How to lube throttle and throttle cables

Hi All,

Have my NC for 2 months and almost 6000 miles...

Notice the throttle or throttle cable not as smooth as before... Also notice the throttle cable is in it's own casing not like my other bikes before.

How do I lube the throttle and throttle cable?

Thanks in advance.

I would not lube them, they have a Teflon type coating on the inner cable. some times the lube will damage the coating. I would make sure the free play in the cables is correct. if to tight it will make the throttle stiff. If your dealer has done your 600 mile and 4000 mile checks did the throttle stiffness start after that? I would tell you to have the dealer look at it. in case it is a warranty problem, before you take anything apart. It may just need some light lube on the throttle tube..

I think it's more throttle tube and not the cable...

What's best to spray in the throttle tube? WD40?

Dealer told me the next service is 8000 miles after the initial 600 miles.

Yes you need to lube your throttle cables. A little hard on this one you have to take the switch housing off to get to the throttle tube bolts. I personally and all the technicians in our shop use inox. Comes in a squeeze container with a super skinny needle to fit into the throttle sleeves with the cable itself so you don't miss the hole lol. The inox does not hurt anything just prevents rust in the sleeve and helps the cables slide. Use on your clutch as well if you would like, helps keep everything feeling new.

Ok I am prepared to do it may I know which part of the service manual indicate the removal of the switch housing?

Don't lube Honda cables. If the solvent in the lube doesn't muck up the Teflon lining in the cable the dirt attracted to the lube will. They aren't meant to be lubed and you won't find a procedure in the service manual to do it.

I've had high mileage Hondas with the cables never lubed lasting over 100,000 miles.

Okay even if I were to not lube the cables how can I loosen the bolts at the bottom if I were to replace them?

Atomant said:

Okay even if I were to not lube the cables how can I loosen the bolts at the bottom if I were to replace them?

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you will need to remove some plastic on the left side to get to the cables end at the throttle body, and a shop manual. dale

I agree with NO NEED TO LUBE the cables.
They are coated with special oils and introducing new oils may just attract more dirt or worse wash off (dissolve) the original coatings.

If they feel stiff, perhaps you can lube it with some heavy 90W oils, but be prepared to change cables. You don't want to be stranded roadside with a broken cable.

You just have to take the 8mm bolts holding the front brake master cylinder loose. Then you can reach the Phillips head screws on the backside of the switch housing. Then you can reach the Phillips head screws on the throttle tube housing. Once your there you can either turn back around and reassemble or lube the cables. The cable lube thing has become an "oil thread" I see so do whatever you see fit. I just have never seen lube damage ANYTHING ever.

Hmcp88 said:

You just have to take the 8mm bolts holding the front brake master cylinder loose. Then you can reach the Phillips head screws on the backside of the switch housing. Then you can reach the Phillips head screws on the throttle tube housing. Once your there you can either turn back around and reassemble or lube the cables. The cable lube thing has become an "oil thread" I see so do whatever you see fit. I just have never seen lube damage ANYTHING ever.

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I don't think I can turn back the throttle tube around to dislodge the cable without damaging the cables. I say the safest way is to loosen the lock nuts at the bottom. That is the safest and best bet.

Ya if you loosen those locknuts all the way the tube will almost turn upside down which is what you want. It's alittle difficult so anytime I have the throttle apart I will lube them since you know it's going down them with the cable straight up and down

It depends on how dusty and dirty it is where you ride, because any lubricant will collect dirt