Heli Bars/clutch cable

Just a heads up to fellow NT owners - I had the Heli Bar riser kit installed the end of June. This past Saturday, 9/26 was heading back to PA from a trip in the Richmond, VA area when my clutch cable snapped. I found out, as one of the earlier posts mentioned - you can't come to a stop, stall, push and pop into going. Oh well, my AMA roadside assistance - which had never been used - turned out to be perfect. Within 1.5 hours the tow truck was loading me up to Valley Cycle in Winchester, VA where within 2 hours they had me back on the road with a new clutch cable - fabricated/borrowed from either a Suzuki, Kawasaki or Yamaha - they don't carry Honda. AMA membership is well worth the less than $50 per year - excellent monthly magazine, fights for our rights and the roadside assistance covers any vehicle I own - car or bike.
Contacted Heli Bar this AM and their cables come from Barnett. Am waiting to hear back if there is any warranty - but, primarily wanted Heli Bar and you folks to beware. I will look into Motion Pro.
 
My first clutch cable was in the process of failing when we had our Pre-National-Rally Rally at Rocky Huber's house in 2013. The failure was caused by the ferrule splitting and that forced the cable into a sharp bend right at the end of the cable. Rocky noticed that wires were sticking through the housing when he moved the bike up his steep gravel driveway for me. I rode with it like that for about 400 miles until I got to my son's in Montrose. I would use the clutch to start and stop and then did all the rest of my shifting clutchless. I had called the Montrose Honda dealer when we got back to Rocky's from a ride to Marble and ordered both an NT clutch cable and a TransAlp clutch cable and they expedited shipping of them. On Tuesday morning, they called me when the UPS truck got their at about 11:30 and I was on the road with an NT cable by a little after 1PM. The TransAlp cable didn't get there till the next day. Seems to me like after I released it, someone on the Forum called them and bought it. My current cable has 53,000 miles on it. I s'pose I ought to order a replacement. It's got to fail someday.

A couple of months later, I was in Blanc Sablon, Quebec, coming back from Red Bay, Labrador (where I turned 75,000 miles just as I rolled into town), and the Harley rider I had met in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and I met four guys on BMWs. There were two guys from the US, both riding R1200GSs, and two Aussies, one on a 1200GS and the other on a F650GS. They had all ridden the Trans-Labrador Highway and one of the guys from the US had crashed after hitting a loose gravel berm that had been piled up by a road grader. His right BMW pannier had disintegrated and his left handlebar was bent over 90-degrees and that had broken his clutch fluid reservoir and the line running to the clutch slave cylinder. He had to start by having his buddy push him in 2nd. He tried, after we got off the ferry back to Newfoundland to stop in neutral and then shift into 2nd when he was ready to start, but he stalled the bike every time. The nearest BMW dealer was 650 miles away (including a 7 1/2 hour ferry crossing from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia) in Moncton, New Brunswick. They had three days to get there. One of the Aussies found a six-foot long piece of pipe on the ferry and straightened the bent handlebar.
 
Adding risers puts a strain on the cable at the handlebar end because it forces a crook at the end of the cable - where it goes into the handlebar freeplay adjuster - so the actual cable is always rubbing on one side of the housing. What you want is for it to come straight out of the adjuster then make a gentle bend. Cables with a crook will still work OK but changing to a longer cable can greatly reduce how much force is necessary to pull-in the clutch lever.
 
Just received a call from Helibar's and Barnett will replace the cable. They have asked if I still have the old one - am checking with the dealer - or at least, where did it appear to break. Dirtflier may be right - it might have been a fluke. The cables and risers were installed by Honda here in Lancaster - there were no kinks. As for Comanche's question - I could get the bike into neutral at the stop light - but could not "pop" into first or second gear. Tried rolling and jump starting into either gear and bike would shut off.
As a side note: am looking to go with the Russell Day Long during the winter months. Have made due with an Air Hawk, but am looking for the "best" to handle long trips to New England, mid-west etc. I have the pictures to send to Russell of seated and standing. With a 30" inseam will see about lowering a bit, tapering the side bolsters etc. I get the sense that the "sport touring" pan on my NT must be slightly tilted forward? Even with the risers, there is pressure in the thumb areas of riding gloves. Any advice or suggestions to have with Russell would be greatly appreciated.
 
Markmagna said:
. . . As for Comanche's question - I could get the bike into neutral at the stop light - but could not "pop" into first or second gear. Tried rolling and jump starting into either gear and bike would shut off.
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Thanx for the reply - I understand now.

Markmagna said:
As a side note: am looking to go with the Russell Day Long during the winter months. Have made due with an Air Hawk, but am looking for the "best" to handle long trips to New England, mid-west etc. I have the pictures to send to Russell of seated and standing. With a 30" inseam will see about lowering a bit, tapering the side bolsters etc. I get the sense that the "sport touring" pan on my NT must be slightly tilted forward? Even with the risers, there is pressure in the thumb areas of riding gloves. Any advice or suggestions to have with Russell would be greatly appreciated.
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Hmm - interesting, as I have both the Helibars and a Russell Day Long. I can't say I've noticed any hand pressure, nor do I notice any forward slant from the seat pan. I am 6 foot even, with a 32" inseam, and sit only very slightly forward from the "sit up and beg" position. However, I also have a back rest, and while on an all day ride, I let my back curve and rest against the backrest, and that leaves my hands in a comfortable position.

Of course, YMMV.

By the way - I recommend the back rest strongly. I don't have back problems, but it sure is comfortable. I took a two-day 800 mile trip this weekend to go see my daughter, and I am no more tired than I would be if I had driven the cage.
 
"I get the sense that the "sport touring" pan on my NT must be slightly tilted forward? Even with the risers, there is pressure in the thumb areas of riding gloves".

I was always sliding forward with the stock seat. I bought a Sargent saddle and that is no longer a problem. I don't think the sliding forward has to do with the seat pan since Sargent uses the stock seat pan. I would guess it has to do with the shape of the foam.
 
Comanche said:
By the way - I recommend the back rest strongly.
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If I were doing it again, I'd go for the backrest.

A couple of years ago, I tried a Mueller back support and found that it helped a lot on long trips. Having a big elastic belt around your middle in the heat of Summer is not ideal, however. I think that a backrest would be a big improvement.
 
I'm 5'8" with a 28" inseam (27 1/4" on the right leg). I've got MCL's bar risers and a Russell. I lean forward very slightly, but with my cruise control, I don't have hand pressure issues. Russell made my saddle narrower at the front. I can get one foot down flat and touch with the toes on the other, or I can get the balls of both feet down fairly firmly. I've never felt any need for a backrest.
 
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Do appreciate everyone's council and input. Interesting observations on seat tilt - it may very well be the foam and Sargent. I put a Sargent on my 88 Super Magna. Huge improvement. But, can't argue with the Russell loyalists - and will go that way. Phil, you and I are about the same size - 5'8" and inseam. You appear to be "The Man" for long distance travels on the NT - which gives me hope that I will find the right "comfort" equation. Have put over 5000 miles on the NT since end of June. Had over 76K on the Magna before "retiring" her. That Magna fit me from day one - no questions asked. Only add on was the Sargent.
 
My wife an I stopped for lunch at a country diner/hole in the wall....couple of Harleys out front, one of which had a seat cushion...I talked to the guy he swore by it... AirHawk...so I bought one on line ..almost $80....feels pretty good, the real test will be next week when I head for the MS gulf coast....

When I first started riding, I got terrible back aches..added a back rest which solved that problem...hasn't been an issue on the NT. I hope that is still the case with the new riding position because of the Helibar install.
 
Hey Phil....
by "cruise control" do you mean throttle lock? Or have you found a way to have real cruise control.....that's the main thing I miss from my BMW "LT".
 
swingshiftssuck said:
Hey Phil....
by "cruise control" do you mean throttle lock? Or have you found a way to have real cruise control.....that's the main thing I miss from my BMW "LT".
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Yeppers. That's what I mean. The Aussie MC Cruise is a plug and play cruise control solution, but it cost out $1,000 US when I was ready to put cruise control on. I have a Throttlemeister that I installed when I got the bike, but it takes constant adjustment on uneven terrain. So, I went to www.murphskits.com, my friend Gary Murphy's online store and bought the Rostra Electronic Cruise Control. I had the similar Audiovox cruise control on my Concours. It was vacuum actuated and I wasn't sure that the NT would have enough vacuum at higher speeds, so picked the more expensive Rostra for its "electronic" actuation.

My much-more talented friend who had figured out how to install the Audiovox on our Connies installed the Rostra. But I did figure out how to rig the linkage attachment to throttle on the NT. The control module went in the fairing in front of the left fairing pocket. It is a very accurate cruise control that has held speeds up to 86-87 mph more accurately than my wife's cruise on her old '09 Altima or her current '12 CRV. The only limitation I've noticed is that when I'm going up a steep grade, if the throttle needs to be cranked wide open, it disengages the cruise control. By downshifting to 4th on those grades, it'll work fine.

It's really made a difference on longer trips.
 
[I wasn't sure that the NT would have enough vacuum at higher speeds, so picked the more expensive Rostra for its "electronic" actuation...It's really made a difference on longer trips.]

My MC Cruise is vacuum-operated and doesn't have a problem holding speed, although I've never set it at 85 mph! I had an AudioVox unit on my previous bike (PC800) and I loved it but wanted to buy a "plug & play" unit so opted for the pricey MC Cruise and have not regretted my decision. I was hoping my MC Cruise could be swapped to my NC700X but that bike has nil room under the plastic, almost like it's skin-wrapped. At some point, I may buy a Rostra and fit it onto the NC but for now it's only a "day ride" bike.
 
DirtFlier said:
At some point, I may buy a Rostra and fit it onto the NC but for now it's only a "day ride" bike.
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The Rostra's going to take about as much room as the Audiovox. If you do figure a way to put it on the NC, let me know. My friend here in Greeley would like to have a cruise control on his NC.
 
I looked at the photos when the Rostra first came out and it appeared it was only one box (the actuator?), with the control cable coming out of one end. And it didn't appear that large.

The Audiovox has a cylindrical actuator plus I fitted a vacuum accumulator. Both were pretty good size.
 
That's right, DirtFlier. I don't remember how big the actuator on the Audiovox was, but you don't have to have a vacuum canister with the Rostra. We were able to run the actuator cable around behind the instruments over into the front of the fairing on the right side and then across in a big lop to the throttle linkage on the left side of the bike.

We used body washers stacked as a connector for the actuator cable. We used 1 1/2" washers on the outside of the stack, 1 1/4" inside those, and then a 1" washer in the center of the stack. We used a bolt across the washers just outside that 1" washer to attach the cable. It's worked very well for about 80,000 miles now.
 
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