait to get home and try it with the new billet clutch arm.

Do you have a fish scale?
If so, put it on the end of the lever and see what it takes to get a full pull on the lever before and after the billet clutch arm.
I was going to do this starting with everything stock and then doing one mod at a time starting with a aftermarket perch, then different cables, billet clutch arm and last, the hydraulic clutch.
I just haven't gotten around to this project yet...

[sandblaster]

Now, if I saw a bike for sale with everything so nice and clean, I would be all over that 
Of course the last thing I need is another bike....

Wrong thread Blaster, I agree though thats a great deal on a good bike. I certainly wouldnt turn up my nose at it at all. I'm just leaning more towards an actual factory bike. Like look at Tom's bike here, I just noticed the weather pack connectors, & the way the factory routed the clutch cable. For me its being able to see the little tricks Kawasaki used.

On to the cable though I got the 89-90 cable this go cause it did seem like it was really turned to tight in that tube & I do have it routed under the number plate as over is just doesnt work. Looks like I really need to get the oem cable then. Thanks for the input guys

The magura would definitly be nice One buy instead of cable every couple of months makes it sound like a deal

Oh, you misunderstand, I was just commenting how nice and clean this engine and chassis look.
If I was thinking about buying a bike (I'm not) and if this bike was for sale (It's not) I wouldn't be concerned on how well it was maintained due to how good it looks 

[cbmoor]

Sorry sandblaster I am not home for another couple of weeks due to being at work and no, I do not have a fish scale, I know this is not excatly scientific but what I did before I installed the Magura system was sat my 5 year old boy on the bike and got him to try and pull the clutch lever in on the KX5, he could not

Then I sat him on my crf 450 2012 with a 4 spring clutch and he could pull it in.

Put him back on the KX5 when I installed the magura system and he could pull it in, Also would like to note the KX5 clutch cable was fairly new and well oiled.

I know this is not what you are looking for, it just I do not have any scales and when I spent 200 bucks on the Magura clutch I just wanted to know it was better. I can feel it lighter but sometimes your mind plays tricks.

[sandblaster]

No problem, it would have been interesting but I'll get to it sooner or later....

[81cr450]

Oh yup duh  I can see what you were saying now

Tom's bike is just plain SEXY

[2-Stroke Tom]

Oh yup duh  I can see what you were saying now
Tom's bike is just plain SEXY

Thanks 81cr450 and Sandblaster for all the nice comments about my bike. I'm always glad to post pics and show how the factory racing team modified these bikes so we can all learn more. I know I have learned a tremendous amount about the KX500 on this site.

I hunted for a factory KX500 for a while and got lucky. Brian Brown hung on to this thing for a while because I bought it in 2008. It was his practice bike, but he explained that it was nearly identical to his race bike, they would just swap silencers, pipes, etc. After I bought the bike and as many as the factory parts as I could from Team Green (exhaust, sprockets, desert tank, plastics, decals, radiators, etc.), I brought it home and cleaned it and here's how it looked. I've posted this picture before, but I couldn't believe the condition it was in after being ridden 100+ mph in the desert for prolonged periods.

[The Flyin Hawaiian]

Id love to get my hands on a Team Green 500! They are pretty much non existant here on the east coast. Nice looking bike!

[Motorrad]

Hey Tom...  Remind me to quiz ya on team green radiators..   Mine were defiantly not k5 standard equipment

[2-Stroke Tom]

Hey Tom...  Remind me to quiz ya on team green radiators..   Mine were defiantly not k5 standard equipment

No problem Motorrad. I don't have any stock radiators for comparison, but Brian Brown told me the Team Green KX500 radiators were oversized. Here is a picture of the welded seams and thread boss (with threaded brass insert) for the shroud mounts. Much more beef than stock, and you can see the thread boss they made has spacers to angle the rad shrouds to maximize airflow. Also, notice the mounting bracket for the radiator. That think looks like it could take a Baja 1000 beating!