Going over the king last week, decided to lube all the cables. I have always used WD 40 for this on my previous bikes for years and routine job, I thought. Put everything back together and adjusted throttle and idle cables per service manual specs. Decided to ride a little bit and got on the four lane, no cruise. It was working before, so I thought I might have broke a wire or pulled one loose in the switch housing.

Took it back apart no visible problem put back together and readjusted. Checked out cruise control per service manual and continuity reading from cruise control module showed bad idle cable roll off switch. I thought well the WD 40 must have killed the switch somehow and now I would have to get a new idle/rolloff cable.

The bike sat for a couple of days and we went riding Sat. headed to the local H/D dealer and I thought I'll try the cruise and guess what it worked perfect. I guess after the WD 40 dried out, the switch was working normal. I'm not sure how the contacts in the sealed switch work, but I'm glad I did'nt have to replace it. No telling what it costs.

John TN

 

Personally, I don't like wd 40 for cables, it loosens the rust if any, and makes them worse. WD 40 also evaporates very fast. Graphite, or Lubit-8 works good for me.

 

Remember that WD40 isn't a lubricant. The "WD" stands for "water displacing". I'll second the graphite, or a lube especially for cables.

Joe, who makes the Lubit-8?

Actually, I've never lubed the throttle cable on my internal throttle setup. The cable is teflon lined and doesn't require it.

 

Lubit-8 is made by Syon Corporation in Riviera Beach, Florida, and no I don't own shares.

I bought locally, and it's sold in most motorcycle and bicycle shops here.

 

I forgot, one of the reasons I like it is, it comes in a small tube with a syringe type applicator attached, so it's really easy to get into cable ends.

 

WD 40 is a light lubricant, will displace moisture and that does evaporate which leaves a protective film, with rust preventitives.

Not starting an argument, this is what I have used for 35 years on cables, both dirt and street bikes, works for me. I guess it's like engine oils some are sweared by, others sweared at.

 

John, I know you're not argumentative, so you never have to qualify any statement to me. Honestly, if you like WD40, try graphite or Lubit-8, they perform better, last longer, and are smoother.

It's never too late to learn new tricks, that's why I'm here.

 

I took my bike to the dealer for the 1000 miles service and I think they used some type of liquid lubricant as I noticed they were very wet when I pulled the switch housings off to change them to chrome. I have always used graphite in the past on my dirt bikes, and have never had a problem. I think that one thing that you must realize is that no matter what liquid lube you use, it will hold dirt and possibly make the cables stick. Stick to the graphite powder and you would be good to go.



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Joe does the lubit-8 dry to a film? Like the last post said, I don't like wet lube in my cable's either.

I would consider dry graphite, how are you getting it inside the cables from end to end?

 

Thanks luvmyflhtcui, you said it better. The reason I tried graphite, was because I didn't like the dirt and crap attracted to "wet" lubricants.