| Author | Message | ||
     Hunger |
I'm concerned about my clutch cable constantly rubbing against the chin fairing and getting damaged. There's already a small hole in there with slowly leaking oil. I'm going to order a replacement but is it safe to ride like that for the time being? What is the oil that's leaking? Is it engine oil or just the cable lube? The 2nd question is are clutch cables identical for all Ulysses years? That's the cheapest one on ebay but the decription says fits for Ulysses 2009-2010 (only). Maybe there's just an error in description? http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Clutch-Cable-for-Buell -XB12S-XB12X-XB12Ss-XB9SX-XB9S-XB9SL-XB12XTT-XB12R -/360986299859?fits=Make%3ABuell%7CSubmodel%3AXB12 X&hash=item540c75cdd3&vxp=mtr | ||
| Hughlysses |
I'd save the one with the hole rubbed in it for a spare. If you clean it and re-seal it with a piece of heat shrink tubing, it should be as good as new. I'd suggest you file or grind a little clearance where it's rubbing on the chin fairing so you don't wind up with the same issue with the new cable in a few months. The clutch cables for all XB12X or XB12XT's are interchangeable. Beginning in 2008 or so the inner cable has a plastic coating that makes it superior to earlier cables, but they're all interchangeable. | ||
| Hunger |
That's great, thanks! A what about the oil leak? Is it just the cable lubricant? Yeah, I'm going to either cut out/grind the clearance or maybe stick some felt or something similar in between. We'll see. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Oil from the primary could leak out of a hole in the clutch cable if it's below or close to the level of the oil in the primary case. You could probably clean the cable and wrap the cable sheath with a couple of turns of electrical tape and it'd be fine without changing it. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Or slide some radiator/brake/vacuum hose or similar, over the cable and tape it in place so it covers "that" spot and gives you more abrasion resistance. Check your cable routing. Shouldn't be wearing a hole in it. | ||
| Griffmeister |
Yeah, that's probably primary/trans oil leaking out. My cable had the typical leak at the crimp on the primary end. I did what many others have suggested and it worked. Wrap the area with silicone repair tape then cover with heat shrink to keep it from unraveling. Oh yeah, clean well first. A lot cheaper than a cable. | ||
| Hunger |
Would it be proper to refill/change primary oil? I don't know how much have leaked. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
It seems unlikely that the level would drop noticeably. You can check it by holding the bike upright and removing the clutch inspection cover. The juice should be just touching the bottom of the basket. My main cause for concern would be water getting in if you ride in rain or through rivers or whatever. A milky condensate on the inside of the cover is pretty much ok and normal but if the tranny juice looks wrong, replace it. | ||
| Hunger |
No, I did not ride in rain a lot I'll try to fix the cable. Thanks, guys! | ||
| Nillaice |
I ordered one of those cables from the ebay seller. the lever end is larger than the OEM, so it doesn't use the plastic bushing piece, and it doesn't come with an o-ring for the end that threads into the primary. also the crimp to the cable jacket at the primary end will seep oil, so do like others and wrap it with your favorite tape to seal it up. and DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN it into the primary, or you'll snap off the treads at the cable end. | ||
| Hunger |
It's just a tiny hole, I'll try my luck with just a tape without detatching anything. | ||
| Hunger |
Okay, I've checked the oil level and it's definitely below the cover edge. See: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1WuX8MwMI1ca1VxM 0duLTY2eG8/view?usp=sharing It's clean however and the internals look neat also. No rust etc. So, refill?  Also I've noticed that the cable shield is not actually punctured. What I saw before was just a deep scratch. I think the oil is coming out from there: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1WuX8MwMI1caW5kd 3Nud2hiMDg/view?usp=sharing (this pic is from the internet, it's not my bike) Is there a way to seal it? (Message edited by Hunger on September 17, 2015) | ||
| Arcticktm |
For oil level in trans, you want it barely to the gear teeth below the cover edge. Not all the way up to cover lower edge. that would be overfill. Check your manual or strongly urge you buy one if you don't have it. can't quite see it in your pic. for cable leak, yes that it typical place to weep. I cleaned it up well and used some silicon sealant around it. helped a lot. I used nylon split wire loom protector to protect the cable by the chin fairing, and took a small round file to the fairing for some better fit/clearance. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
There is a very typical oil leak for these bikes in this area, Hunger. It is a failure of the "O" ring that goes where the clutch cable comes out. The pic looks like there's too much lube already- don't add more. | ||
| Hughlysses |
It is a failure of the "O" ring that goes where the clutch cable comes out. Dan- I don't think so. A lot of these cables just weep at the metal/plastic sheath junction. The O-ring seals the metal fitting to the primary cover; replacing it wouldn't stop a leak here. If the O-ring were leaking, oil would be running down the face of the primary cover. People have sealed cable leaks using heat shrink tubing (this requires you to disconnect the cable to install the tubing) or the self-bonding type electrical tape. Jim's solution of silicone sounds reasonable too. If you DO decide to replace that O-ring as a precaution, be VERY careful when you re-tighten the metal fitting on the cable into the primary cover. Just a few inch-pounds of torque is enough. It will snap off VERY easily. DAMHIK. | ||
| Nillaice |
I know how Hugh knows ... But you can ask me  | ||
| Hunger |
Don't worry  In the end I sealed it with silicone and wrapped elecrical tape around - it's not leaking anymore. Issue solved. Double checked the oil level. It's indeed more or less what Natexlh1000 said. (Message edited by Hunger on September 19, 2015) | ||
| Pontlee77 |
When i changed my primary gearing i removed the clutch cable and put a couple of turns with teflon tape, it made a perfect seal. |
